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 - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By RSurber - August 13 - 10:27 pm

  I have had this car for 5 years and its still running great. I have driven it from AZ to CO twice and have not had a problem with it. I use it as a commuter car now because it is soo great on gas.

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  Great car - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tom Brossart - August 13 - 1:10 am

  Very nice car for the money. Handles and rides nicely. The transmission shifts slowly from reverse to drive, and is kind of jerky in the process. It also surges when accelerating from a low speed. Also the glove box rattles. Other than that, it seems to be a great car. Got backed into by another car while mine was parked, so I am driving a Toyota Camry rental while my Sonata is being repaired. They are very similar cars, but I like the ride and handling of the Hyundai Sonata better than the Camry, and its easier to get into and out of as well.

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  Good but not a great car - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Good Value for the $ - August 12 - 9:10 pm

  I have owned my Hyundai Sonata for only two weeks and have approximately 600 miles on it. My overall impression thus far is that itÂ’s a good car, not great, and itÂ’s not up to the overall standard of the Camry in some important respects. Right off the showroom floor the ride is stiff and I feel every bump in the road. If you run over a penny at any speed you can call it heads or tails from the road feel through the steering. This has been the major disappointment. The first tank of gas I got 29 mpg. There is a slight transmission hesitation on the acceleration. In nearly 40 years of driving, the lowest mileage life I had was 125K. I do not believe this one will make it to 100K.

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  New Santa Fe huge improvement over previous model - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By twhouston - August 11 - 11:04 pm

  I traded in my 2010 Santa Fe Limited for a 2013 GLS with AWD. I would have like to have gone for the Limited but I wanted 7 seats, and not 6. So far, I have to say that for the most part, the vehicle is much improved. The exterior is much more handsome, although you lose a little rear visibility. The interior is vastly improved, with much more comfortable seats, higher material quality, and hugely improved instrumentation and controls. Most noticeable is the improved quietness of the car, and the vastly improved ride quality. In the older version, you would feel a big jolt over minor potholes. The new one adsorbs the impact so that they are barely perceptible.

• 

  good for the money - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Victoria Blacher - August 10 - 1:56 pm

  I did a lot of research on this car and its competitors. My objectives were to replace my 1995 Camry with something similar in size, miles per gallon, and price. I felt that the Sonata was the best deal out there. It had many standard features that were options with similar cars. I am enjoying driving this car, but I am not satisfied with the mpg rates I am getting. For a combined city/highway driving, I am averaging only about 18-19 mpg. I thought that buying a 4 cyl. I would be doing better with the gas. It is also rather noisy on the freeway. I also find the trunk very heavy to lift. Regardless, I am enjoying the solid feel, the radio, and the overall maneuverability

• 

  1+ years later... - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Randy - August 9 - 9:36 pm

  Ive now had my SE-V6 for a year and a half and clocked just over 23,000 miles. Im still happy with it, no problems whatsoever (mechanical, body, or electrical). I read others have had problems. Did I just get lucky? I average 21mpg in the city and 32-33 on the highway (mostly 70-75mph); I really like the fact that I can travel over 500 miles on the freeway on one tank (made it from Las Vegas to Stockton, well over 500 miles).

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  Good car - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By jl - August 9 - 12:31 pm

  Seems to be a good little car. very good on the gas. runs well and can move when needed, with a manual transmission.

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  Solid Economy Car for not a lot of $$$ - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Casenickles - August 9 - 1:03 am

  Just buy one already ! Great economy car. Fun to drive character, good ergonomics inside, and most notably great passing power on the highway. One month so far and Ive put it through the paces and it does great. If you can afford it get the Honda Civic but buying the Accent will save you between 2-4k easy +Interest. Transmission shifts much better than I had anticipated and DOES NOT HUNT FOR GEARS. Hill climbing so far has been easy. City mileage could be better, running about 22 right now. Trunk is large for this size car. Hyundai has really come into the market with products that are 80% as good as Honda and Toyota and cost less. Interior is bland but nice.

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  A few returns service - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By Kweez - August 8 - 2:00 am

  Have friend with XG300 that liked car. Tried XG350L and liked car. Had a few problems with car. Tranny went out at 30,000, dealer replaced. Took a couple of weeks, did get a new Sonata for loaner. Have had some problems with check engine and air bag lights comming on for a couple of days, then go off. Always seems to happen before I can get into dealer. Service manager at dealership has been very helpfull and good to deal with.

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  A Slightly Above Average Car - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By STELLAVJ - August 8 - 2:00 am

  So far so good. Very reliable and comfortable.