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:
Showing 5111 through 5120 of 13,764.00-
Love the Tucson - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
By KOBYCAT - March 6 - 9:16 amLove the vehicle. Such a smooth ride, takes bumps very smooth. Nice and compact, but roomy. Just what we were looking for. Nothing too big and a decent fuel amount.
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Good value and safety for young drivers - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
By Lorjefer - March 5 - 11:03 pmSo far so good
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My best car yet - 2005 Hyundai XG350
By Bekele - March 5 - 8:46 pmThis is the fourth new car I ever owned and the best. My other new cars were a Honda Accord, a Pontiac Grand Am and a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I havent had one problem with the car yet. Everything still works just like the first day I drove it out of the dealership. Just amazing!
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Wow! Fantastic Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
By Brandon C - March 4 - 9:26 pmBy far the best family car out there. Best fuel: 39 mpg or 6 L/100 km in hwy, 27 mpg or 8.5 L/100 km in city. I am getting about 33-34 mpg combined, with 65/35 hwy/city while always driving in ECO Mode. The car is amazingly smooth/quiet at hwy speeds of 110 km/h or 70 mph, and revs only 1950 rpm. Very sharp new design, large interior space, and huge trunk, very comfy leather seats, nice Bluetooth feature, great stereo, climate control, trip computer, nice smooth feeling of electronic steering in hwy/city driving. Currently have 500 miles or 800 km on Odo, but still havent fill up the tank yet. Will probably go around 850 km or 528 miles. Will also purchase Turbo version if fuel eco is similar.
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Great car! - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
By Daniel Yorgov - March 3 - 10:11 pmI bought this car used 3 months ago and I took it on a 1300 miles trip on the very next day. GLS Leather is very comfortable and roomy inside. It is also a beauty: I have had quite a few good comments from my friends. It proofed itself as very dependable vehicle in the extreme upper Michigan weather conditions. Definitely will consider buying Sonata again!
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fun car, great milage - 2005 Hyundai Accent
By tim testor - March 3 - 9:44 pm2005 GT Hatch. I do a lot of highway business driving and have seen 38.5 mpg crusing @ 75mph. Fairly quiet relaxed cruising for a econobox in this price range but a little "buzzy" in the lower gears (automatic).
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Good Decision - 2003 Hyundai XG350
By idfored - March 2 - 10:00 amI could not pass this good deal(price). I enjoy all features; I like the way it drives(highway star). Seats are so comfotable. My engine is little noisy for a new car.
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Tiburon Review - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
By Caron Strutz - March 2 - 10:00 amReally a fun car with some oomph
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My recent conversion - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
By Timsmitty - March 2 - 10:00 amSTAY AWAY from SAN LEANDRO HYUNDAI! WORST in the car business. LIED to me there wasnt a 3.5 liter because didnt have one on the lot. Found on Hyundai website it does exist. LIED to me about the 0% financing but had ad with me so hard to deny. Inept paperwork through mail, leaving half address, getting whole cities states wrong but having correct zip code? Turly did NOT care care once I left with vehicle. Left messages with people trying to help get paperwork sent to the correct address. NEVER got answer. Ill NEVER give them business again, dont deserve it. Sorry but true. Want to build loyalty? Start with those that sell you car to.
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2003 Santa Fe LX 2.7L - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
By smt - March 2 - 10:00 amVery impressive. Looked at the competetors (i.e. Sorento and Axiom) and neither of these came close. Everyone who has seen it has been in love with it. The comfort features are great. It is worthwhile to pay the extra money to get the sunroof and running boards; they complete the look.
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Hyundai Accent 964 Reviews
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Hyundai Azera 572 Reviews
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Hyundai Elantra 2,696 Reviews
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Hyundai Elantra GT 50 Reviews
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Hyundai Elantra Touring 162 Reviews
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Hyundai Entourage 177 Reviews
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Hyundai Equus 53 Reviews
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Hyundai Genesis 523 Reviews
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Hyundai Genesis Coupe 171 Reviews
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Hyundai Santa Fe 2,171 Reviews
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Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 4 Reviews
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Hyundai Santa FE XL 1 Reviews
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Hyundai Sonata 3,413 Reviews
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Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 134 Reviews
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Hyundai Tiburon 898 Reviews
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Hyundai TUCSON 869 Reviews
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Hyundai Veloster 109 Reviews
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Hyundai Veracruz 262 Reviews
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Hyundai XG300 68 Reviews
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Hyundai XG350 467 Reviews