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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  Rain Not - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Nogo - January 23 - 10:00 am

  The car is well worth the money thats paid for it because of all of the extra options that are includede with it, along with its 100,000 mile warrantee.

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  Love this SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Hickman - January 23 - 10:00 am

  I love This car. Cant wait to drive it. It is the most confortable vehicle I have ever owned. The gas prices being what they are its costing more than I want for a week. I love the amount of room it has. I neede to carried something large and the ease of putting the back seat down was so easy.

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  First Time Hyundai Santa Fe Owner - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Richard_in_VA - January 23 - 5:16 am

  We recently purchased a 2010 Santa Fe GLS with Nav. Generally, we are pleased with the car. The fit and finish is very good and the car is rich in features. Its a very pleasant car; competent but not excellent. I have some concerns over how well the car will age - time will tell. One thing I am disappointed over is the gas mileage; we are averaging about 21 mpg in mixed driving. We had hoped for a bit better considering our GLS is the four cylinder version.

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  Snazzy car! - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By William Rice - January 23 - 4:25 am

  I don"t know where or how these other drivers are driving, but my experience has been much different. We just got 35 mpg on a road trip of 1600 miles and I never get less than 29 combined. We have a limited version and couldnt be happier. Nice job Hyundai. Wash. state driver

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  First Time Buyer - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By FirstHyundaiBuyer - January 22 - 2:20 pm

  The Hyundai Tucson is a great buy for typical commuter driving. Lots of standard features especially safety. Mileage could be better but it is taller than a sedan and with wider tires and I prefer to sit higher up. If you have a typical 30 minute commute, go Hyundai! No problems to speak of. Car is well built.

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  Surprised - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Clay - January 22 - 8:16 am

  The lease was up on rag top 2000 Mustang GT. The wife spotted a Tiburon one Saturday at the car wash and liked the way it looked. We went to the Hyundai dealership and drove an automatic GT. I didnt rumble like the Mustang but it didnt rattle like the Mustang either. The Tiburon V6 was quick even with the auto and had a mellow exhaust that snarls a bit when pushed. The car held the road well with some understeer when thrown into a corner. Back at the dealership the wife learned about the SE model. Only option, sun roof. The Tiburon SE with the six speed manual transmission is even more impressive than the GT. This is a quick car, fun to drive, well appointed and inexpensive.

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  Great Small SUV for the price - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Beck - January 22 - 6:36 am

  I recently bought the AWD GLS with the preferred package, and I could not be happier with my purchase. The car is fun to drive, and very nice for long trips. I will say I have some trouble with visibility, but not nearly as bad as some other crossovers I have driven. I would definitely recommend this car to anyone. Please note that the AWD is not always on. The car operates in FWD on normal terrains, and AWD will activate if more traction is needed, so you still get great fuel economy.

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  Second Hyundai - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Hyundai owner - January 22 - 1:10 am

  We purchased this car one year ago after looking at RAV-4, CR-V, Escape, Murano, Rogue, and Tuscon. We might not have ever considered it except we have a 2000 Hyundai Accent that has been fantastic. This is pretty much my dream car. It has 99% of the features I really wanted (leather, sunroof, wheel-mounted audio controls, CD/MP3 with changer, blue lights...just missing the auxiliary jack which I hear they now have on the 2009 model). My husband and I actually mistook it for a Lexus in a Target parking lot a few months after we bought it. The interior materials are top-notch and I actually like the firm ride.

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  WOW is all i can say - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By jasiel - January 21 - 11:33 pm

  Well all I can say is that this car is great and has outperformed many cars like the jetta, magnum, accord and some more this car is great I will recommend this car the interior is clean and the gauges are great.

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  Stiff and loud - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Larry G. - January 21 - 11:10 pm

  This car for the $27k msrp is suprisingly loud and uncomfortable. You can feel every crack in the road and the ride feels as if the car had no suspension. You have to pretty much yell to be heard by your passengers on decent quality concrete pavement.