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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  Fantastic Little Car - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By Marshall - October 19 - 10:47 pm

  reliable, wonderful mileage (37 HWY, 30 CTY). puchase w/out CD, PWR windows, locks, mirrors, cruise control-minor factors. overall, great buy. good design. spacious trunk. MOON ROOF. decent acceleration. 62,000 miles, $4,200. great car for the money. i dont like the steering wheel (personal preference: i like to steer from the bottom). minimal body damage, easy oil change, good tires. bad sound system, but i bought a new one to put in. good design. ill never buy another american car. i absolutely love it. interior is a little ugly, but i can deal. i suggest you buy this car, its cheap, reliable, pretty, fuel efficient (i fill up every 10 days, and i commute 30 miles to work every day).

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  Owned for 3 years - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Dave - October 19 - 3:53 pm

  We have owned our SanteFe XL AWD for nearly 3 years now with 21,500 miles. Still a great vehicle for us and plan to keep for another year. When bought new it was a hands down choice vs Highlander, Pilot, the Mazdas, Nissans or Subarus. Leather & interior has held up very well, outside finish has held up very well. No squeaks or rattles, still a quiet cabin and same good ride and you set up high. One problem, mirror with remote garage door opener died, fixed in one day at dealership. In Denver are we have averaged 20 mpg with 65% in town short trips. Best 25 on mountain interstate driving, worst about 16 oi short trips cold/snow driving. Brakes and tires holding up well

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  Great - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By steve - October 19 - 4:26 am

  I got up to 38MPG on two tripsand average over 27 average over 11000 miles. Better than I could have ever expected. No problems so far but like the 100000 mile warranty

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  so far a fantastic car - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By cl1 - October 19 - 2:08 am

  It;s a very comfortable car, great seats, nice leather, and for a car thats as quick as this is, it gets very good mileage. I got black on black and so far could not be happier. If you live in Orange County CA, and you are considering this car, you might want to try Tustin Hyundai, my salesman Elliot Rouff could not have been more helpful and the sales mgr Frank Joubran gave me a lease that was considerably less than what other dealerships were offering without any haggling. All together they made it an easy transaction.

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  Excellent car-Keep the good work Hyundai - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Hector - October 18 - 11:06 pm

  The car rides very quietly, accelerates well merging into traffic. Flawless, unnoticeable speed shifts in automatic and incredibly smooth shifting from auto to manual. Car can be downshifted to 3rd gear in a mile+ small grade downhill and will keep 2000 rpm and 40 miles per hour without using the brakes. All the cars around me were riding the brakes. At the end of the hill, one forward push and the car goes back to 4rd gear without hesitation and a medial push of the transmission lever and is back to Auto mode. The trunk is deceiving when looked from ouside but open the trunk and 16 cubic feet of space are ready for any trip planned. The back seats are foldable and very comfortable.

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  My Hyundai Sonata - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By Roberta Richards - October 18 - 9:54 pm

  I have found this to be a very fine vehicle. I purchased it with 26,000 miles on it and now have over 108,000 and with the exception of new tires and a recent brake job I have done nothing other that routine oil changes and maintenance. I also get about 33 mpg so it is economical to run. The back seat folds down so I have been able to cargo almost everything Ive had need to.

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  Nice Little SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Mike - October 18 - 12:50 pm

  We really like our Tuscon. Good styling. Fun to drive. Only thing I would like to see improved is more quality and detail on the interior. There is too much plastic. We like the standard features which are extra on other vehicles.

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  Excellent car best in class - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By R Dorbeck - October 18 - 11:38 am

  The Sonata has been dream to own and drive. Excellent highway milage and great ride and handling in fowl weather!

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  Great Car, Great Price - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By SPARKY - October 18 - 2:00 am

  I think the GT may be one of the best kept secrets in the automotive world. Theres a ton of room inside, more power under the hood than most of its competitors, and the best warranty in the business. Ive average better than 31 mpg in the 3000 miles Ive owned it and havent had a single problem.

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  Great Car, Great Price - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Sparky - October 18 - 2:00 am

  I think the GT may be one of the best kept secrets in the automotive world. Theres a ton of room inside, more power under the hood than most of its competitors, and the best warranty in the business. Ive average better than 31 mpg in the 3000 miles Ive owned it and havent had a single problem.