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:
Showing 13101 through 13110 of 13,764.00-
Awesome Car - 2011 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
By Zach - September 19 - 2:00 amThis is an awesome ride. looks amazing, have gotten a ton of comments from family and friends, but even more from complete strangers. quick and light too, love the acceleration and power it has. styling is sick, both inside and out. all around really fun to drive around town and zip down the freeway in. have yet to take it on windy roads to really see what she can handle. and for the money theres no better car.
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Canadian version - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
By Vonnie - September 19 - 2:00 amVery nice SUV considering its my 1st. Nice drive a bit noisy for wind noises. However the gas mileage is not good. I do a lot of hwy driving and get no where close to 30 mph. cant use my usb from Apple for my iphone
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Great But - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
By Monroe - September 19 - 2:00 amPurchased this 2011 Sonata LTD Turbo a few weeks ago. Rides great, looks fantastic, (venetian red) but, it drifts to the left. Took it back to have alignment checked and repaired, was out of specs. But now still drifts to the left but not as bad and seems to do it only/mostly when accelerating. Will change lane in 1/4 mile. Dealer stated that its due to the front wheel drive "torque"?? Awaiting meeting with factory rep. This is not one that falls in the recall for steering column problems. Thats why I gave it a 6 in "fun to drive"
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Super Car! (just avoid the dealer!) - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
By Promyntheus - September 18 - 4:50 pmTest drove both the RX-8 and the 05 Mustang. MUCH more room inside than the Mustang, cool sporty looks like the RX- 8, better Warranty than both! Better value than both RX-8 or Mustang! I wager I get more questions about what kinda car the Tiburon is than I would driving an "everyone-knows-car" mustang (ho-hum) and the RX-8 which resembles most of the other Mazada models... Want a head-turner for low cost? This is the one youve been looking for!
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First SUV Fun - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
By Norm - September 18 - 9:10 amAfter test driving around 10 other SUVs my top choice was the Santa Fe. We tend to be a low mileage family (currently our 2002 Grand Caravan just turned 40,000), I was looking at something that I plan to drive into the ground. I needed a vehicle to haul our young children and my fishing tackle. So many aspects drew me to the Santa Fe. I would recommend this to anyone.
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Love it! - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
By amyhobbit - September 17 - 12:06 pmI absolutely love this car. I owned a 2000 Hyundai Elantra until I literally killed it. I didnt like the look of the new Elantras so I looked at the Sonata. I LOVE it. Its safe, reliable, beautiful to look at... I cant say enough good things about this car. I put 4500 miles on it in 3 months. The XM is a lifesaver in traffic (I live in DC). I really cant explain how safe I feel in this car. The warranty is fabulous. We go on a lot of road trips and the new car hasnt let us down yet. Its roomy enough for me, my boyfriend, the cello and the great dane.
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like my santa fe - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
By kim - September 16 - 6:56 pmI looked at several crossover suvs as well as conventional suvs and found the Santa Fe to be reasonably priced and the right size for my family of 3.
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I love my XG350 - 2002 Hyundai XG350
By Colleen - September 16 - 2:43 pmEven though my car is now 7 years old - i still have people asking me about it. Most are surprised it is as old as it as and a Hyundai. I like the classiness of only 1 area on the car that tells what it is .I dont know about fuel economy. I believe if you cant afford fuel you shouldnt be driving the car. Biggest expense has been tires - Im hard on tires on any car. I have aftermarket wheels and low profile tires - Car looks great. Should be worth more in secondary market but Hyundai still hasnt recovered there & should have . My friends with other imports do/did not have the same reliability, low maintenance costs .Id buy another .
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Tiburon GT - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
By Daniel J. - September 16 - 2:00 amI bought the Tiburon because of the looks and the warranty. I used to own a Hyundai Sonata 3.0 and was very pleased. Before buying the Hyundais I owned 5 new US made cars and always had to return to the shop for warranty issues, not with the Hyundais. The only time I go there is for the oil changes. Even that isnt expensive. Ill buy a Hyundai again!
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The Best Car Ever!! - 2004 Hyundai XG350
By Cora - September 16 - 2:00 amI looked for a long time to find the right car. I wanted style, comfort, luxury, price, and a warranty that is exceptional. I feel that I recieved everything that I was looking for and then some. I am a tough critic when it comes to cars. I want a car that I cannot get bored with and that will look fantastic for a long time. A car that makes you feel good. I know that with my 2003 Hyundai XG350XL, I have the best.
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