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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  Great Reliable SUV - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By nyl777 - June 24 - 11:00 pm

  Driven 100000 plus miles on it already and planning to drive another 100000 on it for another 5 years. It drives good in Michigan road in winter on a virgin snow of up to 4 inches.

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  2011 Hyundai Sonata - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By mary - June 24 - 1:10 am

  I purchased the 2011 Hyundai Sonata a month ago, and love it! I drove it home via the highway and was shocked to see the I was already getting 27 mpg and the car only had 21 miles on it. The ride is smooth, cabin is quiet and visibility is great. The interior is awesome. You must experience it at night to get the full effect of the blue lights on the dash, steering wheel and window switches. The car is so roomy that for the first few days I kept thinking the door wasnt shut because I was so far away from it, lol. After considering price, warranty, safety, mpg and looks, the 2011 Sonata was a no brainer.

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  Wise Buy - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By AZ Sunshine - June 23 - 2:26 pm

  After eying crossovers for a couple of years and test driving several, the new Santa Fe caught my eye, and it was the first crossover I got excited about. Only have 1700 mi on it, but am extremely pleased with safety, performance, and styling. Getting 22.5 mpg - better than my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Good visibility, especially the big windshield. Smooth ride, good acceleration. Powerful A/C as needed here in AZ. Now my neighbor who rides to work with me wants one! If I continue to be this pleased, would do it again in a heartbeat. As others say, first thing that struck me when I climbed in was "more bang for the buck."

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  Excellent purchase - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Di1234 - June 22 - 2:30 am

  I traveled this summer from Ga to PA. My children came with us. My son is 64"and my daughter 57". They expressed how comfortable and spacious the back seats were. The back seats also have the option to recline for better comfort.

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  Fantastic Car for the Money, 25k Miles going strong. - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By cubish83 - June 21 - 2:12 pm

  I fell in love with this car the minute i saw a commercial for it and went to the dealer the next day. Been Happy ever since. Gas mileage in high 30s consistently on the highway, about 30 flat with mixed driving. Starts every time and has never left me stranded. I have owned 17 cars in my lifetime and this has been my favorite. Comfortable, low maintenance, not too flashy but certainly modern, plenty of toys inside to keep one entertained.

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  One great vehicle to own - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Peter L - June 21 - 8:33 am

  There are 4 Hyundais in our family.I priced and test drove 4-5 other similar suvs but for the money and quality you cant beat the Santa Fe. .My wife just loves it and after one of her girl friends saw it and drove it she went out and purchased one.The car sell itself.

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  What a car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By BILL - June 21 - 2:20 am

  Replaced my 03 Altima wiht this Sonata SE and i am definitely not disappointed. Runs excellent, attractive styling-Ive gotten ten comments in three weeks, good value for the money, and free XM satellite radio for three months.

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  Pleasure to Drive - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sid - June 20 - 10:33 pm

  We were always a GM family from our parents to us. Buick was our car. For some reason we bought a Toyota Camry in 2007. Very dissatisfied with the Camry. We traded the Camry for a Sonata 2011 and absolutely love it. We drove 200 miles yesterday on the FL turnpike and it drove beautifully with at an average of 33 miles to the gallon. All the other gadgets are awesome.

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  Best Value in a Hatchback Anywhere! - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By 57redleg - June 20 - 4:06 am

  Needed to move on to a new vehicle and pass my 2001 Civic to my son. Checked the Impreza, Fit, Forte, Elantra sedan and just about everything else. The Elantra Touring had the best value to feature set of all by far. The interior is fantastic from the comfortable seats, to the beautiful dash to the incredibly large back seat and cargo area. The included iPod connection, and overall layout is great. ESC and TCS works great so far, but once the Wisconsin snow starts falling Ill know for sure. The ET has more than enough power, though the engine noise is noticeable when accelerating to road speed. I do miss the 40 mpg I got with my old Civic; averaging 29mpg in 70% highway driving

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  xg350L - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By vitojm57 - June 20 - 2:00 am

  Extremely fun to drive with a look of luxary. If you were to combine a Lincoln Continental and a Toyota Avalon you would have a XG350L for thousands less.