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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  Great all round SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By MP538 - March 1 - 2:50 pm

  I like the Tucson. Have 33K on it and have not had a single mechanical problem. Stock tires gave out at 25K. Excellent in wet weather and snow- better than my GMC Yukon. Great for my wife since the 4x4 just kicks in when needed. Average 22mpg, best I ever got was 25mpg on a trip. Comfortable for short trips and long ones also. Took on a 1500 mile trip to Canada- did great. Would recommend.

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  So Far So Pleased - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By So Far So Pleased - March 1 - 7:00 am

  This rating system was very helpful to me when I was deciding what vehicle to purchase. I would like to return the favor. This is my first Hyundai purchase. I replaced my wifes 02 Camry. The Camry was very good to us. I wanted to avoid a bad purchase decision. I test drove the Highlander, CX-7, CR-V, Rav-4, Accord, Camry, Santa Fe, Murano, Venza. We Cant afford a Lexus or one of the higher end SUVs. The Veracruz for us was the best all a round vehicle. With the economy the way it is I was able to get 8K off the sticker. Very few vehicles offered a dark interior. Im keeping my fingers crossed, but I wouldnt hesitate suggesting a Veracruz to anyone. Nice solid affordable SUV.

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  Junk - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By jttaint - February 28 - 9:22 pm

  I am trading this car in after owning for a year and putting 20k miles on it. The transmission is garbage and Hundai knows it. We purchased the car because my wife liked the looks and because I have purchased two Hundai Elantras and they have been excellent cars. My 2009 Elantra has 100k miles on it and I have only done the standard maintenence on it, tires, belts, brakes and oil changes. It runs like a champ. This car is junk. It is my own fault for buying a car the year they release it with so much new technology on it, I should have known better. Hundai is practically begging me to trade this car in so I am going down to Hundai today to trade this in on a new Elantra.

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  i love this car - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ranier - February 28 - 12:38 pm

  i have this for 10 years now. It still works perfectly today and it never had any major problems at all since the day I purchased it in 2006.

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  Hyundai Entourage - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Don Kunzler - February 28 - 4:43 am

  We love this van! My husband walks only with a walker and can get into and out of this vehicle better than he could from our Buick Park Avenue. It has a lot of room, perfecy for starting our small business. This van drives so smoothly!

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  Exceeds Expectations - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By TNCPA - February 28 - 3:40 am

  With 2,500 miles, the Genesis V-* with Tech package, has eliminated initial doubt about buying a Hyndai. The car is very quiet, nice interior materials with excellent fit, abundant power and great ride. Have owned new BMW 540, Acura TLs and currently have an 07 Acura MDX w/Tech. Gas mileage on a 1,250 mile trip was 27 mpg at legal speeds, city driving appox. 19-20 mpg.

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  Makeup in the dark? - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Terry - February 26 - 6:13 pm

  What I really miss is lighted vanity mirrors. Also, I was told that my vehicle had a better cabin filtration system than my 2002 Honda Accord (which had a Hepa filter). When I started sneezing and detecting a strage smell, inside my Tucson, I had my husband check the filter.....SURPRISE...The slot was there, behind the glovebox, but there was no filter! The dealer ordered one for me and then tried to charge me $90.00 to install it. The gas milage is also not good. This baby is cute but rather expensive to maintain.

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  Sun Rough - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Tieler - February 26 - 10:00 am

  The Tiberon is a fun car to drive and looks great. However, the sun roof is rough - the design is poor and I have had the car in three times for repair. No permanent fix yet.

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  Got To Love It! - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Michael from BG - February 26 - 10:00 am

  The XG350L has all the goodies of the Avalon XLS at $7,000 less (list price). Love the smooth and quite ride, fit and finish of the car, and love the memory seats with the auto seat feature allowing for getting in and out of the car so easy. I formerly drove Acura TL, Volkswagen Passat GLX and this has the same build quality at a much better price. I cant understand the reviewers talking about the transmission hunting. The transmission and brakes are outstanding parts of the experience. All heads turn when Im on the road trying to find out what brand of car this is. All my friends are absolutely astounded by the looks, both on the outside and inside.

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  Great little car, for a decent price! - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dani - February 26 - 12:50 am

  I purchased my car brand new and itll be two years in May since Ive had it. I keep up with the maintenance so in return, my car has not let me down!! I take day trips on the weekends and the gas mileage is great. Smooth ride, good handling, and pretty comfortable (unless youre over 60" and sitting in the back-seat).