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 1541 through 1550 of 13,764.00-
AWESOME CAR!!! - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
By Michelle R. - February 2 - 4:59 pmI really love this car. My Fiancee bought me the car as a present to replace my old Nissan Altima. It has plenty of room for our kids. Is great on mileage and the sun roof is a lot of fun on sunny days in Florida. I would recommend the car to anyone!
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Good choice - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
By VadimZ - February 2 - 10:00 amWe love our Santa Fe. We owned for a year and are very happy about it. Its roomy, its stylish, its very cozy with all those pockets, cupholders and such. It works out nicely if you have a kid or two. They love it because they can actually see whats going on around. Control panel is convenient as well as the Shiftronic thing. Brakes are excellent, it handles pretty nicely.
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A great car!!! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
By Candra - February 2 - 10:00 amI love my Tiburon, it wasnt made for big people to sit in the back but its fun to drive and I love the exterior design!!! I have bno complaints about my car!!!
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four and counting - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
By redswd - February 2 - 5:23 amThis is my fourth Hyundai and my third Sonata and they just keep getting better and better. the new 4 cyl. has plenty of power but does its business without harshness or excessive noise. Ride quality has improved noticeably and road and wind noise levels have improved. Havent had it long enough to log my mpg. Will come back when thats sorted out. The exterior changes this year are minimal and add only a little to the already pleasant design. This cars forte is the new interior. Beautiful, quiet, comfortable, spacious about sums it up. Kudos to whoever designs their interiors!
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What a surprise! - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
By Carol - February 2 - 3:26 amI live in NY. Fearing my husbands safety after 9-11, we bought this vehicle (a 2002)so he could commute the 120 miles each day to NYC. Driving the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and the Long Island Expressway everyday is test enough for any cars reliablity. With 100,007 miles (and going) we have never had one problem with this vehicle, not even a flat tire. We just change the oil every 3000 miles. It has all the extra features to keep you comfortable on a long commute. It is a great weekend get away car. You can fit most anything in the back. Its easy to park tight spaces and works well on our shopping trips in lower Manhattan. I recommend this car to everyone. I am planning to buy a new one.
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GREAT - 2005 Hyundai XG350
By Bob - February 1 - 10:13 pmI purchased the vehicle because of the LOOKS.. This is my third Hyundai but first 300+ One of the best vehicles ever purchased.
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Great price for what you get! - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
By Gage - February 1 - 4:15 pmIt may not be the biggest but Im 64 and bigger kind of guy but I fit in it comfortably. As far as behind me goes not to bad nothing lounge like but good enough. For the price of the value edition you cant beat it. Drives great looks great. Havent been in it to long but so far so good
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The Next Best Thing to a Civic - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
By Ramon H. Herron - January 31 - 2:01 pmThis car was a very good buy got it for 2700 fully loaded sunroof, cd player, check this even had an viper security system. I had no Major problem out of this car just regular stuff brakes, oil, tune up car has over 190,000 plus on it car still get me to and from work. A very good car is u keep it up. Tip please have u timing chain and water pump replaced at 100k
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Best buy of my life - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
By Spiritdragon87 - January 31 - 7:23 amIve owned this car for awhile now, and I must say, this is probably the best vehicle ive purchased to date. Its reliability is stupendous, and the car is most fun when you find yourself on a twisty road and youve got the 6- speed manual to play with. I have to say my only complaint is the clutch, but a few bucks will take care of that problem. All in all, this is my new favorite car.
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My Hyundai - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
By lorilynn - January 30 - 9:40 amI never expected to own or love a Hyundai, but this is not the same Hyundai of yesteryear. I LOVE THIS CAR! When I drive, I feel like Im in my own little piece of heaven. The engine is so quiet, the controls are easy and dont require a manual to figure out. The interior and trunk are way more roomier than they have any right to be.
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