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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  Incredible car for the money - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By MS1 - August 24 - 9:47 pm

  Have had mine for only 3 weeks but I am loving this car. I am constantly being stopped in the parking lot to find out what kind of car it is. It is roomy, powerful, and luxurious. I drove Lexus E350, Infiniti M35, BMW 535 and this. Bought the Hyundai the next week and have no regrets. It stands out in the crowd of those cars on the road and is much less expensive. The ride quality is excellent in my opinion. I ride normal roads, some good and some bad, but I dont see where people are coming from in saying the ride quality is bad. This is a helluva car.

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  great car for the money - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By pleased buyer - August 24 - 8:16 pm

  Being a retired senior I wanted a reliable, well built and comfortable sedan with decent gas mileage. Why spend thousands more for Accord or Camry when Hyundai offers more for less! Gas mileage is 23 mpg Urban driving and 32 hwy. Car looks good drives better and is very quiet inside. Couldnt be happier. Absolutely "0" problems in 9000 miles.

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  Excellent SUV all around - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Pauline - August 24 - 4:00 pm

  Have owned it for 15 months now and it has proven reliable, economic, and comfortable. I get 20 miles in the city and 26 hwy. It responds well to curves, acceleration, driving in the rain and wind, no sways. View out the windows is excellent with one flaw, the driver windshield/dashboard frame width along with wide mirror factor, which you have to move head several times to make sure you are not missing a car or pedestrian! VG heating and cooling, and door compartments and dash cubbies and armrest cubbies prevent clutter well. Nice dash lighting at night. Tiltable steering wheel and ease of locking in. Lights in cargo, passenger,even door side lights. Wonderful suv for the price and warranty

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  Excellent value & quality for the money - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Ellen Clark - August 23 - 3:19 pm

  Good daily driver that is also good highway traveler. SHIFTRONIC transmission make driving in mountains of Colorado and Utah a pleasure and prevents overheating brakes. Engine, transmission and mechanical perform well in 110+ degree desert heat. Paint has held up well in cloudless sunny skies of Arizona. The battery needed replacement after 2 years, the coolant tank cracked (but did not leak) and the dash top cover cracked, and all were replaced free under warranty by dealer. The seat, foot pedal and steering column adjustments combined with the integrated memory system easily accommodates out 2 drivers who have an 8 inch height difference. This Azera is 3 years old and has 30,000 miles

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  Waited 5 years to buy this - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By PhotoPro - August 23 - 11:49 am

  It took totaling my previous car to be able to get this one. Design in 2011 took auto design by storm. From Chevy to BMW everyone over the past 5 years have changed their design to similar to the Sonatas aggressive slant forward design. I have only owned the car for 30 days, but have really fallen in love and only found minor little irritants and nothing that is difficult or a problem. All of the dash design and electronics are very intuitive.

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  Great in the Mountains!!! - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Desert Rat - August 23 - 9:26 am

  I can not understand the review that is printed . The XG350-L does not wander in turns. I drive this car in the mountains at speeds greater than posted limits and the car is like a rock. I feel very safe driving this car anywhere. The exterior style is not earth shattering, but it looks as good as a Lincoln LS for a lot less money. I had to get past the name, but when I did, I was glad I purchased my XG350-L.

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  Terrible gas mileage - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By herbthau - August 23 - 2:14 am

  This is our third Hyundai Sonata. It gets just terrible gas mileage. The two previous Sonatas got much better mileage. Went back to dealer and got this answer from the technician. There were no codes showing a problem and 19.9 city and 27 highway is acceptable. Called Hyundai and got nowhere. This is not acceptable. This is my last Sonata. Herb

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  Very Impressed - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Nancy - August 23 - 12:50 am

  Owned a 2002 Saturn L300 before this car. Originally was going to buy an Elantra, drove the Sonata as an after-thought and bought it instead. Absolutely LOVE this car - it handles well, gets better mileage than the Saturn and is infinitely quieter than the Saturn. Unbelievable value for the money - a Camry/Accord class vehicle for a lot less. I am very impressed with how far Hyundai has come from when they were first introduced in America.

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  excellent buy... - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By Vinayak - August 22 - 5:04 pm

  Could not be more happier buying this car. Its very sturdy and holds very well on freeway about 70-80mph. Drives very well within city too. get about 28mpg within city and 30-32 mpg on highway (mostly because of no cruise control). Excellent second car to have. Very spacious too, can easily fit 4 people.

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  Great Car - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Chris - August 22 - 7:15 am

  We really enjoy driving our GLS with sunroof and XM. Smooth, quiet and refined. Seats are firm but comfortable. Dash is attractive and well laid out. Controls are easy to use. Sound system excellent. Peppy engine growls only when pushed, but this car is more of easy going car than a sports machine. Price was certainly right considering quality, included features and the warranty. Notice there are some exceptions in the fine print on the 60K, 5 year guarantee. Cash for clunkers really sealed the deal for us. Looking forward to many years of service.