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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  That darn ABS/TCS light! - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By Barry - August 29 - 12:42 pm

  ABS/TCS lamp comes on in damp wheather (when you really need the TCS). Dealership cant figure it out. Trans has blow in & out speed sensors (seperately) and neither was covered under warrenty ($200 a pop!). Trans blew internal solenoid. Dealer repaired under warrenty minus $$ for trani flush. "Intelligent" transmission is actually pretty dumb. Shifting is usually sluggish and its gear choice bogs the engine down too much. Front grill design...is pretty absent. ...Looks like that guy didnt show up for work that day.

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  2007 GLS Decent Value - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By jackny - August 28 - 1:36 am

  Just bought a GLS and it seems good, but Im used to Luxury cars. Was sick of used cars, so bought a new economy car instead. The only thing so far is that there is a plastic engine cover that vibrates while idling, causing annoying flapping noise under hood. Great stereo system though.

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  Not a Bad Little Car - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By EricD - August 27 - 11:25 pm

  Ive owned it for 5 years now and for a 10,600 price tag out the door I cant complain. The only problem has been a recurring censor problem that causes the engine to putt and not shift, followed by check engine light that stays on for about 2 days. When the problem occurs I restart the engine and the car is fine. A little over 72,000 miles on the car and its been happening sporatically since about 50,000. Only changed the battery, tires, timing belt, water pump, brakes obviously and fluids. Up until now preventive maintenance is all. Air conditioning and heat work well and the gas mileage is good on the automatic although I did expect better, much better on gas on highway.

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  Surprising Performance - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By phil - August 26 - 6:03 pm

  I stopped in to just take a look and walked out with the paperwork. Very impressive and different feel than what I expected from a Hyundai. Pretty decent HP at 235, decent pickup and a nice feel to the car in all situations tested. Quality inside and out with a solid feel to doors and trunk lids. Loads of safety features and airbags everywhere. I was pretty impressed with the quality and the price at $23k was just an added benefit. I chose this over the Accord V6. The cars I now lease and drive include a Saab Aero 9-5 Turbo and a Mercedes E320. It is the Saab that the Sonata is replacing. Not quite as fast as my Saab Turbo but still quite acceptable and $15,000 less!!!!!!!!

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  Just the mileage is poor - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Monty - August 26 - 7:10 am

  I actually think that Hyundai must have determined its city mileage based on suburban driving. Living downtown, continuously stopping and starting, I am getting 15.3 regardless of the kind of fuel I use. I am also a very relaxed driver.

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  Liked it at first...but not anymore - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By AL - August 21 - 10:12 pm

  First car Ive owned, bought new. For the first few years it ran fine, only minor problems with the "check engine" light, which seemed to come on repeatedly. It was usually due to a "sensor" of some type. Only once did this affect performance. However, since the end of the 5-year warranty last fall, Ive had nothing but problems. It seems like everything has broken all at once! First it was the instrument panel (light flickers dealer unable to fix even after replacing it), then the engine light again (dealer "fixed" THREE TIMES - and charged me for each - in 2 weeks). Now the window is stuck down and will cost $400 to fix. I cant wait to get rid of this car! Dont buy a Hyundai.

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  Hyndai Azera - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Lynn Norsworthy - August 21 - 10:03 pm

  The first 2 months, 2000 miles, it drove and idled extremely smooth. A vibration or shake started at about 2 months. This has progressively gotten worse. The tires have been balanced twice and rotated once. Still the shake or vibration continues. It is in the steering wheel, the seat, and the floor board. The dealership says that it is driving normal. It also has started idling rough. Although it only started this about 2 months ago, the dealership says it, too, is normal.

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  Gas mileage not what manufacter claims - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By mike - August 19 - 10:00 am

  If I could do it over I would have held out for gmc terain, same price more horse power and better fuel economy. Also the Hyundai sheet metal is very thin and dents easy, I am trying to find side molding to put on to keep from getting door dinged. The paint on the limited seems poor quality, look close and you can see the flex in the sheet metal because of the thin layer of paint that chips easy. Hyundai still needs work. Design it is cool little SUV drive and handles good. More power and better fuel economy. My old Malibu maxx was a 2006 and got way better gas mileage with a 3.5 v6. At 215 hp.

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  Everything I wanted - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rudy - August 18 - 10:49 pm

  I purchased this car because I regularly travel on two lane roads for two to three hours at a stretch. I wanted something that gave a comfortable ride, had good pull up hills, and got 30+ miles to the gallon. My Elantra gave me all of that. We are now looking at the 2008 Elantra for a family car.

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  best car ever owned - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By glenn - August 16 - 10:59 pm

  Great mpg, strong motor & smooth tranny, handles well, smooth ride, comfy seating, love bluetooth, dependable..