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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  UPDATE - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Mel Yarish - August 6 - 6:36 pm

  My first review of the new Tucson was on 1/5/10 w 300 miles on it. Now, with 1500, my opinion is the same. A great car in all respects. Only negatives (which I can live with) are the small gas tank (would have liked a 16-17 gal as on my 05), a door bell for a horn (they should have charges another $10 and it would be heard). The third is the front seat could have been wider. Maybe the leather is the confining aspect. aLSO, I do miss the rear window washer. I get 24-25 local but have not had it on the road for a long trip. This will come in late May. All in all, still very thrilled with the vehicle. Cant wait for the C&D report.

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  A lot of car for what you pay - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By mervay2 - August 6 - 2:06 am

  Have had for 18 days now. Not as powerful or as steady as the PT cruiser I had, but is real quiet and has a great ride. Getting 27 mpg and I can use regular gas. Lots of room inside. I got the fabric protection, good thing I did. First week I had it, my daughter spilled a red cherry drink in the back seat. Wiped up real easy and No Stain!! The dash layout is great. The Ipod and audio jack works great with my Ipod Nano.

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  Great car - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By tmattison - August 4 - 2:00 am

  I have had my new Elantra for just a few weeks. Im 63" and fit well in this car. The controls are easy to use and the drive of the car is firm and tight and peppy. In addition to feel of the car, it just plain looks great. The CD/MP3 player is a welcome addition to an already great interior. However, in another review, I read that the sound system looks too glitzy because of the way that it flashes different colors. After I bought the car and read the manual, I found that this color flashing option is a demo mode and can be turned off. For $14K(+) and with the standard set of options, you just cant do better.

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  Better Resale Than Given Credit For - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ads8qd - August 3 - 12:43 pm

  The Santa Fe is a great car and value (we bought ours for a little less than 21k, after incentives). It has been the best driving car we have owned, better than our Civics, Maximas, or Camrys. My parents have had 0 Sonata (they bought it for 10k new a few years ago).

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  Just love it. - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Coleen - August 2 - 6:33 pm

  We just love our new Tucson. Just came back from vacation and our V6 went right up those Pa. hills. The ride is very comfortable. The seats wrap around your back for support. We went to test drive a car and came out owning a Tucson, so glad we did.

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  One of the best cars Ive ever had! - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By Becky D. - August 2 - 5:57 pm

  This is a truly incredible car. I bought this car used in 2013 with 35k miles on it. Now in 2016 with 65k miles, I have not had one problem with it. The only thing that I have had in the almost 3 years Ive had this car is getting the tires replaced once, and a few oil changes. There was a re-call for a braking problem where the car would roll, and my local Hyundai Dealer (amazing service, btw) fixed the "issue" (I never had a problem) immediately free of charge. The car is so reliable, especially considering that this car has 65k miles on it. I get incredible fuel economy and this car has saved me so much money on gas. I was once rear-ended on the highway off-ramp at about 15 or so mph. My car had a small scratch on the back bumper, and the cruddy Mitsubishi from the 90s that hit me was pretty mangled. I absolutely love this car so much and would even recommend it to smaller families, because of how much room it has. It could be considered a small family sedan if you ask me. I really think that Hyundai/Kia will be the next Toyota. An Asian import that is know for quality reliable cars. The Hyundai Elantra is a great value, has incredible fuel economy and reliability, and is an all around awesome car. Would recommend to anyone.

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  Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By gixxer - August 1 - 12:06 pm

  This car is a fun to drive and very comfortable. It is a quite, soft ride with decent gas performance, although i wish it were better for a 4 cylinder (23-31) Im averaging mid 20s since Nov 07. This exterior of this car is stylish with black and silver the best looking, imo. Interior is nice, but basic and thus economical. Dont forget all that free safety engineered into this car. I like the size of the car and the space. Tons of leg room and truck space. Comfy seats. Stellar 4 disc brakes, smooth ride on great tires, and nice handling. I dont like certain plastic interior parts, seat belts are awkwardly placed, cup holder doesnt hold cups well, key fob gets poor signal.

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  The Best I have ever owned ! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Vince - August 1 - 8:36 am

  When driving through Alabama in Sept .05 and staying at a motel a stranger saw my 03 Sonata and asked me if i liked the car.My reply was a yes, he said if you like this one wait until you see the new 06 Sonata, well wait i did, on june 28th i bought a gls V- 6 .Let me say that the 10 month was worth it.The new Sonata is everything I expected and more, a world class head turner with great power looks and handeling and a price ever i can afford.

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  Hyundais first step to giant automaker - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Rich - August 1 - 5:53 am

  I bought VC LTD FWD last week. I was considering RX350 or MDX. However, I was able to get the same kind of car for much less price. The only different is there is no "L" logo on the hood. It has "H" instead. The one that I got came with Ultimate option package with price tag $36.5K. It was hefty considering it is Hyundai. However, with my trade in, I got it for $30K and I was extremely pleased with it. This car has not been advertized much. Once PR reaches the public, the popularity will go up. Accordingly, the discount factor will be stiffened up. I am glad that i had a good deal for a car with three rows, roomy, DVD, sun roof.

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  LOVE MY CAR - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Sandra Long - July 31 - 10:00 am

  Proformance very good,good looks,comfortable ride (seats could use a little more padding ) havent had GX350L,little over month, but love the features and the drive, and especially fact that also has full size spare,i feel like i am a luxury car, tried a cadilliac and prefered the GX350L OVER IT.