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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  Id recommend Hyundai - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By dwhawtho - March 11 - 7:56 pm

  Very dependable and peppy - great interior features design. If the Santa Fe would have had better styling at the time, I would have enjoyed the extra cargo space. But, this has been a great vehicle to date!

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  great small car! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By sts7049 - March 11 - 10:20 am

  I was skeptical about buying a Hyundai at first based on past reputation, but Im definitely sold on them now. Great amount of features for the price you pay. The manual transmission makes it fairly sporty to drive, and Im averaging a solid 30 mpg in mixed driving. Plenty of room on the inside, spacious trunk. Have only had one minor issue that was fixed quickly under warranty, other than that no problems whatsoever. My only other minor complaint is I wish the gearing was such that the rpms on the freeway would come down a bit - at 70 mph its at about 3000 rpm, which is a tad noisy. Its not bothersome though.

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  Sharp, sleek, fun - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Easy E - March 11 - 10:00 am

  The 2004 hyundai Tiburon is nothing but fun. With a sporty six seed V6, you can expect to leave the competition in the dust. After closely shopping around it was between 2 cars, the RSX and Tiburon and I found my self likeing everything the Tiburon has to offer.

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  This car Rocks! - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Frank R B. - March 11 - 5:05 am

  This car is the bomb. The 3.3 Liter power plant supplys more horse power than my old 74 Dodge Dart did and it had a 360cid engine. My Sonata has only been in the shop once, and that was for a warranty replacement of a head light. Its close to the 40,000 mile mark and still feels like new, the tires show little wear, and the leather seats make it smell like a new car every time I get in. Cant say enough good things about this car.

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  I have had 3 elantras - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Debbie - March 10 - 4:30 am

  This is our 3rd Elantra. We also own a Sonata. We love our Hyundais. I recommend the 5 speed. This car is the best in its class for quality, price and overall performance. We love it!!!

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  Value! - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Chris - March 10 - 1:06 am

  I bought this car because my previous vehicle, a 2000 Ford Focus was totalled in a flood. I was going to test drive the Elantra back when I bought the Ford and should have! Though I havent had this car for long, its already so much better then the Focus. As far as handling is concerned, the Ford has this car beat, but thats about it. I dont know of any other car with leather, sunroof, abs, traction control, etc. for the price. Definitely check this car out.

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  Love my Santa Fe - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Love my Santa Fe! - March 9 - 6:33 pm

  Did a lot of research and comparison shopping before purchasing our Santa Fe. So far, we just love it. It handles great (have driven in snow, on ice, on highway, heavy traffic, etc.), and it is fun to drive. The small turning radius is better than any other car I have driven. I was skeptical about buying a Hyundai, but am extremely happy with my decision. Gas mileage is better than advertised. It has good power and feels very safe.

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  Better then expected - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By mirecku - March 9 - 1:34 pm

  Bought new in 2005 equipped with abs/tcs and 5m. 70,000 miles at this time with no Major problems. Been twice in small accidents, repaired fast and inexpensive. Stereo and speakers not good enough for me, but not really bad. We drive the car mostly in suburban areas in upstate NY averaging 26-29 mpg, 32-38 mpg highways, depending on a drivestyle. Traction control combined with winter tires makes car driveable even during big snowstorms, no problems with snow so far. Also very good for long trips, seats are comfortable, driver`s with lumbar support, armrest in good position, roomy in back seats. Almost no rattles, over 3000 rpm you can hear the engine more, aerodynamic noise is low, good for money

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  Great car, great price! - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By maple - March 9 - 10:00 am

  After doing a lot of research, I decided that the Touring was the car for me. I wanted a hatchback, and I wasnt happy with what was on the market (except possibly the Mazda 3). This car fit the bill - its roomy, comfortable, reliable, gets great gas mileage and versatile! Not to mention the very reasonable price tag! I got a manual transmission, so its pretty fun to drive, too.

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  Decent Car - 2007 should be better - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By DC - March 9 - 5:20 am

  This is overall a great car. I have strangers talking to me about it all the time. Its very sharp. Great power and ride. The amenities for a vehicle in this price range are fantastic, heated seats, 6 air bags, heated mirrors, ESC, great stereo, huge trunk, very roomy, nice ride.