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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  We love our new Sonata Hybrid - 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Hal Baumbaach - April 8 - 4:59 am

  After telling people for the last 4 years how we loved our two Priuses, we were shocked while driving a Sonata at the dealership. We went to look at the Sonatas because they are beautiful cars and came away totally amazed at all of the features, the comfort, and the quiet of the Sonata. Prius is not even in the same ballpark as Sonata. I call our Sonata "our economy luxury car." We only paid an extra $1,000 more than the last Prius we bought, a 2014, and the Sonata feels like it is worth at least $10,000 more in features, beauty, quiet, safe, comfortable ride. I cant tell you how often my wife and I discuss how much we love our new Sonata. We bought the $35,000 Hybrid Limited loaded with all the features for $29,000 about 3 months ago and are getting over 40 mpg which is about 5 mpg less than our Prius was getting.

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  Oh my God I love it - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Joann - April 8 - 12:09 am

  I love it... It rides like a dream, so smooth a ride. I enjoyed driving so much I even took a day off from work just to drive it around. It looks like such an expensive car but is so affordable.

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  excited - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By sonia adams - April 7 - 7:43 pm

  My husband bought me this car for my birthday and now he wants to buy him one. We own several cars but I have to say this is the best looking car we have driven. I traded in my 300 for the technology packet. I test drove a Benz, infiniti and several others this car beat them all. Dont let the name Hyundai fool you will love this car

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  Luv my Hyundai - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jerry - April 7 - 4:33 pm

  OK, I only have the Sonata a couple of weeks but I am very very happy with the car. The power is impressive for a four cylinder and the gas mileage is great, avg 29 MPG all around. That avg is highway and city combined. It has a classy interior that is well layed out and very comfortable. I bought the Sonata to replace an Elantra, 77K miles, that I gave to my son. He needed a car. This is my seventh Hyundai. I traded a Land Rover for a Santa Fe, which I still own. I made a great trade. To date Ive had no issues with any of my Hyundai. I plan to look at the new Genesis Coupe when it hits the showroom floor. I got the Sonata at an I cant pass it up deal, $12400 for the GLS automatic.

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  owner - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By wesley mooney - April 7 - 11:50 am

  love the car, it is extremely comfortable, and a very quiet ride. Good on gas,

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  My Favorite Car Ever! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Lisa Hays - April 6 - 10:00 am

  I am so pleased with my Hyundai! The performance is outstanding and I constantly get compliments about how great the car looks. And of course, you cant beat Hyundais warranty. Great car!

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  Sonata SE with XM/NAV voice - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Kilibreaux - April 6 - 10:00 am

  This is the best Hyundai so far and I should know, this is my 6th Hyundai, the previous models owned being an Elantra wagon, two Santa Fes, Tiburon, and Entourage. Every model Hyundai I have owned has been reliable and well-built. The Sonata is all that plus superbly styled. Driving the Sonata is like sitting in an airplane cockpit with everything right at hand, plus, with the navigation system there is little need to look away from the road as everything--phone, XM stereo, iPod, DVD, and navigation is operable by voice command--amazing and fun! Acceleration is outstanding, handling taut, and fuel mileage incredible--average 42 mpg at 60 mph, 35 mpg at 70 mph.

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  Fun to drive and a great ride for the px - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Gonzo - April 5 - 4:26 pm

  Ive read the other reviews and I must have a different take on some folks. I bought mine after comparing it to the Miata, Eclipse and Elantra and I actually liked the ride better. In my opinion it shifts better than the Eclipses around the same year and has a lot better torque in the low range. I found road noise or hard riding does seem to be dependant a lot on your tires. At higher presser it was a rougher ride (but better stability) but when I went down a lb in each tire, wow. The clutch can be a little picky, but once you get used to its nuances you can work with it... it seems like it wants a lot of RPM in each range. Nicely smooth turning and hard to beat the looks you get!

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  replacing my toyota - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By replaced toyota - April 5 - 9:00 am

  I purchased my Sonata after looking at Nisson and Honda and the best buy for the money was the Sonata. I have a heavy foot on the gas and still get 32 mg on the highway. The best I ever got from my Toyota was 29. The warranty is limited you have to read the fine print.

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  Great Car!!! - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By diamonddbrh - April 5 - 12:50 am

  I absolutely love my Tiburon. It gets lots of looks. It is fun to drive, It was love at first sight. When I set out to buy a car I had no idea I would be buying a Hyundai, but this car is so much fun! Everyone wants to drive with me.