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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  New Purchase - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By jerseyjohn365 - December 12 - 12:26 am

  Pros: Roomy interior, they have taken a few inches from the back and added additional passenger leg room. Lots of features in the SE AT, sun roof, XM, mp3 stereo w/USB and iPOD jacks, ESC, airbags, etc. Cons: ride is stiffer than the Ford Focus wagon it is replacing. Fuel mileage is not fantastic - just average.

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  This is my 1st Car Ever - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tony1stCar - December 8 - 12:41 pm

  This car is really great. it is a very stylish car and many people think that i am driving a Jaguar. This car is very well built. It can fit 5 people very comfortably. The trunk space is very large which is a good to always have. But my antenna broke. Due to the motor burn out. So now i can get the AM stations. I am curious about how it will drive in the snow because it has no traction control nor ABS.

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  Wish it had telescopic steering wheel - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dave - December 7 - 8:12 pm

  Replaced a 1994 Corolla that i really liked. Purchased mainly by price but positive reviews were also important. Driving comfort and MPGs are important to me. My main complaint is no telescopic steering wheel. Did not notice this during test drive, but in order for arms to be comfortable, I have to put the seat very close (I am short, 56"). Hopefully ill get used to it.

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  Tensioner/Alternator/stops going 60mph - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By Trendfriendpa - December 6 - 8:33 am

  Like the car, get compliments on styling and comfort. Unfortunately had to replace the tensioners and belts 3 times (tensioners chew the belts badly), replaced the alternator at 50,000. Have had a shudder when going from high speeds to slowly down at ramps or traffic slows suddenly. Have 98,000 miles on it and now going at 60 mph, the car engines just stops. Next thing I will be killed because of this. The dealerships service is bad, cant find anything wrong - I take it to my regular mechanic who fixes it. Service means save the dealership money customer spends it elsewhere. Oh, yes, the paint started peeling after 2 years on the driver side running board. Not their problem.

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  Thought It Was Good! - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tyler James - December 4 - 11:39 pm

  I Like The Car. I Like The Features. However its not dependable. changed alternator, cv shafts. Oh. Did i mention the whole engine. ?? Yea. follow maintenance intervals for timing belts. they tend to break and kill your engine. My car is nice. wish it was a little better on fuel, a little more dependable, and it came with more features. Then Again I only have the base. My car is going on 7 years old and it is still a head turner. I will drive it until i graduate college. But I doubt Id Buy another one. 154,000 miles on body. 7,000 on engine. still going strong. HOPE IT LASTS!! Thanks.

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  Nice car overall, but quality lacking - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By G-man3000 - December 3 - 9:23 pm

  I have owned my 2006 Elantra for 3 years now (approx 50,000 miles on it), and I am the original owner. Overall, the car is nice, comfortable and economical. However, quality has been a disappointment. When I first bought the car the headlights were aimed too low, and the steering wheel had a vibration at highway speeds. Several months later, the armrest cover material peeled off, and I noticed the passenger airbag light stays on when a fairly lighter adult passenger is seated in the seat. The weight sensor is a bit out of spec I believe. Most recently, the CD player broke. Overall, Id buy a Honda or Toyota...for a little more money, you get much better quality/resale value.

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  Ride and Road noise!? - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By oldboyscout - December 3 - 1:51 pm

  After 3000 miles am very happy with SE Except for Ride (any bump is transmitted to my a..) and Road Noise (sound of tires against asphalt ((no concrete here)) very high on freeways and state/local roads.) Wonder if stock tires on alloy 16 rims to blame? Sidebar: Ive been driving 50 years.

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  My new 2013 Santa Fe is a lemon - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By naenae1 - December 1 - 9:26 am

  The new Santa Fe 7 passenger was everything and more. We loved the vehicle that we purchased in April. It provided a great car and towing capacity which suited our families needs. I was in heaven until Nov. with less than 6000 miles. I am currently in discussions with Hyundai and the BBB since the car is considered a lemon. End of Oct my vehicles fuel injector went out. It has been in the shop for over 30 days because it had to brought in another 2 more times for seals on the fuel injection system that failed. Currently there is no repair date because the parts need to come from Korea and are on back order for a new rail for the fuel injection system. The car is not drivable now.

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  Hyundai Sonata 3.3L V6 review - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By John - November 30 - 9:47 pm

  I Love my car but my problems with it is the bulbs on the rear and head lights and fog lights go out every 2months or so and the vinyl shades want stay up they keep falling down, I think Im going to buy me a Nissan Altima 3.5 SE next time because Hyundai is not a great product to buy when it comes to havent it long term. So Nissan here I come

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  GREAT CAR, except breaks - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dave NY - November 30 - 11:49 am

  My first brand new car purchase. I have loved the car for 5.5 years, longest I have owned a car by 200%. Only prob has been breaks...needed new rotors all around after 20k. Needed more work another 15k into it. Tires replaced at about 35k. I dont drive the car aggressively. Everything else was amazing. Trading it in, got $5k for it. Not bad, I paid $14,600 with sunroof 5.5 years ago.