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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  Luv My Veracruz - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Lee Roy Lay - October 15 - 1:43 pm

  We purchased the vehicle new in July 06. We bought the GLS FWD. Weve loved the vehicle. We average about 18mpg overall. On our summer vacation to Hilton Head, weve averaged over 25 with 7 people and luggage. Only issue weve had is were on the 3rd battery. Second one was replaced free, 3rd one, I paid for 1/2. Didnt like that. Battery should last longer than that. Weve got 40,000 miles on it. Still have the original tires. Lots of room. Handles great.

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  Luxury SUV, economy price - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jodi - October 14 - 7:03 pm

  All the bells and whistles of higher priced suvs. Roomy, great warranty, dependable.

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  GREAT value! - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Carl - October 13 - 6:30 am

  My daughter was ready to trade in her Elantra GT for something a little bigger, but wanted to stay with Hyundai, due to proven reliablity and an incredible warranty. The Santa Fe offers safety, reliability and comfort bundled with the most features at the best price. Safe, reliable and comfortable. She loves the style (and warranty), and I love the safety features. Add a network of dealers that back their product, and you have a recipe for success! Thank you Hyundai, amd thank you Mirak Hyundai for a great deal!

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  Most bang for the buck - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Jeff C - October 12 - 5:50 pm

  My XG350L is nearly a year old and has almost 10k miles. I rent cars a good bit due to my job (had a Jag last week) so I get to compare my 350 to various models. IÂ’ll tell you this, when I get back to my car EVERY TIME, I feel good about my purchase. Wife has a Camry and it doesnÂ’t compare and paid about the same $. Great riding car, plenty of power, fair brakes, roomy interior, many extras that would cost more with other cars. Saw other reviewers knock the seats, not cushy enough, I find the seats comfortable (a little firm but roomy, IÂ’m 6Â’, 235 lbs.) and they have loosened up some with time, making them even better. Took it on 14 hour day trip, road fatigue was minimal.

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  Dont buy this car - 2018 Hyundai Sonata
  By Urjit shah - October 12 - 12:55 pm

  Its very very noisy. In just 2 days its engine sounds very grinding loud noise.

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  2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid - 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Stacy - October 12 - 11:09 am

  I love my car so much. Ive looked at the Toyota and Honda. I just like the feel and look of the Sonata much better. Ive had it for almost 3 weeks now and I travel at least 1 hour a day to and from work. I just filled the gas tank and it wasnt even empty yet. The look and feel just cant be beat. I urge anyone looking for a hybrid car to take a look at the Sonata.

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  Awesome fun! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Judith C - October 12 - 2:00 am

  What a fun car! I needed something bigger than my Accord to haul bricks, potting soil and stuff for my townehouse. Being a single (older) female, I liked the enclosed SUV (as opposed to an open bed truck) to keep my haul locked up and enclosed. Safety is big with me. Also sitting up high, the visibility on the road is much better. Seems like everyone in California has an SUV or truck. The Santa Fe is so much fun to drive. And its comfortable and easy to handle and park. My 82-year-old mother and I just went to Arizona for a trip and got caught in a snowstorm in the mountains. No problem. We just zipped down the road w

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  Get the V6... Awesome car! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By danneenee - October 11 - 7:30 am

  So I am a recent college graduate and I wanted something that would be fun to drive. I first tested a 2.0Turbo automatic and a 3.8L V6 manual... initially the clutch was a bit rough to get use to but after two test drives I was convinced. The V6 is very powerful for the price and just everything about the car feels like your not paying enough. The base V6 still has the ipod connections and interface, blue tooth, black leather, auto headlights and climate control. Dont think that you need the upgraded sound the base sound is still great I was very impressed. Do yourself a favor and get the manual V6 feels and sounds like a muscle car.

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  Great little SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Stockton Tucson - October 11 - 3:50 am

  I traded in a 1999 Pathfinder for this used 2005 Tucson. So far it does most of what I expected it to do. I did loose some cargo and tow capacity with the trade, but the extra MPG makes up for it. It could have more road handling. You dont want to push it too hard into the corners. The stock stereo had to go. I couldnt hear it on the freeway if all the windows were down. The tie downs in the back could be a bit stronger or moved off of the cover.

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  Outstanding Value - 2016 Hyundai Accent
  By Marc Brunetti - October 10 - 6:46 pm

  Purchased 2013 Accent Sedan, and very happy with it. 116,000 miles in three years and not one problem. Drove from Florida to New York with two adults and two teenagers fully loaded and got 42 mpg on highway. Got the mpg on highway up to 51 mpg by coasting down hill. Just bought another, 2016 model. Stability control and anti lock breaking a plus. Downside: fabric on seats gets stained too easily. Comfort on long rides. No rearview camera.