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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  The car is A OK. - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By g.lohrke - April 18 - 11:46 pm

  The driving is very good. Good power, and good handling. Have had no problems with the car so far.

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  Overall Good Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By mike_231 - April 15 - 3:31 pm

  Ive owned this car for 6 months and 7900 miles. So far, here are my impressions: Pros: Great combination of power and fuel economy, great looking body, well executed and very comfortable interior, large number of features for the price. Cons: Electric power steering doesnt have the best feel, road noise (tires) is louder than it should be, my car has the slight left pull issue that comes-and-goes with tire rotations, 18" wheels with low profile tires are very sensitive to road irregularities, too easy to scrape 18" wheels on curbs, car wash guides, etc.

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  Not Perfect but Very Good - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SantaFe Fan - April 14 - 9:13 pm

  I was hesitant about buying a Hyundai vehicle because of their past reputation. Liked the look of the redesigned Santa Fe and read positive reviews so decided to purchase and very glad I did. The Santa Fe has been a reliable and enjoyable vehicle for over 15 months. The ride is a little firm but not overly jarring and there is a rattle somewhere in the back that comes and goes. The local Hyundai dealer has been very pleasant to deal with for scheduled services. So far Im very pleased with the vehicle.

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  A lot of car for a little price - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Andy - April 11 - 9:46 am

  So far, Ive been happy with this car. It has a nice ride, and a lot of interior room (espescially in the back. The trunk is very nice as well. There are a ton of standard features. in comparison to many of the competitor cars, the Sonata drives just as nicely, costs a few thousand less, and comes with a 100k/60k powertrain/bumper to bumper warranty. The car does NOT get as good gas mileage as the sticker would indicate. I drive on the highway about 85% of the time, and tend to get around 26 miles to the gallon (sticker read 24-33). I expected a little more than that.

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  Good Vehicle - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By lawman910 - April 10 - 10:05 pm

  I have been driving the car for 7 years and have almost 70K. So far no major problems, brakes and tires, kept up with the Maintenance schedule. Little things like the clock has been replaced and still does not work right, drivers side wiper keeps coming loose and have to carry wrench to tighten. Had to replace the antenna would not work in freezing temps. The car has lots of power and can keep with the best of them. I average about 20 around town and to be honest never checked it on a trip. I would buy another hyundai without any hesitation, but now looking at at Acura, want to upgrade a little. Seats and interior all has held up well

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  Not Honda, Hyundai - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Critic - April 9 - 10:00 am

  I have been a loyal Honda owner - until now. Hyundai has done a very good job in the Elantra GT. I was looking for a reasonbly priced sedan and found the GT! It is pleasure to drive and the performance is ample for a car in the economy class. Kudos to Hyundai. The dealer was attentive and responsive to a few minor details that needed to be fixed. I have only 1600 miles on it so far and am continually impressed. I paid just over $15,000, as the car has every option. Averaging 30 - 35 mpg with mix of city/hwy. Quiet at 75 or so and stable.

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  Terrible headlights - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Charles Skip Ferguson - April 9 - 6:08 am

  Everything is except the head lights

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  Not the fuel mileage you would expect! - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By kgirl - April 8 - 6:33 pm

  I bought this car specifically to get better gas mileage as my old car, a 99 Buick Century, was getting up there and losing its MPGs (about 20- 21). As the gas prices soared, I thought I could and should do better, it was time for a new car. With all the Hyundai spots advertising 30/39, I thought the Accent would save me so much money in the future. Wrong! The car only gave me 21MPGs out of the gate. I bought one of those air flow jobbies and only got it up to 23- 24MPGs. I could have stayed in my Buick for this and it was already paid off! The look and the reliability are great, but Im so disappointed overall. What was the point if the MPGs arent nearly what theyre claiming them to be?!

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  Nice Reliable Car - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Yogesh Dhingra - April 8 - 3:16 pm

  I have owned this car for 2 years now, Bought at 74K miles, currently has 112K Miles on it.2 Repairs apart from regular oil changes 1. O2 Sensor(which is not abnormal) 2. Throttle positioning switch. Through it has performed extremely well , Gives a decent 30-32 MPG.

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  1 year now - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By tombola - April 7 - 11:04 am

  I have had my 2011 GLS for a year and 16k miles. Overall I really like this car. I am 63 and have painful back issues. This car has the best support and the least back pain problems of any car I have ever driven on a long trip. We recently averaged 32 MPG driving the interstate at 80 mph. I cannot drive at 65 -70, but I am sure it would hit the 35 as advertised. City milage is not so good, but I come close to the 22mpg as stated. This car is roomy, I love the styling, it had a low base price and the dealer had a $1000 rebate, whats not to love. This is a great highway car. I wanted the Limited, but the sunroof really compromised the headroom as I am tall.