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 Car for the Money - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Francois - March 4 - 10:00 am

  I just said goodbye to my 97 Elantra and decided to go back with Hyundai. The new Elantra is big, more powerful and much more attractive. I got the GT Hatchback fully loaded for $14K. No ABS however. The leather (the real thing) is very nice, the purple/red dashboard illumination at night is very "cool". The sounds system is quite impressive for a car of this price. However i love that it can play MP3 CDs. No one can beat the warranty and you wont be able to find another car with Leather, Sunroof, impressive sounds systems, Alarm, power everything for the price. The ride is very quiet, even with the sunroof open on the highway.. VERY IMPRESSIVE!

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  Exceed expectation - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By hwspen - March 4 - 10:00 am

  Best looking sedan regardless of price. Fell in love with looks

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  I love it - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By LEE G - March 4 - 4:13 am

  I have owned many cars during my life and a number of SUVS and I am happiest with this one. I have had a few Toyota RAV 4s and even an RX300 Lexus and this is the best of the bunch and equal to the Lexus for a lot less money. This vehicle rides and handles great and I think Hyundai really thought this one out before releasing it. This is my first Hyundai but I assure you it will not be my last.

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  EXCELLANT!!!! - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By eric - March 2 - 3:52 pm

  This vehicle is by far the best car i have owned ( 1st foreign made car owned) great all around!!

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  Gas Milage - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Mike Watson - March 2 - 2:56 pm

  I am pleased to announce that I get 26 to 30 in town and 35 on the road at 65 miles per hour. Air pressure had to be adjusted before the check as 36 pounds were in each tire. currently about 2400 miles on car

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  Bought the hard to find 2017 Sonata Eco - 2017 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bob From GA - March 2 - 2:01 pm

  I research cars for a couple of years before buying, and this time around I had a list of 12 sedans and SUVs that I slowly eliminated through test drives until ending up with the Sonata Eco. I have 1000 miles on the car and am extremely pleased with it. Before buying, I drove a base model Sonata for a week as a rental and liked the feel of the car. It rides well, has a lot of features, and the build quality is excellent, but its a bit slow to accelerate, around average for large sedans. Ive followed dual-clutch transmissions for a few years, so the Eco intrigued me. It comes with 1.6L engine with a dual scroll turbo that runs great on regular gas, and a dual-clutch transmission. For those who are unfamiliar, its a computer-controlled transmission that works something like a manual, but the computer can shift considerable faster than a human. Its also faster than a standard automatic transmission, though not as smooth. The engine produces 179 HP, less than the base model, but 195 ft-lbs of torque with a wide max torque band starting at 1500 RPM. The lighter engine and transmission drops the curb weight from 3587 for the base to 3219 for the Eco. The combination of a faster tranny, max torque at 1500 RPM, and less weight means that the Eco cuts about .7 seconds off the 0-to-60 time, and in high-speed driving, it accelerates beautifully. It passes slowbies in the fast lane like theyre not there. Its hard to believe that you can get performance this good out of an engine whose combustion chambers are smaller than a half-gallon of milk. The Eco also gets outstanding mileage - rated at 28 city/ 39 hwy vs 25/36 for the base - if you can resist putting it in sport mode and driving with a heavy foot. Best of all, since the car hasnt caught on yet, you can get good deals on it. I got mine for $4015 off the MSRP. The speakers and the radio are great - it comes with a Sirius XM radio that sounds wonderful. My last two cars were a 2006 VW Passat 2.0T and a 2014 Mazda 6, both really good cars, but I like the Sonata Eco even better.

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  Worth the wait - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By jdfone - March 2 - 10:00 am

  My wife and I have wanted an Elantra for four years, we finally bought a new 2003. It has a silky smooth 5 speed manual with 16 valve DOHC 2.0 engine, excellent comfort and ride. It replaces 1994 Hyundai Excel with 191,000 miles as the main car. I will be buying a replacement engine for the 1994. We love those Hyundais, reliable, dependable and inexpensive to keep.

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  I love this car - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By NicoleC - March 2 - 9:25 am

  Wonderful car! My first brand new car and ive had no complaints. It looks like its worth more than the 15Gs its on the market for. Gotten so many complements and what kinda car is thats!?!? It gets wonderful gas mileage (30 and up depending on how and where i drive it). Ive had the car since May (now march) and Ive had no problems and ive put almost 10Gs on it. Im so glad i picked this brand new car instead of a "better brand" used car. I had an excel years ago which was OK but had heard hyundais gotten better and its true.

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  Very Good Car for Very Good Price - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Christopher Gannon - March 2 - 7:54 am

  This is the first "new" car I have ever purchased, and I think it compares very favorably to the Corolla and Civic. I found that it comes with many more options standard at a much lower price, and the warranty was a definite plus for me.

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  A good choice - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By LUIS T - March 2 - 4:00 am

  After going through the nightmare of a Jeep wrangler 2008 unlimited, I came back to Hyundai with the only expectation of a good vehicle. Was I for a big surprise. This little brute is amazingly fast, frugal on fuel and quite fun to drive. It brings attention and I get asked "what car is that. A Lexus, m3 or what. Quality is everywhere, the price and features. Unbeatable. I really dont know what kept me away from Hyundai after my wonderful, never forgotten 2004 Santa Fe