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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  Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By tennis - August 8 - 2:00 am

  Drives great, good gas mileage. Good size to haul and fun to drive.

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  Thank you CARS - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By tusker - August 7 - 10:30 pm

  I have been looking at small cars for a year and ended up with the accent. I went from a Yukon to this and love it. The front is just as roomy as my Yukon was and it is a lot more fun to drive. The mpg is fantastic and it looks good too. Going up steep hills can take some patients but it is a small 4 banger so what do you expect? for the money, it is a great buy and Hyundai is what Toyota used to be. You cant go wrong. Not a lot of extra features, but I knew that going into it. It is even easy to drive on the interstate with it. I have not owned it that long, but I like it more and more every day.

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  Good expectations, Great results! - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By Stephen - August 7 - 4:14 pm

  Love the Hyundai Accent! Needed a new car after wearing out a very good Subaru but did not want to pay the high price for another Subaru. Looked at Hyundai since they are affordable and reliable. Liked the styling of the Accent hatchback and the fact that it did not come with a bunch of gadgets that will eventually break. Test drove and immediately knew this was the car for me. Though not a Ferarri with acceleration it gets to speed well enough. The car is quiet and rides very well. You get a little suspension noise over large bumps but the ride is very stable. Get the A/C - it is nice and cold. Controls are well laid out and easy to reach. Surprisingly very roomy for a small car.

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  Love my new Elantra - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rita - August 7 - 3:36 pm

  I bought this under the CARS program and am getting 10 mpg better than my Explorer. The car feels solid and drives great. Still getting used to 4 cylinders but small price to pay for better gas mileage. Would recommend this car to anyone.

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  Best cheap vehicle. - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By BLKSE - August 6 - 2:30 pm

  Fairly satisfied with the purchase. Under 17K for SE with ESC, monroof and heated seats. Comparably equipped Civic was about 4K more. Front interior space is hindered by curve of dash. Late 09 models removed the Coolant temp and made the gas gauge as big as the Tach. Ridiculous. Can get 25+ mpg in 100 city driving and 31+ on the highway.

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  A Follow Up Review - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By AAL3 - August 6 - 2:28 pm

  A follow up since my last review back in May. I now have 2500 miles on it and it is still doing just fine. This piece of advice may help with those complaining about the hard ride, I just spoke with my Hyundai Service Manager about softening up the ride. He told me that the car comes from the factory with a hard rubber tire, and that if it had a softer rubber tire on it, it would ride better with less bumps. Im not complaining, I still have all the luxury, I still have over $25,000 in my pocket vs owning one of those other high end luxury brands,its cheaper maintance, and EVERYONE STILL WALKS AROUND THE CAR ADMIRING IT. Im just waiting on Hyundai to Appreciate us Genesiss owners

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  love it - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By ruby7 - August 6 - 10:00 am

  second hyundai we have had both are great i have 74000on my 2000 elantra and i expect it to go and go for a long time, we love the warranty would recomend it to anyone in heartbeat and metro service can be trusted something differenin this day

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  Excellent car - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By james2004 - August 6 - 10:00 am

  I love it. You try it too

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  Am a Honda guy, but bought the Hyundai!! - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By MikeK! - August 5 - 11:11 am

  I didnt even want a new car, but when the government came out with its new middle-class welfare program (Cash for Clunkers) I said what the heck, Ill go spend some of my own tax dollars. I wanted a cheap, cheap car and thought of the Hyundais, Kias, etc. The Hondas and Toyotas were still too pricey for me even after the 4500 cash. Well, I came across the Hyundai Accent GLS and that was it. This car is nice, not cheap. Im 64 and I fit just fine. Get one w/o a radio and install your own, all the wiring/speakers are already installed. Took me 20 minutes to put a great radio in. Keep up w/ the maintenance and the warranty wont let you down. GO BUY ONE, YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!

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  Incredible driving machine - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By nova driver - August 4 - 7:07 pm

  I love this car. I was in the market for a BMW 535i (also considered Audi A6 and Infinity M35) until test driving the Genesis 4.6 with Tech package. Power and acceleration are great, delivered smoothly and eagerly. Handling is also very capable considering the large size of the car. The car is extremely quiet, even with sunroof tilted, making it easy to enjoy the 17-speaker Lexicon stereo (with CD/DVD-audio player and MP3/iPod inputs). Fit and finish is excellent, and I really like the clean, intuitive layout and controls. Technology is well integrated and works well (Bluetooth, voice recognition, etc.).