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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  EXCELLENT TOWN AND ROAD CAR - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By ZIPPADEEDUDAH - June 2 - 2:00 am

  THIS CAR IS AN EXCELLENT VALUE. IT RIDES WELL, IS RELATIVELY NOISE FREE EVEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE STEREO IS EXCELLENT AND THE SUNROOF OPERATES FLAWLESSLY. THE ENGINE IS QUIET AND THE CAR IS ERGONOMICALLY DESIGNED, ESPECIALLY IN CASE OF COLLISION. SIDE SEAT BAGS ARE A DISTINCT PLUS. I CHOSE CLOTH SEATS OVER LEATHER BECAUSE OF MY DOGS CLAWS. LOVE THE LUMBAR SUPPORT AND THE POSITIVE ACCELERATION. GETS EXCELLENT GAS MILEAGE. PEOPLE STOP AND LOOK AT IT. IT WILL VERY SHORTLY BE A BETTER ALTERNATIVE THAN THE HONDA AND TOYOTA WHICH COST A LOT BECAUSE OF HIGH NAME RECOGNITION. REBATE IS EXCELLENT.

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  Fun to drive!!!!!!! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By NormJay - June 2 - 2:00 am

  The car hanles the road very well. Theres pleanty of power in the 4 cyl. Its the best car for the price.

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  Good deal, could be better - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bob Devon - June 2 - 2:00 am

  Good warranty and seems reliable. Some interior cheapness is a bit iritating but for the price I can stand it. The illusion of the money saved definitly makes the car apealing but after some further research I realized its actually cheaper over a 5 year period (even less probably) to by an Accord. The accord has a better transmission, better engine and is better to the enviroment (this Sonata is a smog machine). Hyundai added some extras to make the good selling points vs. the Accord but these are features rarely used compared to daily driving, ala hyrdrolic hood.

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  New purchase, upset - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By vilamed - June 2 - 2:00 am

  Sluggish movement with V4 model

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  My GLS - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SoulShker - June 2 - 2:00 am

  I got the GLS 2.7 with the moonroof and the ski rack. I love it. Its so much fun to drive. The stock stereo rocks and it gets so much better gas miliage than my truck. I am very pleased with my purchase. Id recomment it to anyone that wants a stylish SUV that is fun to drive under $25k.

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  great car for price - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By advent - June 2 - 2:00 am

  drives well/handles great in bad & good weather Bob Bell & Hyundai wrote & emailed asking how I liked it& if they could anything Ive been driving seen I was 16 and Im a sr. now Ive always been a Ford man/this car has changed my thinking God Bless Jerry

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  great car - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By derf1776 - June 2 - 2:00 am

  This car rides great and has good power with the 3.5L. The stereo is great for a stock system. The only drawback that bothers me is the time/date clock where there should be a digital compass. I may have one installed myself. Other than that the best SUV you can get for the money.

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  Great Value for its Time - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By 1956ford - June 1 - 7:27 pm

  Bought the LX for my wife in Nov 2002. She is 52" and loves it. I am 62" and it is great around town, bit of a challenge on all-day drives. Been to Colorado skiing in 2x and it is great in the mountains. MPG could be more, but the feds killed it with crappy ethanol (insane idea to use food for fuel). Get 18 or 19 mpg around town, stop and go. Interstate driving nets 26+ at 70-80mph. (Ours is the 4 spd auto.) Downside has been recent - right side lock is failing. The radio is poor on AM (had the antenna replaced once) and the radio display is on/off intermittently. Ive used all BG products and done careful maintenance - Santa Fe should go to 150K easily.

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  my opinion - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By evad - June 1 - 10:00 am

  fun easy to drive great value and good gass mileage

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  great - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jwb - June 1 - 10:00 am

  its great i would reccomend this vehicle to anyone who wants quality for very good prices