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 Review...I Love My Car - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Jocelyn - May 28 - 10:00 am

  My review of the Hyundai Tiburon is that it is a fun to drive well made car. It handles like a sports car and has enough power to make it fun.

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  In the SHop - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Lamar - May 28 - 10:00 am

  Well first of all its stays in the shop more than I drive it. Has a very bad pull to the right, dealership cant seem to get it fixed. Sunroof has broken, the shocks on the rear hatch have had to be replaced. I really dont think I will be purchasing another on of these.

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  The best car value for my money! - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By akirk - May 28 - 10:00 am

  My last two cars were a Lincoln Continental and a Cadillac Catera. I recently traded in the Catera for my Hyundai and love it. My husband and I took a two week road trip and logged over 4000 miles. The composition of this car is solid. The luxury features of the car are more than I can ask for. I am fed up with US made cars and want to know when Hyundai will get on the NYSE.

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  Great Little Car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By someguy - May 28 - 10:00 am

  We were looking for a resonably priced car that we could purchase with cash and avoid having a car payment. For the money, theres not any other car even in the same league as the elantra. If you can get over the name, this is one heck of a car.

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  03 GLS rocks! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By themanx - May 28 - 10:00 am

  Bought an 03 GLS sedan as a second car for my wife to drive. She loves driving it and the fuel economy is 23 in the city. Dealer was great to us, got a remote control cd player installed. After the rebate got it for $12,150. Hard to find a brand new car for this price with this quality and warranty to back it up.

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  Still new... will keep you posted. - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Cindy G - May 27 - 5:03 pm

  I research new cars to the point of ridiculous... but I really hate "buyers remorse", and I also hate buying what everyone else is driving based on the assumption that it must be the best thing ever if its so popular! Wanted to leave behind the "Minivan feel, look, and life- style", but still needed plenty of room for cargo of the human and Home Depot sort. Love the look of this vehile (mistake it for the Lexus), very comfortable interior, including fold-away back seat. We also got an excellent offer for the one we bought, a combination of 1) Dealer incentives 2) Manufacturer/finance com incentives 3) Willing to take last years model for a few buck off. We got an AMAZING deal!

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  2005 Tucson GL - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By LdyDi18 - May 27 - 8:00 am

  I purchased my first SUV and I love it. For the minimal amount of added cost to my payments I should have gone for the GLS like I wanted. I am TOTALLY satisfied with the GL. Havent seen any Tucsons on the road but mine and I am having a ball with it.

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  Pleased so far - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Hutch - May 26 - 10:00 am

  My new 2010 Santa Fe has about 4000 miles on it so far. Overall I am pleased with the car but there are some things i dont like about it. The ride is very rough. From the factory the tires had 36 lbs of pressure. Dropping the pressure to 30lbs helped a lot but the ride is still stiffer than that of a 2010 Rav 4 Limited. The V6 engine is very powerful but the gas pedal has excessive lag. Step on the gas and wait a 2 seconds before the engine RPM picks up. You will find many complaints online regarding the transmission but I havent experienced any problems yet (fingers crossed). Rav 4 would have been my first choice if it wasnt for that swing out rear door.

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  Great Power with Great Gas Milleage - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mark - May 26 - 10:00 am

  I was looking for a mid-size car that had great gas mileage (40 hwy) with the power of a six (200 hp). The acceleration is great. I am averaging a combined city/hwy driving of 26 mpg driving moderately aggressive.

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  Love this car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bette - May 26 - 10:00 am

  I was driving a Lexus 350 SUV and when my lease was up I did a lot of research. I wanted something with better gas mileage, yet good looking. This car had high approval ratings and a 89 rating from another research group for drivabilty. So, it was worth a look. What a beautiful car inside and out and drives aggressively when you put your foot to the medal. Not bad for a 4 cylinder engine. Very happy with my decision. Had a very good experience with the dealership and their service department.