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:
Showing 3331 through 3340 of 13,764.00-
not enough power - 2009 Hyundai TUCSON
By cindy - March 1 - 1:26 pmI love the look of it. my main complaint is lack of power. Even though it is a 4 cyl I expected a little more power. hard to make hills and inclines if you dont get a good head start. I don;t know if the streets around here are real bad because you can feel all the bumps & uneven surfaces.
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Transmission Issues? - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
By scott townsend - February 28 - 10:00 amHad the vehicle since Nov 01 (02 model). Possible transmission issues from the start. Had a transmission overheat (or something) in March 02. That may have started the ball rolling to a complete replacement in July of 03 (just after rolling 50K-per the dealership Svc Manager). Have trans oil checked/changed regularly to keep an eye open for any problems. Will come back and keep you posted. Otherwise, I am satisfied with the purchase, just may wind up being gun shy for a little while on the transmission problem.
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First Hyundai - 2004 Hyundai XG350
By woodsman - February 28 - 10:00 amFirst impression--a lot of car for the money especially with big dealer discount and factory rebate. Engine more noisy than 18 year old straight six in previously owned Toyota, which was virtually silent. Reported transmission problem of "hunting" not a noticeable flaw --reluctance to shift into 5th gear under 40mph the only objection I had. Excellent "shiftronic" mode. In my opinion, styling rates high. Unlike many imports it doesnt have that "wax meltdown" look but relies on classic lines as do many luxury cars--Lincoln LS Mercedes,many BMWs,Jaguar.
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My santa fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
By dusty - February 28 - 10:00 amGood reliable suv,and fun to drive.
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Not too shabby - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
By Hopper - February 20 - 9:53 pmPros- I have yet to find any defective cosmetic/operational problem with this car.The ride is better and the road noise is much less than the new Honda EX Civic that my wife just purchased. Cons- Sluggish steering, around 30 mph the transmission should down shift to a lower gear but refuses to and you will get this engine strain noise & sometimes I manually down shift the transmission in city driving to get it out of its misery. Summary- This is the best value out there if you are keeping a car for a few years. You cant wrong considering the options you get for the money. I would not have purchased this car if I had intended on trading in a year or two as one would take a bath.
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Beats the competition - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
By gchainani - February 10 - 1:15 amI was this close to buying a 2014 Accord Touring and test drove both vehicles before deciding on the 2015 Sonata Limited. The car drives with a refinement that I did not feel in the Accord. Yes, both are top-notch vehicles and the comparison of a 6 cyl Accord with a 4 cyl Sonata is not completely apples to apples. But after driving both, I though the power on the Sonata was adequate. The addition of torque at lower RPMs made the difference. Features that come with the technology and ultimate package are just amazing. You would pay a lot more for each of these on any German sedan. Very well executed vehicle by Hyundai and so far have been very impressed.
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Great value, poor training of dealer techs, lousy GPS - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
By markspicer - February 8 - 3:31 pmThis car is by far the best value for any new car Ive purchased. The gas mileage is awesome. I frequently receive comments on the car - it looks great. My major complaint has to do with the navigation system - it is horrible! My little dash-mounted $99 Garmin is WAY better. If you want do something as simple as find a highway intersection, you cant. The bluetooth audio is poor as well - you are supposed to be able to listen to music from your phone, but the volume is extremely low. And the dealership techs/mechanics dont know a thing about them.
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santa fe vs. endeavor - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
By cindy - February 7 - 12:26 pmI recently traded in my 2004 mitsubishi endeavor on a 2005 hyundai santa fe.I drove the santa fe home after I purchased it in the dark. The next day I was cleaning the windows on my new pre-owned santa fe and found chips in the windshield and hard water spots on all of the windows and mirrors that I could not remove even with a special hard water cleaner.In addition,the windshield looked as if it had been sand blasted when in the sunlight.The dealership tried to clean the windows and mirrors unsuccessfully and has only offered to "fill" the two chips in the windshield,not replace it.Never drive a pre-owned vehicle home in the dark!Seems to be poorly made glass!Look very closely!
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A good alternative to the RAV4 and CR-V - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
By Technikal - February 5 - 9:20 pmBought the Santa Fe after spending a long time looking at RAV4s and CR- Vs. The ride of the SF makes it feel like a much more expensive car compared to the other 2. The interior is substantially better than the RAV4, and the acceleration is better than the CR-V. I liked the styling of the SF better. I found that, comparably equipped, I could purchase the SF for $4-$5k less than the Toyota or Honda (though Ill give that back later with the worse depreciation.) The fit & finish is pretty good, especially inside. However, some body panels gaps arent as straight as they should be - specifically where the hood meets the grill/headlights. Its definitely not as good as the CR-V.
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Rear suspension - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
By Dave - February 5 - 4:43 amI have had my 2010 sante fe since the end of January. I find it to be roomy and comfortable on the inside. Visibility is very good and the gas mileage is not bad. The problem is the thumping noise coming out of the rear suspension when driving over a pot hole or uneven road surfaces. I have had it to the dealer twice, the first time they blamed it on the rear seat belts, the second time on a small tool bag I have in the rear cargo area.
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