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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  Looks good but.... - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By levadaeller - September 17 - 10:26 pm

  My XG350L seems to have a transmission problem which the dealership cannot fix and the manufacturer is unwilling to allow replacement parts. It drives great most of the time, but occasionally and without warning has no power on startup, almost as though it is not in gear. It looks great both inside and out. Hyundai has done a good job with design and features, if they can just get over the continuing transmission difficulties they will have a competitor at the top of the mid- size car category which looks and feels like a much more expensive automobile.

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  Solid choice for the money - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Dan - September 17 - 9:50 pm

  Hyundai is obviously not Toyota or Honda..that being said the Santa Fe is our third Hyundai SUV and we have never had major issues with any of them. The ride in this SUV is by far the quietest and most comfortable of other SUVs in ITS PRICE RANGE. We also have a 2008 CRV and the Santa Fe is a much better pic for highway travel. Gas mileage on the other hand has not improved from our older Santa Fe. I consistently get 21mpg mixed driving. You will not get 24mpg on a tank,ever. On a road trip I managed 23mpg going 70mph. Our AWD CRV averages 25mpg...then again its lighter and a 4cyl. Fit and finish is great; front seat is not good for tall drivers..but acceptable. Trade-in is terrible

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  Great car - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Happy Owner - September 17 - 8:37 pm

  After 6 Months of research I bought it. Has tech pkg. Quite, solid, fast, head turner, comfort. I have no complaints about the ride.People has mistaken it for a MB, Lexus, Bentley. Would be nice if the cd player was also a automatic changer. But the XM is great.

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  Great Ride, awesome car! - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By EM - September 17 - 4:30 pm

  I love my Tiburon. It rides smooth and handles like a dream. The moonroof and Infiniti sound system is great and I love the interior . It is sharp from the outside too. The only thing is that I wish the seats were more comfortable, but I guess you have to expect that in a sporty coupe! Great value for what you are getting. A+ satisfaction

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  Love it! Its like my baby - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By Pam - September 16 - 2:00 pm

  This car is a blast to drive. I bought it used with 116k miles, have had it for 3 years and its still going strong. Only a few maintenance issues here and there but can make long distant drives fine with higher miles! Although my car does not have a rpm gauge on the dash, I learned to drive it by ear. Its my baby and i love it so much!

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  “Solid mid-size contender for commuting” - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By gregg2707 - September 16 - 1:21 pm

  If you want to buy a good car for daily commuting, you can’t do much better than this Sonata. Reliable, fuel efficient and pretty cheap to operate makes this an easy choice. We bought this car new in 2012 and currently have just over 62000 miles on it. This is the base GLS with only 3 options - most if not all of the important features you need are standard. Id recommend this Sonata to anyone needing a good, reliable, commuter car. Build quality is excellent and has been a very reliable, inexpensive car to operate. Only one warranty repair has been needed in 62000 miles and that was for a faulty cruise control switch which was repaired under warranty.

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  best yet - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dave smith - September 16 - 6:46 am

  it`s all we ever wanted in a car and more the more we drive it the better we like it. we get about 25 mpg hwy! I also have a pickup is the reason for the low milage. all i can say is its a good auto!!!

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  Over-rated - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Stapleford - September 15 - 6:45 pm

  My 08 has several issues, and all seem common with my fellow owner. Loose molding strips, a failed oxygen sensor, failed tire pressure lights. The warranty is attractive, but read the small print, I was disappointed with a transmission issue. This car looks nice but is sluggish around 30- 40mph. It really should not be compared to a Accord or Camry,, unless of course you can measure intangible issues with the cost savings. It does not have the re-sale value associated with Japanese vehicles.

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  try it, youll like it - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Nance - September 15 - 3:50 pm

  smooth, comfortable, quiet, great price to add to the competition. Test drove Toyota Matrix, Honda Fit (owned), NO comparison. Display layout easy use and read, radio great. Very stable feeling on the road. When doors get shut, they sound solid. Not a cheap feel. Easy to get in and out of. Completely sold on first test drive. Very enjoyable, looking forward to driving every day. Been getting very good gas mileage--avg. 33-34 breaking in miles, driving hills and town.

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  hyundai tiburon review - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By reece - September 15 - 2:00 am

  Runs great and fun to drive. However, pulls to the side when hitting a bump or pothole. Very bad in snow. In snow and sleet, drives like a rear wheel drive or does not go at all. great summer time car. fast and sporty!