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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  Much more than what i expected.. - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By jeff - February 3 - 1:35 pm

  i changed to this car from Accord...of course cannot compare this car to Accord which i really hated. the word for this car is "Awesome." My fiend who owne BMW rode my car and spoke out "damn quite"..I really love this car...Recommend to give it a shot, and compare other competing cars, and then you realize what i am talking about..

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  Accent on Quality - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By JAMES GREINER - February 2 - 3:42 pm

  i was surprized with the ride and comfort and quiet,it beat my 2002 honda civic lx when new.i was impressed with excelleratin also.

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  Great Automobile! - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By atticus1 - February 2 - 11:26 am

  This is by far the best car that weve ever owned, and Im not just saying this because my husband helped build it.It really is. Everyone who rides in it comments on the smooth ride and how quite it is. So far Ive been averaging about 21 mpg (in-town/ highway), which is about what I expected. Weve only had the car for about 3 months, but weve taken it on 2 trips. Preformed excellently on both. I love this car, and to be honest, I feel a little sorry for anyone who isnt driving one.

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  A Lot of Bang for the Buck - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By LonMan - February 2 - 5:23 am

  My wife and I have owned a lot of vehicles before we purchased the Genesis; some very good and some bad. As we age and not into status or snob appeal any longer value,reliability, warranty coverage, and styling are important. Brand cachet was certainly not a consideration when we bought a 2006 Sonata LX (loaded V6). It is a great car for the money. Superb gas mileage for a 235 hp V6 and plenty of good features.So when the Genesis made its debut in the lux arena we bought a White Satin Pearl 3.8 w/tech package as it came off of the truck. A year of due diligence in the form of technical research, auto magazine and critical reviews sold me on another Hyundai. What an awesome vehicle!

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  Pleasantly Surprised - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mike - February 1 - 5:19 pm

  I purchased this veicle knowing that I had peace of mind with the warranty offered. what has been so nice is that I have not had to use the warranty. I have over 51,000 miles on my car and I have not had any problem at all! Not even a bulb go out.

• 

  nice -except ROUGH RIDE - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By tom - February 1 - 1:40 pm

  I have had this car @4 mos. Has @1000 miles. It is my second Hyundai (currently have a 07 Sonata bought new also) Overall I like this car for the $ and features. I really am disappointed in the rough ride. On city streets you feel every crack and manhole cover. On concrete roads it is noisy and rough. It has premium wheels and low profile tires. Going back to shop to see if tire change will make a difference.

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  Hyundai Limited V6 - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ron Taylor - January 31 - 5:16 pm

  The car is very quiet. The performance is excellant and gas miliage on trips has been about 28 to 29 overall. The CD has excellant sound quality. We like the ride and handling. What really sold us in the end was the many std features: Traction control, stability control, ABS, side Air bags, compus, trip computer, warranty ext. We like the features and styling better than the Accord or Camery and the price was very attractive. We liked the looks and feel of the car. In the end is was not a hard decision.

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  A/C Problems - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rreamey - January 31 - 1:00 pm

  Bought the Santa Fe in Nov. 07 and all was great. When the weather started to warm up and we used the A/C it would only work when it wanted too. Took it in to the dealer and they couldnt guarantee that they had fixed it. Have had it in six times and they still cant find the source of the problem. On the fifth time they kept it for almost one month. The sixth time was last week, picked it up and within one hour the A/C wouldnt work. Have been in contact with Hyundai about a replacement car since this one now falls under the category of a lemon but they have been slow to respond. Other than the A/C problem the car is great.

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  Great SUV - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By adavis - January 31 - 9:16 am

  I love my Santa Fe. I have been looking at them for a while and thought I would like one and went to the dealership and they had a preowned one fully loaded. It has everything I have never had. It has alot of room. I like sitting up off the ground rather then on the ground in a regular car. I will probably not go back to a regular care after having a SUV. The price was great for all the features. I probably would have spent well of $23 for all the features this has. I have been very satisfied.

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  Finally a car I feel like keeping - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Stealthbear - January 31 - 1:13 am

  First I felt like the dealership really wanted my business which when visiting Toyota and Nissan was not the case. After I test drove the Azera the only thing left to sell me on was the color. The car has been everything I had hoped for. I have yet to take it in for anything other than the 3000 mile oil change. I often take it on a drive from Portland to Seattle which is about a 3 hour drive. Even though Im over 6 tall I feel comfortable the entire trip. The infinity sound system is great and the car is totally quite at freeway speeds. If I had drove an Azera after buying an Avalon I would have felt total ripped off.