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 for your money - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Anthony - November 3 - 10:00 am

  Our Santa Fe has everything to offer for our family of four. Really smooth ride and very fuel-effcient for its size. Only thing is the engines reliability . Only 10500 miles and already there is a small oil leak. Im taking it into the Dealer to get it looked at, but I must say Im disappointed that a brand new car would already start leaking oil.... :-( Overall, I recommend the car for what it has to offer at a reasonable price. Only flaw about the interior is the lack of an auxiliary port, but I found out that the 09 models were equipped with this, standard. Should of waited a lil longer :-/

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  Great value, but lackluster preformance - 2013 Hyundai Veloster
  By bjperez007 - October 29 - 3:37 pm

  Ive had this vehicle almost 2 years and have found it satisfactory. Cost less than comparable models and yet comes with all the the amenities that one could need: moon roof, bluetooth, Steering wheel controls, usb port, auxiliary port, and Faux leather w/ mesh seats. Sporty styling, but the third door makes it more convenient than your conventional 2 door coup/hatchback. At only 168 inches long it makes finding parking a breeze (Important in Brooklyn these days). Despite its small size, it has ample cargo room when you fold the seats down. However, the ride is VERY stiff and you cant open the windows in the rain due to leakage directly on to speakers (design flaw). Good value overall.

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  Great value for the money - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By tuscky - October 24 - 9:41 am

  Hi, Ive clicked over 6 thousand km in this car now, and its been nothing but good so far. I took the top of the line model and even added the front and rear guards, and side steps. Anyway, Ive listed my likes/dislikes. For the money, the car is definitely great value and well worth it. I am a happy camper!

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  Strong little car - 1997 Hyundai Elantra
  By Slick - October 23 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car after I crashed my previous car as a quick fix,The price was right and I figured it was a nice enough looking car. After a few days of driving it, I must say its a very nice car. I look alot better in this than I did in my old car. It gets good milage and has enough power to get and go if you need it.

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  The family wagon - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By dan - October 22 - 4:50 am

  We just purchased a fully loaded Veracruz Limited AWD with convenience package and more. It was the most expensive car the Hyundai dealer had ever sold. It rides well and is very comfortable. My critique is that it is skimpy on the cupholders, lacks automatic adjustable rear seats, needs more storage nooks, the engine is noisy, and it lacks bluetooth. But it is a very attractive car, without too much fake wood, and a good value if you arent looking for snob appeal. And who can beat the warranty? I am glad there is no navi system since we have a Garmin. Its a deal compared to the luxury brand crossovers.

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  Great Value - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By ch1110 - October 22 - 2:00 am

  This car is a great value. Mine has every option available and I paid only $10,000. It is not an excellent car in any respect, but the quality of materials and workmanship is quit good. I will absolutly consider buying another Hyundai.

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  No Econobox here! - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By valorieg - October 22 - 2:00 am

  I bought an Accent in 95. I was completely surprised at how reliable this car was.I drove the heck out of that car, and finally it came time to upgrade to something bigger that I felt safe driving around L.A. in. I shopped around for a good 4-5 months and drove several different cars. I was a bit biased towards the Hyundai, so I spent a little more time at Keyes. I had a great meeting at the dealership with the internet managers and they could not have been nicer. I got a great deal on a great car. My Elantra is comfortable, handles well, feels great on the road and gets excellent gas mileage.Hyundai makes great cars and deserves more respect.

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  bad weather - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By cmc104 - October 22 - 2:00 am

  used to drive a jeep grand cherokee which i ran into the ground. bought the 2002 elantra after doing a lot of research. liked the standard features offered and bargain price and warranty. generally like the car but find it to be awful in bad weather (rain/snow). car doesnt hold the road at all, slides all over. generally like the car but wonder if i shouldnt have bought another 4 x 4. also have problems with the rear doors not shutting firmly. brakes squeak and wipers scrape. this after only 5 months of use. a sign of other nuisance problems to come ????

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  2005 santa fe - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By hawk - October 21 - 8:40 am

  Ive had this car for a year now and have taken several road trips, so now believe I can really eval. the car. No problems with relability, or driving so far. Inside however is a different story. some of the controls are confusing to operate, not real comfortable on long trips, and the fold down back seats get stuck everytime I need to use them. The worst problem is the dealership and service dept. At first I thought they were going to be great, as they bent over backwards to make me happy at purchasing, but getting service or support after the fact, forget it!

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  Go with Hyundai for your first car!!! - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By tyler - October 21 - 2:00 am

  My little Hyundai Accent is awesome! It is so fun to drive, It handles very well, And it has great power for such a small engine! I have no problem merging into traffic, the catch is you must be in the right gear at the right time. The interior is cheap, but hey, what do you expect for $9,500 bucks. Their isnt too much you can complain about on a car that costs ten grand! Not a bad car at all, I will definitely buy a Hyundai again! I highly reccomend one.