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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  great suv - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By carnut09 - April 30 - 7:10 am

  Great vehicle to drive. Surpasses my 2002 Honda CRV EX that I had. Car is well put together. Engine is so smooth.

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  Great Car - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
  By peachferrari - April 30 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car with about 40,000 miles on it. Shortly after, the check engine light came on, and I had to get the catalytic converter replaced. I was able to do it in Utah, as the Las Vegas dealer I went to didnt give me the time of day. Other than that, it has been great. Love the peppy engine and my aftermarket CD player sounds good with the speakers.

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  AWSOME CAR FOR UPSTATE NEW YORK - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By rrreedjr69 - April 30 - 2:00 am

  I just purchased a 2004 Sonata LX. I LOVE IT. The $$$$$ (price), the warranty, the dealership, were all AWSOME. There is no car on the market that will come close with ride, warranty, standard features and price. I looked at Oldsmobile, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagon, Audi (JUNK) and Buick. They all wanted TOOO much money for their cars with no options. The HELL with American (JUNK) made cars.

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  Unsurpassed! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By mike - April 29 - 5:30 am

  Amazing car for the price - Ive owned Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Infinfty, Audi & BMW and Im as impressed (if not more, considering price) with this car than I was with any of the others. It makes so much sense - on so many levels. The instrumention is intuitive, the ride responsive, the styling on the mark. The styling/$$ ratio far outstrips Camry, Accord, and Altima. So many positives - hard to go-there with suggestions for improvement.

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  Get past the name - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mawako - April 29 - 2:00 am

  Totaled my 2000 Grand Marquis and wifes truck bit the dust, both at the same time. Had to get something affordable. I got the GLS and wifey got the Accent. Both of thease cars are simply GREAT!!My Sonata drives and rides like a dream, a tad hard on BIG potholes but otherwise very fine. Drive 80-85mph to keep up with traffic here in Vegas, a breeze! Have over 10K miles on it, not a single problem. Im 6-4 and 240, enough room for me. Just love the car. I get a kick out of the jokers who spent $30-40K for a nameplate. Stop reading and go out and buy one of these incedible cars.

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  Great buy! - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By DeeJai - April 26 - 4:30 pm

  I bought my Hyndai Tucson in late 08 at a decent "end of model year" discount. This is by far the smallest, and only front wheel drive suv I have ever owned but it has proven it self very capable. I have taken it from Washington, to Utah, to Alaska, all the way up to Inuvik,NWT (look it up on a google) and then all the way to New York. It does amazingly well on snow (with some good snow tires)and even handles mud and dirt roads with ease. All around Im sure glad I bought a Tucson!

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  Im a Hyundai convert... - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ian Lozada - April 26 - 2:00 am

  Still runs like showroom new after 24000 miles. Fun to drive. Scratches easily.

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  The best car Ive tried yet. - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By kuehnerlantra - April 25 - 10:00 am

  Im work full-time, and Im a full-time college student. I commute an average of around 500mi per week, so I had to find a car that was reliable. I looked at the Hondas, but theyre too expensive, and over rated. The Elantra is an amazing value. Its confortable for any size driver or passenger. It has tons of storage space, and gets good gas mileage, I average around 400mi per tank of fuel. They only way youre going to believe me is if you test drive one, so go try it, stop believing the Honda myth.

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  fun car - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Howiein ftlaud - April 25 - 10:00 am

  I have owned Vettes, Jags, Volvos and this is by far the best overall. I have the base model and it was clearly the best value out there. It is fun to drive, good on gas and i cruise all day between 80 and 100 mph.

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  All the men in my life are grinning - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By SandiS - April 25 - 10:00 am

  After owning a Honda and being a die hard Honda fan, I thought I would give this little car a try. I was 5 sec. into the drive test and I knew I was taking it home. I is so much fun to drive! Even after owning for 9 months, the power still surprises me. The body style is so sleek and sports- car-like I have been asked, "Is that a Lexus? A BMW?" I was even got out of a speeding ticket because the cop was so impressed with my car!