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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  hYUNDAI SANTE FE - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By adAHER - October 21 - 10:00 am

  I LOVE MY SANTE FE, EVERYONE SHOULD OWN ONE.

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  Elantra GT 5 spd. Hatchback review - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By pole - October 21 - 10:00 am

  Checked out the usual suspects: Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Ford Focus, etc. The Hyundai GT hatchback was a prime candidate because of its hatchback design and cost - significantly less than the others with more features. The Civic and Mazda were more expensive without half the equipment of the GT, The Corolla was boring and the Focus has been recalled more times than I can think of. I have to admit that the $2000 rebate played into my decision; with it and the dealer discount, the cost came out to just under $13000 (including sunroof ). Without the rebate I would have considered the Honda or Mazda more seriously.

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  Very happy - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Skeets - October 21 - 10:00 am

  We just bought the car last weekend, and we took it for a trip yesterday. We are very pleased with the comfort, fuel economy and the performance of it. We were travelling on a two lane road and when it was time to pass, it got up and went, no holding it back. The comfort is very pleasing, we constantly have to watch the speedometer to make sure we are not speeding. I would advise anyone to look at this car.

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  Dont listen to all the Trolls! - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jeremytallman - October 21 - 10:00 am

  We had a 2002 GT until May of this year when it was hit and totalled by an Expedition. We were just shy of 60000 miles with a perfect, tight car. I am 66" and fit this car pretty good. We tried to replace it but our fully loaded example is sold out until the 2005s come out! This car is much quieter than the Civic, Protege/3 etc. The interior is as good as anything out there. We added the factory wood trim kit and it really makes the interior. As far as recalls mentioned by others, check out Honda and VW lately. You can not go wrong with this car! Traction control, ABS, leather, sunroof, power heated mirrors, CD, 4whl disk brakes, huge cargo room,

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  Fun car, very quick - 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By guymoulton - October 20 - 11:15 pm

  The decision for me came down to a used FR-S, Mini or Gencoupe. I chose a 22k miles Gencoupe for a lot of reasons. The head-turning styling, fantastic performance and interior trim all set the Gencoupe apart. The FR-S, with less HP and MUCH less torque, it looks great in the rear view mirror as you blow them away. Plus the Gencoupe has much more rear seat room for my kids. The Mini was the handling choice but lacks power. I love the wastegate chatter (I want to hear my turbo work!) but the turbo overall is not loud enough. The 6 speed tranny is fantastic- tight and precise, its taken some time for me to learn to heel n toe with it (thats made a big difference in smoothness).

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  Three Years, Still Love It - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Geoffrey - October 19 - 4:30 pm

  Its been a wonderful experience so far. One small plastic failure, otherwise nothing but consumables. Still fun to drive, still feels solid. I miss the ABS and the interior noise at highway speeds is more than Id like. The experience is good enough that my wife bought a duplicate a year later. Were both pleased with the decisions.

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  Great car for the money - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Craig Brouillette - October 19 - 10:13 am

  I researched and test drove all of the 06 Sonatas competitors vehicles and it was by far the best car for the price. Good power, very comfortable leather seats, and a lot of fun to drive. This car has the look of a $30k car for $8k less.

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  Pleasant surprise - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By jim abbott - October 19 - 4:30 am

  We are very pleased with our purchase.The one thing that is a negative is the digital gauges are difficult to read in the daytime. Also I would add a compass to the computer. The ride is smooth and comfortable,and the response is good. I would buy another and tell my friends how much my wife and I both enjoy it.

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  What a Blast! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By John - October 19 - 2:46 am

  I visited the dealer to look at the Sonata but the Genesis Coupe caught my eyes. The dealer also offered me a "cant refuse deal" for $24,000. I had looked at the Genesis Coupe last year but since I already own a turbo charged Mitsubishi Eclipse, I walked past it. This time, after test driving it, I promptly turned in the Eclipse and became an amazed owner of the Genesis Coupe. My neighbors were astounded that its a Hyundai. I get stares everywhere I drive. So far, the cars been perfect... no problems at all. Even the bluetooth works well, although sometimes it doesnt understand names.

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  My 1st brand new car! - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By ronda h. - October 19 - 1:12 am

  scary about purchasing a new car, been many years since I purchased a car. wanted to make sure the chose I made was the right one. my brother and sis-in-law were a deciding factor. over 20 years they have either both or one have owned a Hyundai. now the three of us all own 2016 Hyundai Tucsons, in different colors. happy with my chose. mine is in Caribbean blue. makes me smile.