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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  A foreign car that does not stink!! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Buster Brown - September 28 - 1:19 am

  I bought this car because it was the nicest cheapest thing I could afford. So far it has been both nice and cheap. The paint scratches and chips easily and a new ashtray costs $90! Runs well...very reliable...no problems. I pile miles on my car... on beat on it vicously delivering pizzas! 60000 miles in 2 years. Great commuter car. affordable. No major mechanical problems...if regularly maintained. Great Car Great Price! Buy One! While you are at it buy me a new one!

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  Great Commuter Car - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By skierx420 - September 26 - 8:15 pm

  My wife and I purchased a 2003 Hyundai Accent base 2 dr. This car is a stripper. It was exactly what we wanted. 2 dr 5 speed. It has a radio and AC. Thats it. This car gets excellent fuel economy. We drive in rual Iowa. This car does well in the snow. We average over 20k miles a year because of our 50+ mile commute. The thing that this car lacks is power at low rpms. Rev it up and it has lots of pep. Hyundai makes use of all the available space and can seat 4 adults in reasonable comfort. The 5 speed makes this car a fun drive. This is my first foreign car and I am impressed with the build quality and the ease of maintaining it. My other car is a full size 89 Dodge RamCharger 4x4.

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  fun to drive - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By frogsocks - September 26 - 10:00 am

  i think this suv is a great ride it has good speed and looks cool

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  Love Our Hyundai - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By KLSMES - September 26 - 10:00 am

  We were anti-suv because of the poor gas mileage. However, we needed a vehicle that could fit three medium sized teenagers in the back seat that wasnt a station wagon. The Santa Fe does that with amazing comfort, great interior and a beautiful look. The 100,000 10-year warranty cant be beat. Would love a little better gas mileage but its over 20--better than lots of other vehicles. We love it.

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  the hyundai experience - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Ameyer - September 26 - 10:00 am

  So far Great. It is a comfortable quiet ride with awesome pick up. It is not too big and not too small and the kids have so much room in the back. The DVD player in the headrests is so cool with the cordless headphones. The woodgrain that was installed just makes the car look so rich. Ive had lots of great comments about how great it looks. Mine is white and silver.

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  My very first Hyundai - 2013 Hyundai Veloster
  By sfcrod - September 25 - 8:57 pm

  I was looking for on a car: gas efficient (35mpg +), gasoline engine, no turbo, comfortable for 70 miles commute, daytime driving lights, auto on/off headlights, Bluetooth/music streaming with good sound, manual transmission, good warranty, affordable insurance, a different look and most important, a total package for the price. Tested several 2013 models in 4-door and 5-door configurations from all different auto companies; some great, and others not so. I wanted something different. Just when I was about to give up on my search, my wife suggested to test a Hyundai. I have several friends who own them, heard all the good and bad things about it, and yet never consider driving one myself.

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  Cant get into my car - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By E F - September 24 - 6:36 pm

  Two of my door handles just fell off in a one month period, rear driver side and front passenger doors, pretty soon I wont be able to enter my car. Hyundai told me get it fixed and they will decide if or what they will pay after I submit the receipt. This is a quality of material and workmanship issue. I have a 2010 sonata, until this I was extremely satisfied with my vehicle. Not very happy with their customer service.

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  Love my new Tucson - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Michelle Silva - September 24 - 10:00 am

  I love my Tucson. I is very comfortable, have many features, very easy to control the Ipod, radio, etc The gas mileage is not as good as I expected, 22 MPG average and I mostly drive on the highway.

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  Genesis has issues to deal with... - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Darryl Rabideau - September 23 - 10:53 am

  After three months, I have found the Genesis to be unstable when driving in medium to strong wind, The steering wheel feedback from the highway is to severe and not acceptable, the manual trunk lid operation to be cheap and unacceptable, the lack of electrical front passenger seat settings to be unacceptable. I continue to study the driver services and reserve any comments on that part at this time. It is the items mentioned above that upset me as an owner and I find it unacceptable engineering for such a car Hyundai hopes to use in competition with BMW, Mercedes and Lexus.

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  Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By selena s whitfield - September 20 - 2:00 am

  jerking transmission, shut off on me as I was driving.