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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  GREAT CAR. BETTER THAN S CLASS! - 2011 Hyundai Equus
  By stimpack - June 4 - 3:49 pm

  Our family owned various German luxury vehicles past years. The common thing about those is poor reliability, and constant break down. Lexus? quite reliable, but not worth the $$$ you spend. (still way better than broken German) The quality of the vehicle is just Great. Better than Lexus, BMW, and Benz. Better ride, better standard equipment, Luxurious Trimming, and features. and save $40,000. Valet service is amazing. I dont have to at the service center all day and lose time and $$$ as I did with the German cars. The ego of Luxury Car dealers is just too high for me. You know, you have to please them to get the service. My advice is, if you want a luxury, and feel good, buy it!

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  I am so glad I chose Hyundai Elantra GSL - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By deebi27 - June 2 - 11:02 pm

  I had a Honda CR-V, I loved my car however on April 19th a storm totaled my CRV. I had just paid it off in November. :o( Enter May and I was on a mad research expedition to find a new car. I finally settled on 4 cars. I test drove 3 on Memorial Day and the 4th one, the Hyundai Elantra Tuesday after work. OMG! There was no comparison between the Elantra and the 1st 3. The ride is wonderful! I have great 40+ mpg! I have my Bluetooth hook up, for what I believe will become in the near future...no hand held cell phone use! My husband (6) is quite comfortable in the passenger seat. Phone, radio and cruise controls on the steering wheel. I love my new Hyundai Elantra!!!

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  best ever - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By chuckyb42 - May 29 - 9:37 pm

  I have owned Hondas for the past 10 years The main reason was that I was a Honda salesman during that time Also Hondas comfort, cost of ownership and reliability were buying factors. My lease was up on my CRV so I started to look for a replacement. After reading all the positive reviews for the Elantra, I decided to give it a try Years ago I would look at a Hyundai vehicle After driving the Elantra I was blown away by its quality appearance and ride Ive had my GLS for 3 months and LOVE IT Great gas mileage great features outstanding vehicle. Run dont walk to your Hyundai and try one

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  Awesome car!! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By ucinn - May 25 - 10:29 pm

  I bought this new in Dec. 2006. I now have 83000 care free miles on it. All that Ive had done is routine maintenance, tires, and brakes. Most reliable car Ive ever had. It handles like a dream, has plenty of pep. Get 30 MPG with mostly city driving and have had no problems in the snow. It has a very roomy trunk to go along with lots of legroom for front and rear passengers. I dont see how you can go wrong with this car.

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  Gas Mileage - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By chris274 - May 22 - 8:36 am

  I love the car, its beautiful, comfortable and very fancy for the price compared to all the others in its class. I tested the Fusion, Civic and even considered some fairly new accords. I eventually went back to the hyundai. We love the car, but the gas mileage is not what was advertised. We get about 28 in the city and 32 on the highway. We went on a trip about 300 miles and never achieved over 32 MPH. this was and still is disappointing. I cant figure it out, some folks say they get over 40. I dont see it. I would love some thoughts by other owners as to why?

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  2004 Hyundai Elantra - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By tlc51 - May 19 - 4:01 pm

  I purchased my elantra 5 years ago second hand with almost 40k on the clock. In the time that i have been driving this vehicle it has performed very well. Trips to Queensland and other parts of N.S.W. and on quite a few occations towed a trailer or a caravan with this car with no faults at all but only recently replaced the starter moter. had all the servicing done accoding to the log book and had the timming belt relaced . and now in may of 2011 i have only done 125,000. ks I did have a bit of trouble with the remote to unlock and lock the car as the warrenty was comming to the end and was charged for the recharge of another remote . but inall it has been my best car yet .

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  2005 Hyundai Elantra Review - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By md2011 - May 19 - 11:09 am

  1st hyundai purchased. Such a good car ended up buying two more hyundais 09 and 11 elantra! Bought this car after it was leased in Dec 05. Have this car over 5 years and never have been disappointed. Only service needed Made (Jul 04)is: Standard oil changes, replaced front brakes, first set of tires @ 30k and a new battery @30k The car has never broke down on us has been very reliable. MPG is good not great very heavy car for the size. We can get 24mpg out of it combined. Tons of features for a low price. For a economy car it is very spunky and has nice handling smooth on the road even rough roads. Pros: Great value, reliable Cons: AM Radio reception poor Awesome Car!

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  2009 Hyundai Elantra Review - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By md2011 - May 19 - 10:56 am

  2nd hyundai! Been highly impressed by both cars! Had for 2 years just traded it in for the new 2011 elantra ltd. Been a pleasure to drive and own! Very impressed with the gas mileage. Best mpg at 39.7 mpg based on filling up the car and doing the math on a calculator this was in NYC traffic 90%hwy and 10%city. Average mpg I receive when i do about 50/50 driving was 28 mpg still pretty impressive since I am not light footed. Pros: Performance, MPG, Price, Radio, USB, Blue Lights, tons of features, interior space, many storage compts, quiet interior, Cons: Whine from radio (most wont hear), loud rattle from rear window hitting large bumps Best bang for the buck!

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  VERY COMFORTABLE CAR - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By eugeneny - May 17 - 10:30 pm

  I purchased 3.8 with Premium package-navi on 9/1/10, now on 14,010 miles. Great Price and value, Best in Hwy, Great ESC system, Very Comfortable Seat(not tired). Great Exterior(Looks BMW+LEXUS+MERCEDES). No problems at ALL, Get this Car! You will be HAPPY!!!

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  My Experience with 2011 Elantra GLS Manual - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By allen51 - May 16 - 3:06 pm

  After about a month of on-line research, I test drove the 2011 Elantra GLS, Fiesta, Civic, and Kia Forte. All were fine cars, but in terms of value and the entire package, I was left wondering why anyone would buy a Civic. I now have purchased and driven the Elantra for over 5000 miles. It handles well, have not noticed the road noise some folks mention, and my gas mileage has exceeded expectations (I do a great deal of highway travel, and average between 43 and 46 MPG). The interior feels about the same size as my old BMW 325I.