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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  Jurys Still Out - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jeff - April 15 - 7:10 pm

  Pretty good ecomony car, but DO NOT buy a standard! Clutch failed and is not covered under the bumpper to bumper warrenty. Cost to fix - around $1,000.

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  More to be desired. - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By skpk81 - April 15 - 9:27 am

  Drove this vehicle for over 3 years and purchased new. Began to notice problems right away. Bouncy ride, felt more on second row seating. Fuel economy MPG numbers far from advertised. Small fuel tank 13gal equals short range. Annoying Rattle noise coming from trunk, noisy shocks. AC fan replaced at 17k miles because of high pitch noise. Low pressure tire sensor failed. Fan speed choices not adequate, its either too high or too low. Driver and passenger seat too narrow.

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  Our first Hyundai - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By bucs180 - April 15 - 5:40 am

  My wife compaired cars based on interior room. For the last 13 years and 197,000 miles later we have owned two Dodge Intrepids. 2 weeks ago the A/C had to be repaired in Feb.. Even for Dodge, thats impressive. Instead of driving home after the car was repaired, a stop was made at our local Hyundai dealership. The car was appraised and I presented a news paper ad for a Sonata LX. Much to my surprise, the offer was just too good to pass up. Went home, discussed the offer with my wife and now she drives a wonderful car with Leather interior. My son and I share an Explorer Sports Trac. He is in 11 grade. He loves the v6 with auto stick. I love the 10 year inclusive warranty.

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  2008 Hyundai - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By jutaw22mu - April 15 - 3:00 am

  I just broke the 1000 mile mark over the weekend...I have owned this vehicle since Feb. 16. This car is really fun to drive, looks amazing inside and out, and has pretty much every feature you could want in a car. I love the Kenwood head unit. At night the car is beautifully lit up on the inside. I cant wait until my first long trip this summer to see how the highway gas mileage is. The car is a 4 cylinder but to me, its not that noticeable. A side note, this car comes with the "tiptronic steering" where you can somewhat experience driving a manual. I would recommend not using this feature...I have in the past in other vehicles and had to replace the transmission.

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  Azera - Great car at any price - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Doug Smith - April 14 - 12:40 pm

  The Azera is the quitest car I have ever driven. Great get up and go with the quite 3.8L V6. Great styling and smooth lines. everything is in easy reach of the driver.

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  Value for Money - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Ed - April 14 - 10:00 am

  I bought a diamond silver Tucson 2011 about two weeks ago, trading in a Toyota Corolla 2002. The first few days I really had to get used to the Tucson. Wasnt sure about the ride, the design and the color, coming from driving a sedan. But now I really like the car. Unfortunately, the mileage is not as expected and I miss several storage pockets. But certainly looking forward to the heated seats and mirrors for winter.

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  Is my car a Lemon? - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Raushanah Green - April 14 - 10:00 am

  I had to take my car for servicing twice for the gear shifter. I put my foot on the brakes and go to put it in gear the shifter get stuck. I have to turn the car off at least 3 times before it gives. First time, I took it to the dealer they could not duplicate the problem so they just adjusted the shifter. It worked for a couple of days then it started again. Next time, they decided to keep my car overnight. They called and told me they experience the same problem. The manufacture told them to replaced the brake chip. That did not fix the problem. They kept my car for week and released my car thinking the problem as fixed. Now, Im experiencing the problem again. Now, they want to replace the shifter.

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  Windshield - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ben - April 13 - 1:24 pm

  Our Elantra is 5 weeks old. It was parked outside a friends house for 3 hours. Virtually no traffic and no trees overhead. The temperature was about 86 degrees. When my wife returned to the car there was a 12 inch crack in the windshield. No evidence at all that it was caused by an object, no star or chip, just the crack. My theory is heat caused the crack, something I have never seen before. Is the windshield defective? That is my conclusion.

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  LOVE MY TUCSON - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Goldylocks - April 13 - 12:43 pm

  I took my 2001 Hyundai Elantra to the dealership for oil change, tune up, etc. I left with a 2005 Hyundai Tucson. I absolutely love this car. I love the look, the style, the interior. This car is my baby. One week after I bought it my best friends husband backed in to the front bumper and SMASHED it all in. Did $1200 work of just cosmetic damage. Good thing is the engine is placed far enough back that it didnt touch it, bad thing is the bumper really CRUMBLED. I was only parked 5 feet away from him and it did that much damage. Hard to get parts in for this car right now b/c its so new (took 2 weeks to get front bumper)....SO DONT WRECK THEM!!!

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  Some Regrets - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By kg - April 12 - 8:40 pm

  Traded in a Toyota van which had great ride quality and am disappointed in sante fes ride. Very stiff ride which I did not discover upon test driving. Interior is noisy, could be the leather seats rubbing together and vibrating. A/c controls are more complicated than they need to be. Engine seems to have some hesitation upon acceleration. Black interior is more dark gray than black which I like better. Anxious to see how it handles in snow. Lots of features on this SUV for the money but not sure I will keep it for the long term due to ride quality and interior noise. Interior comfort is more important to me than all the bells and whistles that this car has. Not sure it was right car for me.