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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  BEST MID SIZE SUV FOR THE MONEY - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By gary - September 15 - 9:23 am

  Being a auto tech for 20 plus I know what to look for, and after driving all in this class from acuras to toyotas we choose this, the only one complaint I have is rear isolation the rav 4 was better but the lack of gutless power of toys 4 banger I whent with the sante fe hands down bought the se fwd model, love it 24mpg average and almost as fast as my 66 skylark with a built motor go figure. offer invoice they will take it ask to see it, they will show you. traded in my 06 solara for this suv and I like it alot would never go back to a car.

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  Solid smooth performer - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Zaf - September 15 - 2:40 am

  The Sonata is great value for money. Quality is acceptable even for an entry level luxury car. Will not set the car lanes on fire but is a consistently solid performer on the road. Well thought out interior, fairly good quality of accoutrements. Excellent interior room and comfort. Smart looking exterior. Needs a better radio. Got my LX with sunroof and audio package for 19,700 after $2000 in rebates and $1000 loyalty bonus!! This is a sensational price for a car of this quality. Lumbar support seems to be a bit minimal.

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  Best in Show - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By DamienG - September 14 - 8:16 pm

  Shopped around. Looked at the 4cyl competitors such as the X-Trail, CRV, Forester etc. But we need to tow a small boat and the 2000lb capacity of those models swayed us to a V6, reluctantly. We drove Endeavor, Pilot, a used ML and a couple others. We like that the styling is brand new so it wont look out of date for a while. MUCH better than the old model. There really was no other choices that made sense. Toyotas and Hondas with leather were 40K and really didnt seem better. Sincerely the best bang for the buck out there in a mid-size SUV.

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  Why pay more? - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By RobertNotBob - September 14 - 10:00 am

  When I was in the market for a sedan I went to more than 10 seperate test drives. I found that the only other cars that had both the luxury and performance of the XG350 usually cost 20%- 30% more money. To be totally honest, the BMW was the nicest I drove, but it was not TEN THOUSAND Dollars nicer than the XG. Then add in the 100,000 mile coverage and it was actually a no-brainer. I know people who bought Hyundais in the 90s and have heard bad things, but the XG series (introduced in 2001) has apparently learned from past mistakes. After a year and 14K miles, I would still recommend the XG350.

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  4.5 yrs and still like new! - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By CT Tucson Driver - September 12 - 5:30 am

  Still love this car, no problems 4.5 yrs later. Also was the least inexpensive & best bang for the buck when I bought it new vs CR-V, RAV4, X3, Escape and the only one of them that had all elements V6, 4wd, ESP, 6 airbags, Sunroof, Leather Heated Seats, and a 5yr Bumper to Bumper. I was worried at time about investing in a Hyundai but now believe they are a solid value company for cars under $30k. What Nissan and Toyota used to be 20 yrs ago! The 4wd & ease of driving in snow/rain has been fantastic, I will never go back to 2wd. Perfect utility car for daily commuting, running around with the kids to soccer & LL on weekends, and camping. I expect 10 yrs out of this car easy. Fun Ride

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  Excellent Vehicle - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Vlad - September 11 - 2:16 am

  This is my first Hyundai and Im very happy with the vehicle so far. Had thoroughly reviewed and test-driven several crossovers, including the Highlander, CX-9, Veracruz and Pilot. Overall, Veracruz offered the most options, the best warranty, and the highest bottom line value. Im getting about 16/23 MPG city/highway, which is not bad at all given the vehicle size. If youre in the market for a comfortable mid-size crossover at bargain price, you have to test-drive the Veracruz.

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  best car I ever owned-2nd one - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By WILLIAM KRAMER - September 10 - 8:05 pm

  This is my 2nd elantra, I traded in a 2004 with 36000 miles on it, and had no problems with it, it ran rings arround my 2004 Honda Civic Lease car. The 2006 only has 1200 miles on it, but rids more like a luxury car, and the radion has improved 200 percent. It has lots of power, and ease of handling, and the engine is a thing of beauty.

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  Love IT! - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By New2Diesel - September 10 - 1:30 pm

  Great vehicle! Sexy Look! Great value. Better than EPA gas mileage already (1200 miles). This is a very nice vehicle for the money. You wont be sorry with this one I dont think.

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  Sweet ride - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By erikgsi - September 10 - 12:33 am

  This car blows my mind for the money. Handles outstanding even in gs trim. Looks beautiful. quick too.

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  Great Value - 2016 Hyundai Genesis
  By Koop - September 9 - 8:20 pm

  Just moved to a Genesis after owning Infiniti. I think the Genesis is a better car than the Infiniti in just about every way, including the dealership experience, all at thousands of dollars less in cost. I managed to get my Signature edition for the price of a base model. Great ride, smooth transmission, plenty of power in the v6, very quiet, lots of headroom and legroom. The only nits I can pick are that the brakes are rather soft and need to be applied earlier, and the automatic windshield wiper goes way too fast for the amount of rain. Other than that I am simply loving this car. Get lots of looks and questions about what it is, especially since I changed out the Hyundai flying H badge on the trunk for a KDM Genesis wings logo in back.