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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  Cheap, Great Cars! - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By Ashley - October 17 - 11:40 pm

  Its so hard to find a foriegn car for a reasonable price. The Hyundai Accent is a reliable car for a great price. It definatley beats American made cars and are absolutely wonderful. I love mine!!

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  Good Car for the Price Paid - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By koul - October 17 - 6:10 pm

  Pros: Good styling and lots of extras, more like a full size lxury features. Very good ride and comfy. Cons: Paint Quality, rolls on curves, touchy accelerator, gas mileage

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  2008 Hyundai Sonata SE - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Gary - October 17 - 7:10 am

  This is the 4th Hyundai I have owned (we bought the Entourage last year which is great). I have to say after owning Fords and Hondas, this Hyundai Sonata has exceeded my expectations over the other manufacturers. You just cant consider Hyundai as a stereotypical cheap quality vehicle. The ride is smooth and the V6 engine provides ample power (234 HP). The interior design shows quality and there are safety features galore. In addition, the gas mileage is reasonable. From past experience, I have had virtually no problems with defects, etc. compared to other makes I have owned. The Hyundai warranty is the proof in the pudding. I will not buy from another car manufacturer.

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  Sales - 2013 Hyundai Veloster
  By Eliezer Frias - October 16 - 7:03 pm

  great car

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  Great while it lasted - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Lyn - October 16 - 4:26 pm

  Bought my 2007 sonata new. It was a phenomenal car. great gas mileage no issues for years. but when they start they dont stop. Last week spent 200 for a/c maint. now it has trouble starting. Diagnostic tests say nothing wrong. Sometimes get in it turns right over. other times it wont. Door handle on the drivers side fell off in my hand. Rear window motor died.

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  Wow!! Tranny?? or car?? - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By Big Daddy - October 16 - 10:23 am

  Tranny on my Dodge truck went out at 81K miles, swap tranny for ~ $4000?? or look for another car??. Bought this 2006 Accent, great choice!!. The mileage doubled, very impressed eith entire car. Have a 2000 Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Accent puts it to shame for the same price, hands down. Give this a look, very surprized at nice quality and fun to drive, plenty of romm for an econo box, hats off to Hyundai ...American auto builders wake up !!

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  Trashed my Camry and discovered a Gem - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By Cameron - October 14 - 10:46 am

  I had previously owned a 2000 Toyota Camry, what a piece of junk. It was falling apart. Needless to say I was looking for a new car for around 16,000. I am 64 and 320lbs, so I needed something roomy. I was not looking for a hyundai but the 4,000 rebate offered on the 2010 sonata, warranted a test drive. I first drove an automatic, but my love of 5 speeds and with a savings of about a grand, I went with a fully loaded GLS manual. I am very pleased with the acceleration and smooth ride. This car has extremely good build quality. My moms 30,000 dollar Chevy truck has a cheaply made interior compared to my sonata. I find it hard to find any flaws in this car. You just simply cannot beat the price and the options you get for that price. I have put about 1800 miles on my baby, so far. I only spend 30 bucks a week on gas! My only complaint is the creaking noise in the dash on cold days and I think the front leg room could be improved, but I am 64, so any car is a tight squeeze for me. I hope to drive this car for 100,000 miles or more. Trust me if you are looking to spend 22,000 on a new camry or accord, go look a a sonata, I bet youll be sold after the first test drive.

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  RALLY RED 2003 TIBURON GT - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Alexandra - October 14 - 2:00 am

  I have owned 2003 Rally Red Hyundai Tiburon V6 GT since October 1st 2002. I absolutely love this car. It fits me perfectly and is an awesome body style and great stereo, sun roof, wheels.... Its the same damn car as the celica but better!!!! It has been extremely reliable for me and i have sooo much fun in it. Thank you very much

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  a lot of bang for your buck! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By lindy42 - October 14 - 2:00 am

  Super value. get the 6 cylinder, 4 cylinder works too hard to propel a mid- size sedan. Shiftronic feature is great. You can shift up (or downshift) through the gears, or let it go automatic. On the downside, resale value is terrible. If you get one, plan to hold on to it for a while.

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  Sweet Tiburon - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By medic880 - October 13 - 11:20 pm

  This is my first Tiburon and I love it. Everyone comments on how nice it looks. It drives like a million dollars. I hope I can make some changes without messing up the warranty.