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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  Impressed all time - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By timeless - August 4 - 12:56 pm

  i have driven azera about 600miles so far. i dont drive the other car Acura MDX any more. i have driven many other luxeries, but this car is the best car.

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  Overly Happy - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By sweet16drvr - August 4 - 2:00 am

  The hyundai accent is the best car on the market. I currently was given a new black 2003 accent for my birthday, and i am in love with it. I fully believe it was worth the wait for the car.

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  Hyundai Santa Fe - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jim Bourg - August 3 - 9:03 pm

  Has given me every thing promised and then some. Has been trouble free. Will consider another when the time comes.

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  Check out for better fuel economy - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By zonthemon - August 3 - 5:20 pm

  I have the base model with a manual trans. I think you get excellent value for the money. I get many comments on the styling and looks. As for the fuel economy I have found a pretty decent (15%+)increase when I have the Electronic Stability control (ESC) turned OFF.

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  Lived to tell about it!!! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jana - August 3 - 3:16 pm

  Recently my daughter and I were in an accident with my 2004 Santa Fe which I was the driver my daughter the passenger. 3 vehicles were involved all of which were totaled off. The driver of the vehicle which hit us lost control and landed on my Santa Fe and rolled off, literally tearing open the drivers side and pushing us into another vehicle which stopped us from rolling into traffic.The accident reconstruction police team visited us at the hospital at which time they told us that had we been in any other vehicle the chances of the accident being fatal would have been much higher as the Santa Fe is designed to crumble around us in an accident and has the best accident ratings.Thank you Hyundai!

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  Luxury you can afford - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By Antonito - August 3 - 2:00 am

  I love the car. It rides very smooth, classy look,spacy,affordable,sound system great. Negative Features: Cruise control button is placed in inconvenient location. Mirrors stick out a little too far. Front bumber always scrapes when parking(too low). A little wind noise when windy and at high speed. If you get a side wind the car rocks. Power steering is a little loud. Upset that I didnt know they were coming out with a new model the following year. Over all I would recomend the car. I have had no problems with it. If you have an opportunity, test drive, you will be blown away. It drives like a new Jag!

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  Love this car totally! Bring it back! - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Tan - August 2 - 9:40 pm

  I had never heard of this car or saw it before, but just knew it when I saw it, that it was mine! I have not regretted one day of it, never a problem and the miles just turned over to 55,555 yesterday (1/26/10). It is totally loaded, & the sticker price was over $30,000 +, but the dealer sold it to me for $22,000 and no money down, or out of pocket or trade-in. It still looks brand new off the lot. No door dings or scratches & no, I dont have a garage. But I am careful where I park it. I want to keep this car forever & protect it. I keep the maintenance up & its been good to me so far! Bring this car back so when it does go, I can get another one! Not crazy about the Azera thats replaced it

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  The Veracruz is the Best Kept Secret - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By austx37 - August 2 - 5:50 pm

  Ive had my new 07 GLS FWD Veracruz for a month now and I love it. I had a Honda Accord and was tired of seeing my car all over town 10 times a day. I love the way the Veracruz looks, rounded corners and the exterior nicely hides a roomy, very easy to access 3rd row. The second row can be adjusted forward or back so you can choose to put your little ones or adults in the middle or back row. One of my favorite features is the blue internal lighting and the stereo sound is great. I love my new SUV so much that I cant wait to drive it and find myself thinking of errands to run just to get out in it. I do mostly city driving and my MPG is 18-19, very close to what my 01 Accord was.

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  Wow, amazingly tight car! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By danbfree - August 2 - 2:20 am

  One thing that is overlooked is that the Hyundai actually has a stiffer frame than Toyota or Honda, and you can feel it. The quality is just there. Absolutely superb. Very smooth on freeway, tight suspension rides nice although its body roll in corners could be less. Its been said before that it looks like a baby Lexus or something, and in my silver color with tinted windows it does. I actually get a few looks. Rims are sharp looking. Absolutely perfect size car. Far from big, easy to drive yet amazing interior room. Transmission is a little on the "grandma" end of the performance scale but shifts and transitions smoothly. Trunk has releases to fold rear seats right near the trunk opening.

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  2006 Santa Fe - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Devin - August 1 - 9:16 am

  Great car, have owned a 2002 Santa Fe and it has virtually no mechanical problems. Everything has held up and the gas milage has been affordable with 19 city 25-28 highway at 80mph. My 2006 is virtually the same for all practical purposes.. I will probably keep buying the Santa Fe as it fits my budget and lifestyle perfectly.. the 2007s are quite a step up and reflect that in their exterior styling and interior.. only dislike about the 2006 and unfortunately the 2007 is the interior colors.. two colors to choose from and I dislike them both. My 2002 had a dark grey interior which was very easy to keep clean with our orange dog inside ( Vizsla ).