Overview & Reviews

A relative newcomer to the American marketplace, Hyundai is a Korean automaker with a product line that has improved greatly over the past decade. Hyundai cars and SUVs provide a high level of content for an affordable price, and are currently backed by one of the industry's longest warranties.

In 1947, Chung Ju Yung founded the Hyundai Civil Engineering Company. Mere months later, the outfit was bombed in the Korean War. However, the company regained its footing to distinguish itself as one of Korea's leading construction enterprises during the 1950s.

By the late 1960s, Chung had turned his attention to the automobile industry. The Korean government at that time believed that it made more sense to import vehicles than produce them domestically, and had made its opinion known. Still, Chung opted to follow his own convictions, and in 1967, he founded the Hyundai Motor Company.

The company quickly established an alliance with one of the industry's oldest automakers, signing a two-year contract with Ford in 1968 to share assembly technology. Hyundai's first car, the Cortina, was created from that partnership. The manufacturer's first car to be designed and built in Korea was the compact Pony (although the car was based on Japanese technology courtesy of Mitsubishi). The vehicle made its debut in 1974, and the following year Hyundai began exporting it to overseas markets.

Hyundai entered the U.S. market in 1986 with the introduction of its subcompact Excel. The car was an immediate hit, with its supreme affordability being a primary selling point. More than 100,000 Excels were sold stateside in the first seven months. By 1988, Hyundai had begun to produce cars using its own technology. The midsize Sonata was the first fruit borne of this endeavor.

Unfortunately, Hyundai's nascent image was soon tarnished by the poor durability and reliability of its vehicles. Sales tanked. However, rather than abandon the American market in the '90s, Hyundai chose to invest heavily in new product designs and improvements in overall quality and reliability. In 1998, Hyundai also purchased Kia, another Korean automaker, to expand its business and economies of scale.

It all started to pay off by the start of the new millennium, with the 2001 Elantra in particular showing massive improvements in overall quality, reliability and performance. Other models followed suit and the desirability of Hyundai cars increased sharply. Providing an extraordinarily long warranty period didn't hurt either.

Today's lineup is indicative of Hyundai's complete turnaround. Hyundai has a vehicle for nearly every segment, including the economical Accent subcompact, the popular Elantra compact, the midsize Sonata sedan (also available as a hybrid), sporty Genesis and Veloster coupes and a couple of stylish SUVs. Hyundai has also expanded into the entry-level and premium-level luxury sedan markets with its Genesis and Equus sedans. Having gone from being the butt of late-night TV jokes in the 1980s to a well-respected manufacturer of quality vehicles, Hyundai has created a very inspiring rags-to-riches story.

User Reviews:

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  Love my Hyundai - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By snovacancy - November 2 - 8:36 am

  Ive owned my Sonata for 10k miles...and I still love it. I moved from a 4 door pickup and was very nervous about going to a sedan. No regrets. Also Ive looked and looked and can not find anything wrong with this vehicle. This is the only car Ive owned that Ive not had to take it back for some kind of warranty work.

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  I love my new Elantra!!! - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Inger - November 2 - 5:56 am

  Rides well, quiet, and it has a zip. Sporty yet sophisticated look. It has a drop out engine (for crashes). Lot of extras on this car that you wouldnt expect for this price class. There are lots of storage compartments in the front. There are also webbed pockets behind each of the front seats. There is plenty of legroom in the back. The trunk is really good size as well.

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  easy decision - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By em - November 2 - 12:13 am

  Afterlooking at full sized cars, it was easy to decide on the Hyundai 350L. Leather heated seats that you can preset to your driving comfort helped in our decision to by a Hyundai. The car probably would not suit a tall person but being just under six feet, it suits us fine. The fuel economy is ok at 20 mpg all around driving. With a 3.5 liter engine it has plenty of get up and go. The other feature we liked was the 10 year 100K warranty. We were able to negotiate a bumper to bumper warranty into the price. Were very happy with the car.

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  one lemon - 1995 Hyundai Elantra
  By roland - November 1 - 2:00 am

  This car is one lemon. The previous owner an old retiered school teacher had to replace the transmission under warrenty at 17000 miles. I bought the car with 50000 miles and I have had to replace the rear axel bushings,shocks an struts,check engine sensor,catalitic converter,o2 sensor,spark plug coil and now at 85000miles the transmission needs to be replaced for a second time and a break job. On the positive note the car always starts even in the cold and for a small car its roomy and fairly comfortable.

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  First 1000 miles - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By mjclements48 - October 31 - 4:00 pm

  Fantastic automobile! Overall driving experience is one of pure enjoyment. Sound system is among the best, seating support and comfort what one would expect for this level of auto. Tranmission could be better tuned, seems to hunt during down shifting. Six speeds would definitely be better here.

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  love my new sonata - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By foxtrot22 - October 31 - 10:00 am

  My new Hyunai Sonata Lx is a smooth quiet riding car. I get wonderful mileage even though it is a six cyc car. On several occassions I was asked if I had a new Jaguar by my neighbors.

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  Great buy - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By CBL1975 - October 31 - 10:00 am

  I am very picky about my car and have owned a dodge intrepid for the past 5 years - The Sonata that we just purchased is the best vehicle that I have ever had. It is an incredible value, great performace, the warrenty is unbeatable. If you need a new car - this is it!!! Dont wait.

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  Awesome! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Chaz589458 - October 31 - 10:00 am

  Best small SUV on the market currently

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  buyer beware! - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By nomorehyundai - October 31 - 2:00 am

  the car is almost 3 years old... it has been in the shop atleast 5 times in the last year..the dash lights go off and on... the dealer can not find the problem. the alternator has been replaced once and currently being replaced again. you have to go to the dealer for parts , airfilter, timing belt, transmission fluid. it is sad that you can not go to a local parts store to get simple items as i just listed. the clearcoat is coming off of the front bumper. i have checked into lemon law and unable to pursue due to age and mileage...currently 60,000.

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  2007 Tucson SE V6 - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By M8080 - October 30 - 9:36 am

  Shopped for a year for the right Mini SUV. Test drove the Ford Escape, Explorer, Saturn Vue, Suzuki, and Chevrolet Equinox, among others. The Tucsons features and Quality beat them all, hands down, not to speak of the pricing. If you want value for your dollar, test one yourself. American Car Makers, especially, still dont understand that. I drive my vehicles for 10-12 years, and if I take care of them, I expect them to hold up, not fall apart before my eyes. Hyundai builds a solid product. I expect to be driving this vehicle for many years to come.