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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  No rear heat - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By cater2u - October 14 - 4:29 am

  I love this SUV....but there is an engineering flaw with the rear seat heating. The seats are heated, but the vents will only blow cold air from under the front seats. The manual even says that the heat is reduced in the rear, and to keep the rear side vents closed in the winter. You can get heat from the side vents, but cold air is always blowing on your toes. For a $37,000 SUV with every option, this should not happen. The dealer told me there was nothing they could do to fix it. My mileage in ECO Mode is 21 combined using winter gas. It should get better using summer gas. Hatchback is hard to open and is not assised very much. No power option or inside release. No memory seats.

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  Still love it! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By cwilson - October 13 - 12:11 pm

  I have had this car for almost two years and still love it! So does everyone else. People (several) have actually stopped me to ask about my car. They think it is expensive:)It is the first new car I have ever owned and we are now a Hyundai family. My sister bought a Tiburon yesterday. I thought it was cute but the Sonata has style!

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  Great SUV - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Jared - October 13 - 11:13 am

  Blows Pilot out of the water. Purchased fully loaded SE. Logic 7 audio is easily on par with Bose. Mistaken for Lexus RX by friends especially after riding in it. Dead silent inside, 2nd row very comfortable, and 3rd row not bad either. Gas mileage not too shabby, transmission shifts like a dream, good call on the Aisin 6-speed. Great value for the money. Navigation not an option, but I am in the opinion that if you dont know where you are going, you should not be driving. If you must, a portable navigation system is cheaper and makes more sense. Drive it for yourself if you are shopping in this class. You are shortchanging yourself if you dont. Dont let the badge fool you.

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  Love this vehicle! - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tim Cassidy - October 13 - 2:00 am

  Bought this car for my oldest sun to replace a 1999 Ford Escort. Wanted him to have something roomier and more substantial to take to college. As a freshman he couldnt bring it to school yet so weve been driving it. Everyone fights to drive this vehicle, even my wife who has a 2002 Chrysler Town & Country LXi. I would recommend this vehicle to anyone! Im thinking of buying a 2003 LX to replace my 1998 Volvo S70 T5.

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  Best Value for a Sedan - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Damon - October 12 - 9:43 am

  I traded in my 2006 Infinti G35x- I looked at Camry/Altima/Mazda6/Accord an Acura TSX. I honestly think this is the best looking car on the road- bar none- any class. The inside is very well put together. I got the Navy Blue/Gray leather. I would never consider a Hyundai until now- their reliability will be challenging Lexus/Acura soon- especially with their warranty. The performance is great for a 4 cylinder and I am getting a combo of 33 mpg (75% Highway). It has much more room than the other cars as well and the trunk is unreal. I got it for $23,500. Go drive it!

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  Traded my Camry - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tammy - October 12 - 4:46 am

  I test drove this car 3 times, once with the GLS and twice with the limited and then test drove the new Camry. This car had the most features and the styling was awesome. Not to mention the price difference. I love the looks from people when they see it with "thumbs up" and people just wanting to check it out. I got the silver limited with chrome accents. Its a great looking car!

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  Seven years and still strong - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By MICHAEL SLEVENS - October 12 - 1:24 am

  Bought this car in 2009 as a dealer demo with 5000 miles on it. Now 2/26/2016 has 55,000 miles and still drives and smells like a new car. Only problems I have had are the rear brakes, which I fixed myself with new calipers and rotors. Got tired of Hyundai denying the design defect and their refusal to fix under bumper to bumper coverage. The car is well designed, tight and as others have written the V-6 and transmission is fast. Pickup is faster than my 2006 Mustang GT. This is one the nicest cars I have ever owned and I have had Lincolns and Cadillacs. It isnt a plush ride but it is soft for a small car. Staying away from the Dealers and doing maintenance and repairs myself. Doing a brake job takes 30 minutes a wheel and changing the oil is just as fast. I just refuse to pay the Dealer $59 to have a $9 Cabin filter (another 15 min.) replaced. AUGUST 2016-UPDATE: Front speakers became intermittant. Always thought there were only two sound systems in the 2009 but found out I have a third..one with an external amplifier in the trunk passenger side wall.It is not an Infinity System. Repair price $275, replacement from Hyundai $550, bought a Rockford Fosgate 4 channel for $200 and cut the old one out . Didnt realize how bad the Hyundai System sounded . Everything working fine now. Car is still performing well although shift patterns sometimes get strange .

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  2003 4 cyl basic sonata - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By AB - October 11 - 6:53 pm

  Very good car. Excellent warranty. excellent appearance. Dealer is quick to stand behind warranty and offers excellent service and reminders

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  Ruby is Her Name - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By R.A.H. - October 11 - 8:34 am

  As a 30-year (two Accords) Honda owner, my natural tendency when it came time to acquire a more compact vehicle which was also easier for us (ages 73 and 79) to get in and out of, was just to go out and buy a CRV. To be honest, we did test drive a couple of them - as well as Hondas smaller HRV - before "discovering" the Tucson, almost on a whim, since my impressions regarding earlier Hyundais had not been all that great. I did do extensive research on the internet, at least becoming aware of almost every compact SUV offered. With the Tucson it was a case of lust at first sight. The new sheet metal looks really good. My wife and I both had a hard time with the bulbous rear of the CRV combined with its non-matching upper window lines, giving the distinct appearance that the designers/stylists were not all on the same page. From some angles the CRV can look downright bizarre. Not so with the Tucson which, to our eyes at least, simply does not have a bad view. The Tucson interior is also really nice (we did get the Limited with the Ultimate package) giving the impression of a far more expensive car. Drivers seating position (Im 5-10") is excellent, and the cooled seats are the greatest in our 100 degree+ summers. There is ample seating room in the rear, which is also extremely comfortable. Cargo area is not huge, but we are empty nesters. The car is very quiet. Instrumentation (we especially like the simple, classic, white-on-black tach and speedo) and controls are just great, and fall readily to hand. Much of the design work was done in Germany which I think is a major plus. The 8" screen navigation system is crystal clear, and easy to use. Were not that big on the current music transmission (Sirius, etc.) capabilities, but we will learn. I do think they made a mistake by not providing a CD/DVD player in the Limited (lower trim levels do). A lot of people have a lot of music on CDs, and all of the "high-tech" music options seem to require a subscription. In addition to the three Hondas, we also test drove the Toyota RAV4 and the Mazda CX-5, and looked at the Nissan Rogue. We completely passed on the Ford Escape since it was not recommended by Consumer Reports this year, and because it did not fare well in the crash-safety tests. Im sure Ford will fix this, but we were in the market now. The Tucson, on the other hand, received the coveted IIHS "Superior" rating. Ive not yet really pushed it, but the spunky little 1.6 liter turbo and 7-speed DCT seem like they will be more than up to the task. The car is (at least from published test data) considerably quicker to 60, and in the 1/4 mile, than was my 1962 Austin-Healy 3000 (considered a fairly powerful sports car in its day). We do live in relatively flat country, and perhaps as a result are getting a little over 27 mpg, overall, so far (1760 miles). Originally (since I value function over trendiness) we had some qualms about the 19" wheels with the 245/45 tire profile, even to the point of considering requesting a swap to the 225/60x17" setup, at delivery, but in the end, we went with the larger wheels. Hopefully all will be well with them, and I do have to say the ride is still quite good, and that the car feels really planted on the road. At least so far, Id have rate our new 2016 Tucson at around 9.5/10 - based on the theory that nothing is "perfect". This could well be our last vehicle and yes, the longer than "standard" 3Y/36K warranty very much did enter into our decision-making. Note to readers: This review has now been revised three times, with VERY mixed results. Unfortunately, the list of auto-generated bullet-points (see below) does NOT show up before one submits the review, and so, the previously published results have produced both surprise and conflict. Following is MY list of pros and cons - if it agrees with what is produced automatically, fine. If it does not, at least you know what I meant: PROS: Acceleration, Roadholding, Braking, Instrumentation, Seating (front and rear), Interior design, Engineering NEUTRAL: Parking aids, Cargo storage, Bluetooth CONS: Purchase cost, No CD/DVD drive at Limited trim level TOO EARLY TO TELL: Reliability, Maintenance cost, Dealer service

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  Quality Ride at Value Price - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Dave - October 11 - 6:03 am

  Quality finish and added value is what this car is all about. My version is the Limited Edition with Ultimate Package. High points include plenty of features and quite ride. Power with the V-6 is good and theres plenty of interior room for 4 adults. Great car and with the warranty, you really have a confident feeling of making a great purchase.