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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  Great gas mileage - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By gorpot - July 28 - 7:56 am

  Bought car at the end of June. Have 4,200 miles on so far. Have had no problems, except once in a while on a warm day, the gas tank must get an air bubble or some type of vapor lock in it, because I have had three times when I went to fill it up with Gas, I could not fill it up. It would be about 2 or 3 gallons from being full. Dealership is no help in this issue. However when I can fill it up, Gas mileage has been excellent. Always over 30 MPG, except the two times I used Gas with Ethanol in it, and my MPG went down to 28. So the answer is use 100 percent Gas, none of that Ethanol crap. Lets DRILL DRILL DRILL. Wife also loves the car. Seems to handle very good. Sound system is nice.

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  Excellent upgrade from an Accent - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By zornundo - July 27 - 1:36 pm

  We bought this car to replace one of our 2006 Hyundai Accents. Were very impressed with the interior size as well as the interior furnishings and finish. I picked the four cylinder for the highway mileage and havent driven enough yet to get some good figures. Im very pleased with this car so far and can see myself fighting with the wife to see who gets to drive on a given day. The five-speed automatic transmission is great. Drives and shifts smoothly. It will tend to downshift while going uphill at highway speeds, especially with the cruise control on. You have been warned! I suppose thats one of the trade offs for the EPA 32 mpg highway.

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  smart purchase - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By brenda carraway - July 26 - 3:06 am

  the santa fe has been a good auto investmet. only problem with vehicle is some reocurrig noise in front drive train or suspension, dealer is having hard time trying to find problem. keep replacing parts but does not fix problem. the excellant warrany keeps me from becoming to concerned at this time,but could become more problematic as warranty period lapses. hope to find solution soon. i do enjoy this vehicle and hope to keep it for many years, i am also thinking of puchasing the new hot sonata. happy to own a santa fe.

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  i love i - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By i love it - July 26 - 2:13 am

  i bought my "Tib" in march 07" and i love it. even though there is not much to do under the hood. there is a lo you can do with the look. And at a great price too.

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  very reliable - 1997 Hyundai Accent
  By slowlane - July 25 - 2:00 am

  My 97 GS has been ultra reliable. With 80K I can get 38 MPG on the highway with an autonatic! This car feels as though it can easily go another 5 yrs. Other than oil and filter changes, tires, and front brakes...just pads, there has been no additional costs. I could easily afford a $350 car note but cant justify it when my paid off little car wont give me a reason. This car has baan as reliable as any Toyota I have owned. I just wish for 30 more HP!

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  from a rav4 to sante fe! - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jim vargas - July 24 - 6:10 am

  Our Sante Fe has been more then we expected. Completely satisfied. our Rav 4 performed below expectations in performance and mileage. The Sante Fe does everything the salesman said it would from performance to mileage to interior design thank you

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  Quoted Horse Power - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By Gill - July 24 - 2:00 am

  Although I love most things about my XG300L, I feel Hyundia deceived owners by misquoting its horsepower rating. I was also told there would be no change in the car (including engine size) for the next year.The increase of engine size and the model change to the XG350 surely devalues the XG300. I hope someone will initiate a class action suit against Hyundia.

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  Good Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ted B - July 23 - 8:50 pm

  Great Car. Good fuel economy. Great power for a 4 cyl. Everything is great except for the drivers seat. I wish that the front part of it could be adjusted to a desired hight.

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  My Review - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By bwiytch1 - July 23 - 8:23 pm

  I Love my truck, it handles great, gets excellent highway mileage. cant wait to test it in the snow!

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  2011 Sonata SE/ Very vGood Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jim Lang - July 23 - 7:00 am

  I have enjoyed driving this car, it is responsive and the handling is excellent. However the new adaptive values automatic transmission has been a problem. Dealer claims the transmission adapts to your driving style. That has not worked out too well for me or my sister who also owns a 2011 Sonata. My car wants to accelerate when it down shifts from 4th to 3rd even when your foot is off the gas and you are coming to a stop. My sisters car has a rough down shift from 4th to 3rd and feels like you are stepping on the brake. Dealers are blaming the customers driving style, they should take a look at their transmission programing/operation.