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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  Goes from A to B - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Todd - November 20 - 2:20 pm

  Im disappointed in the gas mileage of the V6 -- I get about 23 MPG despite driving probably 60/40 highway/city. But its a smooth ride with zippy power. The interior is conservative but refreshingly intuitive control- wise. While the car floats along fine and has all the basic bells and whistles (love the sunroof, wish it had an iPod port), it could use greater fuel efficiency or benefit from a hybrid engine someday. In all, a good getting around car, nothing more.

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  BUY IT NOW! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Radio Diva - November 20 - 1:03 am

  I have had my new Santa Fe for about a month now. I had driven one several years back, I bought it for the warrenty and gas mileage. I had a Tahoe and that didnt cut it. I LOVE IT! Its fun, zippy, and you cant beat heated seats and a sunroof, 10 year 100K bumper to bumper all for $22K !!! I have had no problems.

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  A Lemon - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By McQuade - November 18 - 12:00 pm

  This car was the most beautiful car I have ever driven or seen. I drove many GM, but this took my heart. For mechanical issues it was never ending. We work for GM dealership, we know mechanics, so to all who read this, pick your mechanic carefully, and keep all work orders. Just wrecked mine due to mechanic error, and cheep parts, buy the best quality parts, it might save your life, and question your Service manager on the parts replaced, I should have known better, but I trusted them. my heart is broken, could have been my life.

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  Good, Solid, Fun - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By turboyy - November 18 - 1:36 am

  I have 20,000 miles on my new Sonata. Its been a great car to drive so far with no major issues. Ive obtained fantastic gas mileage (37mpg) by combining the ECO mode, cruise control and a nice long highway. The paint is sexy and durable. The fit / finish is solid without any noticeable defects. Ive been completely satisfied with my service crew as well.

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  Not a bad car. - 2018 Hyundai Sonata
  By Michael Perillo - November 14 - 9:11 pm

  Dot believe the EPA figures on this car. Ive had 2 straight Sonatas, 2.4 engine. I get 16 city, 31 highway, always on ECO. THe car is comfortable, reliable and attractive. It is quiet. It gives you a lot of amenities but those darn mileage figures wont increase.

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  Great Car, Lacking Clutch - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Doug - November 12 - 7:03 am

  I just recently purchased my 2008 GS and I am very impressed with its appearances, and the smooth shifting 5 speed manual transmission. However, I have driven many manual cars, a Mustang Cobra, Jeep Wrangler, Camaro Z28, Honda Civic, and an Eclipse GSX; I have NEVER driven a car with such a weak clutch. The clutch seems to ruin the good fun of the car for me, however when it goes bad I plan on upgrading to a stage 1 Clutch Master FX100, and there shouldnt be a problem with it. Overall, the Tib is a great car, and has a lot of potential. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a sporty car within the 16-20k price range.

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  Better than most - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By Roger - November 7 - 7:26 am

  It is a great car for the price-

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  exellent value - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By tom - November 5 - 10:56 am

  Dealership was very aggressive in a good way....cost of this vehicle was considerably less than an EX Honda 08. WOW!

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  Sonata GLS - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Rick Sullivan - November 4 - 2:00 am

  Overall the Sonata GLS performs great. It also has a great look and will sustain that look for some time. It has a look of a Jag from the rear great job on that design

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  its a cool car - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By fern - November 4 - 2:00 am

  this car is a very confortable and economic vehicle. its great for a familly vehicle. The only thing is that it uses too much fuel.