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 value - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By boomer - September 11 - 11:26 pm

  This is the 3rd Hyundai I have owned since 1999. The first 2 were great cars. I got the GLS 4 cylinder with the 5 speed manual trans. Even though this is the cheapest model it still comes with all the safety features as standard. The car drives great, quiet and smooth. Very comfortable and roomy. I am getting 32 MPG with this car, I guess the 5 speed helps here. I averaged 35 MPG with my much smaller Elantra. This is excellent economy for such a large car. Pretty quick for a four cylinder too. I love the stereo, burned a CD with 125 MP3s and the stereo played them perfectly. Just a great value in a mid size car.

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  Smart Choice - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Andrew - September 11 - 4:46 pm

  If american car makers tried as hard as hyundai to win over buyers they wouldnt be in the mess they are in now.I have bought american cars for 25 years. Not anymore. Poor reliability and high cost to maintain finally forced me to look elsewhere. I did my research and found a winner in the sonata. Excellent value! Great warranty and quality workmanship. The car has a smooth and quiet ride, handles nicely and the V-6 with the shiftronic transmision makes it fun to drive. I dont think you can find a better car for the money.

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  Great Value - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By kevperro - September 11 - 10:36 am

  Ive only 1000 miles on her but Im extremely happy with the car. It isnt a fast car but feels very well built, is fun to drive and is extremely high-value. I drove all the competition and liked the Accent for both the interior layout, quality feel, conservative design and price. It was a good $4500 cheaper than the Honda Fit. Gas mileage was 36 MPG on first tank with mostly highway driving. In town driving on 2nd tank was down around 31 MPG. That could improve with break-in, airing up the tires and synthetic oil. Overall Im pleased with the purchase. Hyundai has made incredible strides in quality. Fit/finish is as good or better than the Japanese cars.

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  Tuscon - Another Western Winner - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Carlloyd - September 11 - 2:10 am

  The only thing missing on this vehicle is a lighted mirror in the sun visor. It has everything else. OK, I am a little tall so an extra two inches of leg room would be nice. But I still love to drive it.

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  Love it - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Elantra Lover - September 10 - 4:11 pm

  I was a skeptic, man was I wrong, this car is the best. I have owned many cars from ford mustang & probes to crysler sebring convertibles to Grand Prixs w/ turbo boost. This is by far my favorite. Great handling and wonderful gas mileage. Tank was full with 12 miles when I got it now at 54 miles the needle just fell below the full line!!!!!!!!!!!!! Smooth driving with nice big front window, the car handles like a dream!

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  Excellent Ride - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Barb - September 10 - 10:24 am

  This car has a 3.8 24valve overhead engine. We have kept the display for mileage on over a 3,000 mile period of time and have averaged 27.9 mi per gal. The space for hauling is amazing. We hauled two oak doors in it with the back seats folded down. It has lots of snap, very easy to handle, great to see out of and a very comfortable ride with great lumbar support. Love it.

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  Tuscon is a good buy - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Joe - September 10 - 12:23 am

  The Tuscon is a well designed SUV. Good safety features such as Electronic Stability, and Air Bags all around. In 2 wheel mode power will transfer to the rear if the front tires slip. A button puts the car in full time 4 whl drive. The car calls for regular gas however I find that it is more peppy with premium. Handles great on and off the highway. Handles great at high speeds; road noise low. Rear seats fold flat along with the front passenger seat. Can handle an 8 ft piece of lumber with the seats down. Excellent sound system. Only negative thing to say is gas mileage. I get 14 to 15 locally and 20 on the highway. The more heavy footed you are the worse your mileage will be.

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  Great car! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By psmithr - September 9 - 10:28 pm

  We have been driving 06 Azera for about a year and half and have been extremely pleased with the quality of ride. So impressed were we that when we wanted to buy an SUV (had a baby) we immediately bought a Veracruz LTD AWD. This car has more features, bells and whistles than other brands for a far lesser price. We strongly recommend Azera for anyone looking for a mid-full size sedan.

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  alot of car for the money - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By speachless90 - September 9 - 2:00 am

  i love my car, gets great mph, handles great, ill buy another one when my warranty is up

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  I love my Tiburon - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Karla111 - September 9 - 2:00 am

  The tiburon is a cute, reliable, and fun car. The inside is very small and may be a problem for a tall person. Im only 52", so its fine for me. The only thing that bugs me about the car is that the washer fluid does not spray high enough. Other than that I love it.