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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  scottsdale review - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By pokerman - July 4 - 2:00 am

  Car runs great. Sometimes engine seems to be working too hard

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  A Fun Car to Drive - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By Wiley Daniel - July 4 - 2:00 am

  After an auto accident totaled my Acura, I looked at the Acura, Lexus, Nissan and Mazda. When my lease broker asked me to test drive a XG350L, I was pleasantly surprised at the ride, multiple luxury standard features, the warranty, the price and its appearance. The front end resembles a Jacquar, Infiniti or Lincoln. I was so impressed that I decided to buy the vehicle. I continue to enjoy its handling, quick response and smooth ride. For the price, this is an outstanding vehicle. When my CD changer went bad, it was quickly replaced by the dealer under the warranty. The service persons were professional and cordial.

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  Not worth it - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By connedout - July 4 - 2:00 am

  Check engine light was on and had to take it to dealer 4 times for fixing. The canister was leaking (imagine, on a 1 year old car!). 1 month back the cassette player got screwed. Resale value really sucks. Major service required every 6 months. Spent almost $600 on service the 1st year!! If you consider all this and the fuel economy, buying a Honda/Toyota really works out cheaper. Do your math, find out the true cost. Buy this ONLY if upfront cost is really important to you. Even then, I would recommend buying a used Honda/Toyota instead of a new Hyundai.

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  So far, so good. - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Ed Rea - July 4 - 1:56 am

  Purchased this SUV after driving an Infinity G-35x and missing the roominess from my previous SUV. Also, Hyundai was recommended by other friends who have one. Only issue so far is pulling to left. After two alignments, seems to be okay. Although steering is pretty sensitive. Like all the features, styling, performance (little sluggish in shifting between 1st & 2nd gear) so far, after 2000 miles. CD player is only 1 CD capacity?? If reliability holds up, seems like a very good vehicle for the price.

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  Its smooooth! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By limee - June 30 - 7:16 am

  I was looking for a comfortable cruiser. It fits the bill as far as thats concerned. Very comfortable with impeccable fit and finish and the plastics used are first class with a very nice feel. Got the loaded limited. I had to have all the gadgets!. The leather is soft and supple. The interior ambience is classy and soothing. Has nice touches everywhere on and in the car and the heated seats work great. The wind deflector on the sunfoof is very noisy at speeds. Not impressed with the fuel economy so far averaging 18.5mpg. (The computer is way over optimistic in that respect informing me its 22!) Like the fact it uses 87 octane though. My first Hyundai. I like it

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  Love it! - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By LorieB - June 29 - 4:36 pm

  If it was just me, I would keep it and drive it into the ground! I also love the bright red color!

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  great suv for the money - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Ken - June 24 - 3:43 am

  Wife loves it. smooth quiet ride. GLS model with only bluetooth option. Pearl White color is very cool. Great car for family and for taking trips. With the cash for clunkers and factory rebate and dealer savings, cant go wrong with purchasing this vehicle.

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  Owned One Now Own Two - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Liquid - June 23 - 8:00 pm

  I Live in all 4-seasons, have 4 vehicles (2-trucks, and 2-family movers). I have purchased two Hyundias with the 3.3 V-6, FWD, and love them both. Bang for the buck, Hyundia gives your George Washingtons a smile. If i were a salesman Id sell this like sleds on a snow day without school. Look at the competition, vote with your dollar, and tomorrow youll be happy in your Sante Fe...If you buy the 3.3 v-6, cuz were American and need the power! :)LoL

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  2002 Hyundai XG350 - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By Telewiz - June 23 - 10:00 am

  Its a pretty good car for the money.

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  A lot of good, a little bad - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Leo - June 22 - 10:39 am

  I put about 40,000 miles on a 2013 Altima before trading for this as an end-of-model year. I also tested a 2015 Fusion and Malibu along the way, as well as a 2014 demo Cadillac CTS V-Sport. The good news on the Hyundai is that the acceleration seems much better than most professional reviewers give it credit for. It is much quicker than the Altima 2.5 was, and that stop-light bobble (lugging from the CVT) just isnt there. The car is roomy, more so than a Fusion and much more so than the Malibu, though the Altima gets the edge for better long-drive seat comfort. The Hyundai looks very sharp (possibly losing in this segment only to the Fusion), and everyone who has been in it noted the quality of the materials (better than the Altima and Fusion, though maybe less than a top-of-the-line but pricier Accord). The dash lines are clean; they will never be mistaken for the sheer elegance of a Jaguar XF, but are much less distracting than the chromed plastic so abundant in the Caddy. It has memory seats, for which you would need to drop $40K on the Platinum version of a Murano or Maxima to get from anything in the Nissan line. The 16 Altimas have 12 way power seats, but no memory... Id be tweaking for a week every time my wife drove it !! Hyundai also ties the side mirrors into the memory, so you push one button and life goes back to where it should be. The car tracks very straight, though in all honesty, it took about three times behind the wheel to get the feel of it. Drive it, get out and walk around, and drive it again to see what I mean. Its almost like the car has to get used to you, rather than the other way around. The D-steering wheel looks sharp, but is not real smooth when used in daily life. The heated & ventilated front seats work very well and hold snugly during corners. The heated back seats are a really nice touch. The back-up camera locates objects precisely, and follows the curve of the steering wheel (cough, Altima dont, cough). The display is mounted high enough to make for much easier viewing than most competitors, though the back-up sensors will ping the crown of the road when you back out of an angled driveway. The driver protection (lane drift and collision warning) work well, and less intrusively than the Cadillac CTS. Im personally not found of the concept.. all we need is another toy to make drivers lazier, but it does work. The bad lies mostly in the electronics suite. You have one button to cycle through the climate control settings, so you have to look over and push the button several times if you had to run the defroster. I will note the HVAC system works really well; its just the control thats lacking. The Sonata links quickly to your phone, but Altima would read texts to you and let the other end know you were driving. If you can do that in the Hyundai, I havent figured out how. The most serious gripe is (and the Edmunds guys and the Hyundai salesmen kind of gloss over this) is that you have to subscribe to the Hyundai service and use a smart phone to be able to use the remote car start. This is beyond stupid... may all you app-lovers be rendered impotent by your dad-gummed toys ! GIVE ME A BUTTON ON THE FOB like any normal car. The nav system, on the other hand, is excellent, with a large display and actually shows the speed limit of 95% of the roads... it even detects school zones. The sound system is surprisingly bland for an Infinity unit, though Im still tweaking the settings. Ive driven in light rain with no issues, but no other weather I can report on. My general opinion is that the car is superior dollar-for-dollar to the Altima and the Malibu, and that you could probably get a slightly better Fusion or Accord, but youd be laying out quite a bit more cash. If they fix the electronics, this would be a great car. Option you should get that I didnt- heated steering wheel, though the HVAC system is quick to remedy the cold.