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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  Wonderful Car - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By sealie - April 2 - 2:00 am

  I havent noticed any roll, the features, quality and price are the best deal on the market. The ride is super and smooth. Havent noticed any searching for gears no touchy acceleration pedal. I think it shifts better than the Honda I also own. Beautiful auto all around.

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  Best Car I have owned - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By sealie - April 2 - 2:00 am

  This car is wonderful to drive on the road, everything in the car is luxury. I have only owned Hondas in the past. this car is far superior. I looked at VWs, Hondas, etc, and this car really out performs all of them, execpt for the VW construction quality. The price for what you are getting compared to the others is no comparision.

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  I Love this Hybrid - 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By golfing713 - March 31 - 6:23 pm

  I test drove 2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE. 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid, 2014 Toyota Prius Plug-In, and 2013 Honda Civic Hybrid. All of these hybrid cars share the same feature, CVT. Continuous Variable Transmission. I work for Nissan and most Nissans have a CVT in the car which are consistently being replaced. Since there first or second year CVTs I passed on Honda/Toyota. The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited has a smooth quiet ride. Has a lot of great features and gas mileage so far has been in the low to mid 30s. Fit and Finish, seat comfort, back-up camera. nav, bluetooth make this car a great choice. Dont listen to the bad reviews, I feel this car has a great value for the $$ D

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  Smart choice - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By chris - March 31 - 11:30 am

  I bought my Azera limited after doing a ton of research on the net. I got fed up with spending a mint fixing my audi a8 continuously. I wanted to find a somewhat comparable safe, solid roomy vehicle that was built well and didnt cost an arm and a leg. I looked at used BMW, Passat, Jags, Saab, Audis, Avalon and kept coming back to the Azera. I bought it for about the same price as other used cars with 30-40k miles and now feel it might very well be one of the smartest choices I could have made.

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  best yet! - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Diane Noll - March 31 - 10:50 am

  My frist suv. After this , never again another car!

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  Unreal - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By jforrest8 - March 31 - 10:00 am

  "Lets not go overboard here" should post "Lets not post here unless youve driven the car"... With that said. I just purchased my Blue Shark yesterday. Got the shiftronic and am blown away by the power, look, comfort, and luxury incorporated in this sports car. It is a Supra/A4/Porsche at half the price. I am very pleased. P.S. Though I dont recommend it, I just dusted my first RSX in a 300 yard sprint and he got a better jump than I did...

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  The best buy in its class - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rick Jones - March 31 - 10:00 am

  The Elantra is HUGELY underpriced. Dollar for dollar, its better than the Civic, Corolla, or Focus. Its a big improvement on previous Hyundais... quiet, responsive, and comfortable with more than enough power. Options galore, looks good, well built. A great buy. I didnt intend to buy Hyundai when I went shopping, but it beat out every other compact car, and I looked at all of them.

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  Mostly Love - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By luvcars - March 31 - 2:40 am

  This is my first Hyundai and love it for the most part. The styling, comfort and gas mileage is my favorite parts of the car. I do not like the steering at highway speeds. Always correcting one way and the other way to just stay straight on the road. I also have a rattle in the glove box area I will have the dealer fix. I would like to see Hyundai recalibrate the steering and I would love this car.

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  Hyundai XG350L - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By Jack Drum - March 31 - 2:00 am

  I think this car is a excellent in quality, and workmanship for any automobile. I have been pleasantly surprised in each new thing I find about this car. It has very good performance, and gives a stable, and comfortable ride.

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  Superb Car - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Valclar - March 31 - 2:00 am

  Best investment I ever made. The car handles excellent. Very roomy inside. Plenty of storage space. Drives very fast, although slightly slower on pick-up, but I am not a race driver. This is the car to have. You will love it.