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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  Best bang for the buck! - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jerry - March 9 - 5:50 pm

  I would recommend this car over most of the competitors. I looked at the Rav4, CX-7 and the Ford Edge and for the price and warranty the Santa Fe limited is by far the best value hands down. My Limited has the navigation, XM, sunroof and everything else except the towing package. And so far the 4- cyc has not been lagging on power and the gas mileage has been great.

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  great value - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Don - March 7 - 7:30 pm

  good pickup for a 4. lots of safety items large trunk look at this car before buying an accord or camry

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  santa fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By salli - March 7 - 10:00 am

  I have own the santa fe for almost 2 years. It is great fun to drive. Couldve got more power but it works for my family. I used 250 miles everyday for 2 months fro home to work when I first purchased, and I really enjoyed it.

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  2003 Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By DanRo - March 7 - 10:00 am

  I really enjoy my new Santa Fe, however, if I would do all over, I would purchase 4WD-currently have the front-wheel drive make. It is still fun to take in the woods but doesnt have a high body clearence-maybe need lift kit.

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  Hyundai Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By trapshooter6 - March 7 - 10:00 am

  I have 14000 mi. on the Santa Fe and love the vehicle. It went through our brutal New York winter with ease. Fuel economy is better than my previous Mazda Tribute with the Santa Fe getting me an avg. 21.5-22 mpg in mostly rural driving. Trips yield over 24 mpg. Build quality seems very good and Ive had no problems to date.

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  Former LexusRX300owner - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SantaFeLover - March 7 - 10:00 am

  My lease was up on my Lexus RX 300 and I didnt want another 600.00 payment. Test drove every Toyota (weve had 3previously) and was sooo disappointed with the pick up,loud engine and the interior design. On a lark we went to Hyundai. I drove it and that was it. The car sold itself.

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  Good Buy - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By triumph - March 7 - 10:00 am

  I compared all the standard and options features between the Santa Fe and the Highlander before I made the decision. Santa Fe got all the standard features which were options in Highlander and was $10,000 less.

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  So far an excellent vehicle - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Chris - March 7 - 4:16 am

  We have driven Hondas and Toyotas for years, but when it came time to replace a 1993 Accord, we drove the "97" Accord, several Toyotas but kept going back to look at the Sonata. In the end we went for the Sonata because of the value for the dollar. Warranty, options and it just feels like a secure car. Fit and finish are on par with Honda and Toyota. The 4 cylinder is more than adequate for day-to-day driving and road trips with a family of four. Our first trip on the interstate with 3k on the engine still averaged 30 mpg. Not bad for a fresh engine. The final test will be to see how it handles a winter in the upper-midwest...

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  2006 hyundai azera limited - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By bernard n.edwards - March 6 - 7:26 pm

  we have had our azera almost a year now and it continues to impress and we are very proud of our azera and the car is simply awsome and is a car which has extremely high quality and i would put it up to cars that costs 50,000 dollar,and a great unmatched warrenty,and safety values and the price is truely a great value.we also own a 2007 sonata limited and wow another great car.hyundai rules in our house because they simply make the best cars and offers far more than any one else.

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  Very Nice Car - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Don - March 6 - 5:03 pm

  We test drove Toyota Avalons, Honda Accords and other cars but once we drove the Genesis, nothing else compared in the price range. This is a very solid, well built, car. Very quiet on the road, good handling and good acceleration. Great warranty. I have owned Hondas, Toyotas and Lexus in the past. So far, this is my favorite car.