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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  Smile on my face - 2014 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By raiderone2 - February 10 - 6:59 am

  Ive had my GT for about 4 months now. At first the car seemed sluggish, but as I put a few miles on (now 4,000 miles) performance is great and MPG equal to the EPA figure. Couple tricks I learned: When in manual, start in 2nd. Only use sport steering mode on windy days. I use sport most of the time and keep it there. I went from a 2000 Grand Prix thinking there was not going to be enough room for 4 adults in comfort. I was wrong. Took a weekend trip with 4 adults and nobody complained about room plus room for all our luggage. Sometimes going uphill, seems to be searching for the right gear, so I switch to manual mode and works better.

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  Hyundai fan - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By John - February 9 - 11:46 am

  I replace my 2005 Chevy impala with this car. My car payment went down $ 100 a month and I feel I got a better car. It 175 hp vs 200 it fills as quick and the rides better. Gas mileage on Chevy 16 to 28 / Hyundai 21 town 33 at 75 on highway. Love the ride and the head room Im 6,3 lot of room in back for the kids the dealership treat me like I got a BMW. I sold Hondas for 6 month and Hyundai has them worried if I didnt know it I would think I was diving a Honda accord. And not the Honda accord vp this car way better.

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  Well What Can I Say? - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Tiburon - February 9 - 2:00 am

  I first bought the hyundai accent 9 months ago and was unhappy. I traded it in and I couldnt be happier. I bought the Tiburon GT V6 in silver and I love it. The ride is excellant, horsepower is moderate and the features are amazing. For $20,000 you cant go wrong. Not even to mention that you are covered for ten years.

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  A good little car - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By David Green - February 9 - 2:00 am

  When my last car expired abruptly, I had to move quickly to get a new car. Id been aiming for a Toyota, but I had to set my sights a little lower. The Hyundai Elantra fit into my budget, though I was initially a little nervous about the Hyundai name. I neednt have worried. Ive had no problems with the car at all, and I even learned to drive a stick on it. The gas mileage has been decent, if not an astounding improvement over my last car. The ride has been smooth, and its been nicely responsive. No problems yet at all, though Im reassuerd to know that if I do have problems like my previous car (not a Hyundai) gave me, that the Hyundais warranty will cover those.

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  love it so far! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By amie - February 9 - 2:00 am

  it is unfortunate that the name hyundai carries negative conotations because this is a great little suv. the styling is unparalleled, no other suv has such sleek lines. the price is right and the warranty gives me 100% peace of mind. its cheaper to BUY this car than to lease just anything else. other competitors just didnt match up; whether it was styling features, available V6, or warranty.

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  very impressed - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By bernard n edwards - February 8 - 10:36 pm

  i wanted to share my thoughts in regards with my 2006 azera limited.i have had the car now almost one year and i still enjoy looking at my steel gray azera even when it is parked in my garage.the quality on these cars is outstanding,and it is right up there with my brothers lexus 300.every where you look the fabrics,and the precision way every thing works is like a well oiled machine,and the engine is very powerful and smooth and if driven with common sense you will be rewarded with no less than 26 mph.i drove my azera to florida and i got within 50 miles of atlanta which is 600 south of columbus on a tank at 60 mph.

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  Love it! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Shuale - February 8 - 4:16 pm

  Picked up my car on Saturday. I love it...still trying to adjust to the color though. I had to settle for Harbor Gray but I really, really, really wanted Silver...lol. Because its a newly released model/style the availability of color combinations and options are limited.

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  Own A Lexus rx 330 But Hyundai Veracruz - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Robert Nell - February 8 - 10:03 am

  I got my Veracruz in early April in Florida.I drove it back to Wisc. in May. Its ride was better than my Lexus and the gas mileage about the same. It has even more features than my Lexus and for about 10 grand less Its interior leather is on par with my Lexus I think it Quality is as good as Lexus Will be leaving to go to Wyoming and cant wait to drive it on another rode trip. WE LOVE IT

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  My 2nd Santa Fe - 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ncdeziner - February 8 - 6:06 am

  I owned a 2014 Santa Fe Limited for 3 days. I was t-boned at an intersection, resulting in all but the front air bags deploying and the rear axel snapping in two. The EMS at the scene kept repeating to me that the air bags and design of the Santa Fe saved my life. I replaced that Santa Fe with a 2015 Santa Fe Limited Ultimate. I had been driving Chevy Tahoes since 1999. This Santa Fe is a breath of fresh air! It drives like a dream, holds the road well, and the safety features are awesome. I greatly prefer the navigation system to OnStar. I will be replacing all my company vehicles with Santa Fes as needed.

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  Great SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By GregNYR - February 7 - 10:00 am

  Purchased this vehicle several months ago. Very happy. Ride is smooth and comfortable. Good on gas. AWD great in wet conditions. Plently of room inside. All in all, a great SUV for the money. Reliability a question, but you cant beat the warranty.