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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  2012 Tucson Limited FWD - 2012 Hyundai TUCSON
  By psanning - May 10 - 3:15 pm

  Owned for 7 months, have racked up 14000 miles. As weather conditions vary in central Midwest, its handled well in snow. Safety features, quality all positives. Just returned from 3500 mile driving vacation, avgd 29.7 mpg - included interestate, local hwy and city driving. We were very pleased with performance & comfort. Suspension would be a bit better (for Arizona hwy driving--roads stink) and some road noise but not so bad as to want to trade. Yes, there are blindside issues but Ive gotten use to them & have adjusted. At purchase, very few colors available - mostly all dark - I couldnt get my 1st or 2nd color choice.

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  Proud Genesis Owner - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By rbnesp1993 - May 10 - 1:33 pm

  After previously owning 2 mustangs, I am a believer, this auto can do it all. The 4 with the turbo can get up and go, never thought I would own another Hyundai, but this car is tight, quality interior accessories, quality in all aspects. If you can purchase this vehicle, you will be surprised, better yet, just take one out for a test drive, apply the throttle, hello.

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  Trip odometer resets - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Ray - May 10 - 10:00 am

  Someone wrote a review about their 2009 Azera having problems with trip odometer resetting. Check the battery connections. Mine was slighly loose. Enough, however to cause this problem. Just came back on 700 mile trip running 70 mph with air & traffic. I got 28.4 mpg.

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  2003 Sonata GLS AT - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By TW3 - May 10 - 2:00 am

  Really big bang for the buck! Features and warranty far in excess of Japanese comparatives. I have been a Honda and Mitsubishi motorist for years, but this Hyundai exceeds all expectations. Very pleased with preliminary performance.

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  Still in love 2 years later - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By linlin016 - May 9 - 8:59 pm

  I bought my 2013 Santa Fe Sport in August of 2012. I was the second person in Kentucky to own this model. Anyway, Ive hard my Santa Fe for nearly two years now and I still love it! I have taken my car to Florida on three trips (1400 miles round trip), I do a lot of driving in town, and take weekend trips in it. I havent had a single problem with my car and now have over 25,000 miles on the odometer. The interior still looks like new, the paint still looks new, and the cabin is extremely quiet, even at high rates of speed. If I had it to do over, I would definitely buy this Santa Fe Sport again.

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  Remarkable Car for the Price - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By rachmaninov1 - May 9 - 1:33 pm

  Ive driven the Elantra SE Auto 500 miles since purchase two weeks ago. Steering on my unit is responsive and well-balanced, yet several units I test-drove had what felt like over-responsiveness to steering wheel movement. City ride is comfortable; minor bumps feel like minor bumps. Highway ride is comfortable too; easy to hit 70mph without feeling any loss of control. No difference in performance between wet and dry roads. Acceleration is adequate for ordinary highway merge, but is definitely geared towards fuel economy rather than fun. However, I did need to gun it once, and boy did it respond. Braking is smooth, although I have not needed to stop short. Avg. 29.9mpg in 50/50.

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  Great value! - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Raymond Soluri - May 9 - 3:36 am

  I love the look of the new Tucson! But I dont spend that kind of money for looks alone. I really like great in cabin tech. I thought Android Auto was going to be available from the start. Turns out theres a delay in the upgrade. The voice command system is horrifically slow. I think Android Auto or Apple Car play will do wonders for the system. The Nav is great but youll want to type in the destination rather than use the voice command. The 8" touch screen is very responsive & youll feel just like youre using your phone or tablet. The rear camera, back-up sensors, blind spot & lane departure are awesome! The interior materials are great (Limited edition/Ultimate package). Now the dual clutch transmission. This is going to be tough to get used to. It has a significant hesitation from a dead stand still. I find myself "2 footing" when I need to jump into traffic from a complete stop. (Left foot on the brake & give it a little rev) Its much better than any CVT Ive ever driven (I really hate those) but I would have preferred a traditional transmission. The auto stick is awesome & Ill use that when I need to jump off a line as well. Backing up at low speeds will sometimes cause the car to "lurch". Not sure why that happens but when backing into my garage I have to "2 foot" it again. Overall Im very happy with the purchase & Im looking forward to the Android Auto update.

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  Very nice car - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Corey - May 8 - 8:36 am

  This is only the thrid day I have owned this car. Very nice all around. The touring tires seem to ride the ridges on the freeway. Cliamate control works well. Wish it had a pwr tilt wheel. Love the no framed door windows. Got about 22MPG on the first tank. Can here something vibrating lightly somewhere in the back. I have owned two other hyundais and have loved the reliability. Now that I needed a lux car for my job, glad to see that hyundai can still service my needs. I can get 4% below invoice on a new ford, but still went for the hyundai due to the great warranty and the fact I can rely on it every day, sad to say about an american car, even thought we all live here. wtg hyundai!

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  A lot of Value at a Very Reasonable Cost - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By Edward - May 7 - 7:43 pm

  We test drove several other popular cars and didnt expect the Accent to be the one we choose, but one test drive and we were sold. We wanted a fuel efficient car that would last well beyond the payments and this one was certainly a consideration for us. We wanted a car that was quiet and comfortable to drive. With a seat height that is higher than the competitions and very surprisingly fun to drive handling characteristics, this was the one liked the most.

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  Great Car - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Knight - May 7 - 3:09 pm

  Really enjoy the Elantra and it is a much better value than the overpriced Corolla or Civic. The SE comes with almost everything you could ask for, while on the Toyota or Civic, so much is optional. When you add the options that the Elantra has standard, the price easily exceeds 20k! As for the comments about the wheel wells and mud guards. Well, the Elantra is not a 4X4 all terrain vehicle. If you want a car for gravel and other off pavement environments, you should have gotten the Santa Fe.