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 in price range, or even higher - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By mike - February 18 - 6:02 pm

  Very happy with car, quality far above domestic cars,and beats many Japanese models costing thousands more which is a big surprise to me. The Koreans are offering a lot for the money.

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  First Week review - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Patrick - February 18 - 1:53 pm

  We expected to buy a European model (VW passat or Volvo S40 or S60) We saw the Hyundai Sonata at an Auto Show, it has all of Features we were looking for (LX model). I was on the fence about VW due to reliability rating I read and Volvo due to a friends experience was expensive in the maintainance and upkeep (Eats Breaks more than most cars) We found in Sonata the ride, quality of craftmanship and noise level in cabin all similar to European models we liked. The 10/100,000 limited powertrain warranty and 5/ 60,000 Limited Warrenty was also a draw to the stand behind quality of Hyundai. Features, Ride, Craftmanship all are in line with what we wanted for the class of car we bought.

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  Hyundai has outdone Japan - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Chris Carroll - February 18 - 11:03 am

  Bought this used (1 yr old) from dealer (pgm car) with 11K miles. My wife and I have put 35K on is since, and this car has not needed to see the dealer since, with the exception of 1 recall. Other than regular maintenance, this car has needed nothing, and still looks and runs like new. The car has depreciated less than $3,000 in the 3 years weve owned it, and now Im shopping for one for my son. If you want a good, stylish, reliable and economic car, the Sonata should be your first choice.

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  Utterly amazing - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By JC1212 - February 18 - 2:00 am

  I initially wasnt even going to look at the Hyundais when I was going to buy either a Toyota Camry or a Honda Accord. However, when I read in Consumers reports that the Sonata had predicted above average reliability, much better than the new Camry, and slightly lower than the Honda, I had to take a look. And I walked out with a new car. After test driving the Honda and the Toyota, I couldnt believe the difference. For the same price as the base Honda/Toyota, I was getting a V6, leather interior, sunroof, 4 wheel disc brakes, better warrenty, amazing stereo - the best I have seen in any production car, etc.

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  Very pleased - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By Garrison - February 18 - 2:00 am

  After test driving a number of 2003 models we decided to try the Hyundai XG300L with some reluctance. We were pleasantly surprised finding the car superior to all cars we had tried. The mechanical operation has been flawless and the many convenient features show great care in design and manufacturing. Just simply a great car.

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  Love it - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Defenderman2 - February 18 - 2:00 am

  Okay, going on 2 yrs here and couldnt be happier with this car. Amazing build quality, dealer responds to every single detail (replaced headlamps for free!). Car has more power than most realize and 4 out of 5 friends would buy one in a minute. Company is purchasing one as a general use vehicle on my recommendation.

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  Excellent Choice - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Regina - February 17 - 11:42 pm

  When I first saw the car on the showroom floor I knew that was what I wanted. A 5 door vehicle. I love the hatchback. Once you unlock your doors all you have to do is raise the back. Its great not to have to look for the key. Lots of room. Great on the highway.

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  LOVE MY GENESIS - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By Mark Howard - February 17 - 8:14 pm

  If it didnt say Hyundai, youd think this was a Lexus! Everything is top quality. Beautiful car inside and out.

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  AWESOME - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Rock - February 17 - 5:16 pm

  I WILL recommend this van to EVERYONE I know & meet! LOTS of room, TONS of power, GREAT on gas, power EVERYTHING!!!! I also love the display colors and design on the instrument pannel. The stereo W/ surround sound, 13 speakers and 660 watts of power will BLOW your MIND!!! ENJOY!!!!

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  Review of 2004 Hyundai Sonata V6 GLS - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By myprettycar - February 16 - 11:17 pm

  This is a great car. I have not had any issues with this automobile except that ever since Ive owned the car - since day one I have experienced severe sacroiliac pain because the seat is low and I twist to get out of the car. The seats are pretty firm too. That took some getting used to. I get many compliments on the car and it has been a good purchase except for the back pain issue.