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 it! - 1993 Hyundai Elantra
  By kristinkm - December 4 - 2:00 am

  My friends had me talked into the Accent, I drove it, I hated it. They had the Elantra on the lot, I gave it a spin, and I loved it! I was looking for a manual transmission 4 door sedan, and this one had it all. Its been a good, reliable car, and really good mileage for its time (Ive never gotten less than 25mpg, even with city and stop-and-go freeway driving with air conditioning). Ill be going up a class on my next car (next <2yrs), but I have NO regrets on my Elantra.

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  great - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By john santiago - December 2 - 1:03 am

  vehicle is reliable, good on gas

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  Best Car I have ever owned!!!!!!!!!! - 2012 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By cbarron721 - November 30 - 5:49 am

  The car is blast to drive and is the first vehicle to ever replace the thrill of the ninja ZX6R. The turbo feels smooth and kicks in hard. The only two areas where I would say need to be improved (they seem to be on the 2013) is the quality of the interior and the performance. I gave both of those a 4 because the interior is nice but does leave something to be desired and the performance is great but they really should have used a larger intercooler and could have tuned it better. I have owned this car since new in February 2012, I bought the 2012 because the 2013 front end just does not do it for me, and the 2012 is more mod friendly. I have already switched to a single exhaust and SRI

• 

  Awesome SUV - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Fred - November 29 - 9:13 pm

  Dont be put off by the name Hyundai. They are building some of the best cars out there and the 2007 Santa Fe is no exception. The car is almost flawless in the fit and finish. The paint quality is superb. The gas mileage is around 22 which is pretty good for a seven seat SUV. The engine is whisper quiet even when cold. It is like getting a Lexus at half price! I hit a Deer with the Santa Fe going about 40 and killed the deer. The car only had a tiny dent on the bumber so you know they are built well. The 18" tires are nice and standard. Well done Hyundai!

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  I love my Tuscani - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Tuscani - November 29 - 10:00 am

  The 2003 Tiburon(Tuscani) was totally worth the wait. She rides beautifully, she has a very sleek look, and you defintely get alot of attention in this car.

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  Outstanding - SUV - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Evergladesbear - November 29 - 10:00 am

  Have had the car for about a month now and it gets better every day. Great car feels and drives better than the Lexus, Honda and Toyotos that I tried. Love the car.

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  I cant believe I bought a Hyundai - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Audioi - November 29 - 7:06 am

  I have never been interested in a Hyundai until I test drove a 2006 Sonata. I currently drive a 03 Passat 1.8t and was looking at VW, Mazda, & Saab until I drove a GLS 4 cyl. The only thing I didnt care for was the light (read hard to clean) cloth seats. Thats when I drove the LX (Leather & V6) and found it to be superior to the other cars we had tried at a much lower cost with a better warranty so I couldnt refuse. The car is whisper quiet, stays firmly planted on the road, has the quality feel of expensive brands and appears to be really well built. The under carriage air control appears to be well thought out and the detail to small items is stellar. So far its doing 22 & 28.8 MPG.

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  Good car but - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By CarLover - November 29 - 2:26 am

  I considered Civic, Legacy, and Elantra Touring (ET). I bought ET because I wanted to save money. Fuel Economy was okay, 26.6 MPG combined driving city and highway. As you know, new sonata 2011 can save more gas. I found that door lock was not working sometimes. After restart Engine, the door lock works fine. I changed 2 rims and 2 tires. The one original rim costed me $360 and the original tire cost me $168. Use tirerack.com, not Hyundai Dealer service. I think the original rim and tire is too weak. The good thing was no power train problems so far.

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  Great first impression - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By BBuff43011 - November 28 - 11:40 pm

  After hours and hours of research, I finally drove a Hyundai. I was a little afraid of Korean auto makers because of previous cheap quality, but the Sonata reviews have been pretty favorable since 2007. I love the feel of the ride: comfort, handling, the whole thing. It drives like a more expensive auto and Im loving the satellite radio. Dash lights are pleasant and easy to read, positioning of the fuel and trunk release buttons is brilliant. Lumbar support works well for my 52" frame and the 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty doesnt hurt. Definitely impressed so far.

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  Smooth Riding Hybrid That is Safe and Smooth - 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By ohio_pop - November 28 - 7:48 am

  I have driving cars for over 45 years and this is the best car overall that I have owned. I find the electronics intuitive. It takes only a short time to learn the significance of the beeping signals from this car. I found that after driving the car for about 10 days that I know how to apply gas for smooth as silk acceleration and how to brake smoothly. Overall, I have found the car to be at its best and the most fun to drive on highways and suburban and rural roads where you can consistently drive over 35 MPH. At constant speeds between 35 and 55 MPH, you can get 45+MPG. The car gets more like 30-34MPG in stop-go slow speed driving. Overall, I have averaged a bit over 40 MPG.