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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  Blown Away by my new Hyundai - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By dbraun - January 7 - 10:30 am

  I wasnt looking for a Hyundai at all. After seeing the quality and driving this vehicle, i was sold. I paid under $14,000 for this car with CD, Alarm, keyless entry and power everything. I was looking at a Civic but this is what the Civic used to be. I am blown away.

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  Hyundai Tucson: The Most Bang for the $ - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By John Keene - January 7 - 6:50 am

  This vehicle is a far better deal than any of its competition (e.g., Ford Escape; Honda CRV and Element; Toyota RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander) because of all of its standard safety and driveline features, many of which are not even offered as options by the competition. Try to build a Honda CRV or RAV4 that has all (or even most) of the standard features of the Tucson and you are looking at a purchase price of at least $5,000 more! I know: I priced the three of them at local dealerships. The second reason why I love this vehicle is the very high quality of its construction. All of the fitments are like those in a Lexus: they click and thunk with the right sounds, and look great, too.

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  Hyundai just gets better and better - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Dr. Gary - January 7 - 12:03 am

  This is my 4th Hyundai (2 Elantra GTs, Tucson) and I can not say enough good things about all of them. I am 56, a former test driver, racer etc. and the quality and cost/benefit ratio of owning a Hyundai is clearly above all others. The new Tib is simply, to me, stunning in its purity and is an improved version of the Ferrari 456 it was designed after. The interior is clean and functional, the ride tight and controlled, the braking linear and the 4cyl is more than adequate with the quick shifting close ratio 5sp. With only 500 (engine still not broken in) miles on it, I got 35.2 hwy at a steady 65mph- thats hard to beat and equals the Elantra. And, every day someone asks me what it is.

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  Almost perfect if youre not expecting an MDX - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By bakjd1 - January 6 - 12:12 pm

  We have about 500 miles on our Limited 4x4 w/all the options. In many ways this car rivals our 50K Acura MDX. It has all the same options (nav bluetooth back-up camera) which we have come to appreciate in the MDX. But they are much more intuitive and easy to use in the Tucson. Where you really notice that its a 20K less expensive vehicle is in the road noise, most of which seems to be coming from the tires. This is a noisy vehicle, to the extent where its difficult to carry on a bluetooth phone conversation due to the tire noise. For 20K less Ill put up with it, though. I would buy this again, and Im glad we chose this over the very bland Honda CRV.

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  Excellent Buy! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By CCmonster - January 6 - 5:20 am

  My husband and I bought this as our first new car after doing a lot of research. We really wanted a hatchback and this one fit our budget without sacraficing quality!

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  Definite Winner in Columbus, NC - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Definite Winner - January 6 - 3:13 am

  There is no doubt that the Azera Limited with the Ultimate Package is a best buy on the market. The exterior design is just beautiful in every detail. The interior is comfortable with plush leather seating. Silver Frost with Gray leather was our first choice and the dealer had it. We traded in a 2006 Honda Accord EX-L. The Azera performs like a winner and no heavy foot is needed. I truly believe that if you visit your dealer and test drive the Azera Limited, you too will make the correct choice.

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  If they fix the oxygen sensor its a 10 - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By JFP - January 6 - 2:00 am

  Love the styling and the interior. Sound is excellent and all the right features for the right cost. It looks like a million bucks.

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  2005 buy back for new 2006 - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By S & T - January 5 - 7:30 pm

  The 2006 was a buy back from Hyundai for us from a 2005 that was in the shop more then it was on the street. The 2005 was truely in the shop constantly. With much negoitiation, the 2005 was bought back and replaced with a new 2006. The 2006 is a much better car, more room, more power and better styling. The motor is responsive on the bottom end but seems to lag a little after the initial acceleration. The only problem so far is the back power window cable broke after about a 1000 miles. No other issues so far. This is the forth Hyundai we have had over many years and the 2006 is far superior over the first one we had when Hyundai first sold in the states. That one was a real dog!

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  Fun Little Wagon - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Budget Mike - January 5 - 5:10 pm

  We recently traded our Sonata (2010) for this Elantra Touring. The Sonata was (and is) a great car, but we wanted more rearward visibility and less bulk. This car fills the bill, and adds a fun/sporty factor along with it. So far, we have really enjoyed the car and look forward to a lot of pleasant miles together.

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  No complaints - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Love my Hyundai - January 5 - 4:26 pm

  Weve had our Sonata for about two weeks and just love it. My wife drives 70 miles a day for work and are averaging about 31.2 miles per gallon so far. We have loved our experience so far and have gotten many compliments on our new purchase.