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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  Great car, needs a little more power - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By OneHottTibbyGT - November 22 - 10:00 am

  The Tiburon is one of the best looking cars on the road today. The only thing it lacks is the power to go with the very sporty styling. Dont get me wrong the car does have power but, it cant match up to some of the other cars on the road today. If only it came with a supercharged model. I think that would put them over the top.

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  Best all around ! - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By ManuelH - November 22 - 10:00 am

  This is the BEST value I have ever seen! For around 14K you get Leather, Aluminun Rims, Side Airbags, CD/MP3, Disk Brakes, Sport Suspension, hallogen, computer trip, cruise control, power everything (but seats), 5 doors, good looking.... Then top that with a crazy 10 year warranty ...One more thing 5 years roadside assist. Can any one come out with something even close to this without looking at 18K? ....NOOOO.

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  Excellent vehicle - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By beccaboo - November 22 - 10:00 am

  Ive only had my Sonata for 2 days and Im loving it already. I loved it as soon as I saw it. Its very sleek and stylish. I love the colors and everything about it. This is my first purchase of a brand new vehicle and I couldnt be happier. Thank you.

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  Love my Azera Limited - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Donna - November 22 - 9:31 am

  In the past I have purchased/driven Honda Accords, Toyota Avalon, VW Passat, Mazda 6 but this Hyundai Azera is the best car I have had yet. A friend who has a new Cadillac STS drove my Azera and could not believe how much it was like his Cadillac. I call the Azera my poor mans Cadillac. Drives wonderful in the snow and ice (good tires). Current mileage at 11,000 miles is 19.6 mpg. But it runs great on regular unleaded, saving me the cost of premium fuel. A few bad paint spots, paint seems soft. But beautiful gold color, etc. No problems at all. Purchased with Ultimate package.

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  First time foreign, 8k mi in and good! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By fatjake - November 21 - 11:34 pm

  Purchased an 2008 Elantra GLS with a 5 speed and the popular equip package for low $15k in July 2008. So far I LOVE it. Before this I was a strict 80s GM boat guy. This car is much quicker than I would have expected, and my MPG has been between 29-36mpg per tank. I am very happy, and I cant stress how much fun the car is to drive. The interior is more roomy than you would think from the outside and the back seat is more than sufficient. All around, I am very impressed with the quality of design in this car. I feel that Hyundai may be entering the realm that Toyota and Honda entered in the early 90s. Give it another few years and these cars will have the reputation they deserve!

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  Love this car - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mike Quinlan - November 21 - 5:04 pm

  Excellent vehicle,,smooth ride

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  Not One of Those Old Hyundais - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By CarLvr98 - November 21 - 6:40 am

  I Love This Car. If Hyundai werent on this car, you would have no idea. I Have to say, i traded in my 04 Maxima for this car, and the azera is way faster and more responsive, and quieter! It shifts smooth, i remember testing the Kia Amanti, and i thought it was nice, but no comparison to the Azera. My Very First car was a 1994 Hyundai Elantra, and it started to make noises a few days after i bought it, but not with this car. Ive only had this car about 20 days, and it already has 3694 miles on it and no problems or noises.

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  Wow, nice car for the price! - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Seely - November 20 - 1:32 pm

  Back in 2001, after a hail storm hit, we were looking for a new car. We decided to look around, and noticed Holmes (the dealer we bought from) had discounts on cars on the lot due to hail damage. Of course, we managed to get it new for 9,572 dollars due to hail damage, and a little persuasion. Love it. The only Major problem weve had was a broken thermometer. It does get a little noisy on the inside. Its 2.0 i4 gets enough Punch, and still returns good mileage. Nice exterior styling, however, the interior was slightly drab, but not too bad. Nice trunk space, and a locking gas door. Inside trunk handle is Nice. Trunk room is fantastic, and the reliability wont disappoint.

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  Santa Fe more than Okay - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By KC - November 20 - 10:50 am

  Excellent value for the money. Fun to drive, has excellent "eye appeal" and a fantastic warranty. The LX package with the 3.5L is worth the extra money.

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  Great Car - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By VLH - November 20 - 10:08 am

  First new (used) car I ever had. I travel 28 mi a day to/from work and have only used 1/2 tank of gas! Just sold a loaded Lincoln and dont miss the luxuries as the Sonata has the most important features for pleasure, elect.windows, and cd/radio.comfortable, roomy interior,sleek looks, less elect.gadgets to worry about and cont.warranty bumper to bumper. Wanted a Camry, got an equal and saved a lot!