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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  I love my Tibby - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Trish Lane - November 15 - 2:16 pm

  This is the second Tibby I have owned. I love the warrenty that even covers light bulbs. There is plenty of power in 5th going across the two mountains to and from work daily. Next car in another two years will be the same model.

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  Suspension noice - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By magne schille - November 15 - 10:43 am

  I like this car. I have about 12,000 on it. Have been back to dealer twice for service and one complaint that has not been fixed. It is the excessive suspension noise on uneven pavement. It sounds like car is falling apart. Dealer said I had 50 lb. Of air in tires. Second time back I was told nothing is wrong, but that I had to get used to " driving a truck". Consumer magazine talked about this problem, but nobody else.

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  Talk of the town - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Joyce Hare - November 15 - 10:00 am

  Married for 20 years, we have always drove Fords. We have only owned this car for 2 months; have found people everywhere love it. Someone is always asking what kind of car it is and telling us how beautiful the styling is. But we love our XG350L and are very proud owners and will definitely buy Hyundai from this point on!!

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  Good Family SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SilverGold - November 15 - 10:00 am

  Affordable, reliable, gets around great in the snow. Good buy.

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  Price and reliablity - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bill127 - November 15 - 10:00 am

  We were looking for a small SUV. We looked at the Ford Escape and found that 36 months for a warranty couldnt compete with the Santa Fe. We got a 6 cylinder instead of a 4 cylinder for less money.

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  Best That Out There - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By KIDKID - November 15 - 10:00 am

  This is by far the best SUV out there for the price you pay. All the extras that you love, with out those you dont need makes it a really great buy.

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  2004 FWD GLS 3.5L - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SantaFe - November 15 - 10:00 am

  This is a great midsize SUV.It is solid and drives like a car.I would recommend this to anyone.The 3.5 FWD engine is highly recommended,smooth and powerful.

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  Worth the Ride - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Ed Dwyer - November 15 - 9:31 am

  Great car that fits my needs exactly. Sporty spitfire with built in economy and relatively comfortable environment. I dont see many SEs on the road but I get a lot of compliments on it.

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  Most reliable, fun, sexy car - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Morgan - November 15 - 5:33 am

  I bought the car at 54k miles, and it got totaled at 80k miles in one year. I drove their car for 32 hours straight from Jonestown, PA, to El Paso Tx. My "Tibby" had nothing wrong with it but general maintenance. The person who owned it previously took as great of care of the car as I did. Once you own one, it is hard to replace it. My Tibbys battery was beat for 2 months, and I just pumped the gas a little, and it never once refused to start for me. The car turned heads wherever I went, and the engine is very well built. I had plans to add pink interior lights, paint the emblems pink, and add a windshield "Tiburon" decal in pink. My car had after-market rims, and a sweet sound system.

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  BETTER THAN CAMRY AND ACCORD FOR LESS - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By DR.BERK - November 14 - 11:33 pm

  I didnÂ’t think they could improve the Sonata this much but they did. Its huge inside; lots of trunk space and a lot of power -- 235 hp. How do they get better gas mileage than the last yearÂ’s model that is 65 less horse power? I love my new car!