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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  Best purchase ever... so Far!! - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By pa82 - February 9 - 11:18 pm

  I absolutely love this car, it combines comfort with sportiness and excellent on gas. Definitely the best purchase I made to date. I traded in my 2003 Infiniti G35 sedan and have no regretted it one bit. Everything on the new Elantra limited seems like its standard. Sunroof, blue tooth etc. You only find these options on mid level and top of the line luxury cars. Hyundai was really stepped up big time in the compact market.

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  LEMON LEMON LEMON - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By chris262 - February 7 - 8:47 pm

  Where to start… I don’t normally write to forums, however I feel obligated to warn people of this vehicle. LEMON LEMON LEMON I first owned a 2004 Sonata… amazing car, loved it, no problems whatsoever. So when we had our second child, I decided to invest (bad choice of words) in something larger. Test drove all the typical minivans, Dodge, Toyota, Honda but my bias of Hyundai led me to chose the Entourage. What a mistake. Here’s a list of problems since I’ve owned it: 1. Had to replace the DVD player within a couple weeks of purchase 2. Had to fix broken arm rest 3. Had to replace rotors twice and entire breaks once, not related to driving but defects 4. The key ignition had to be replaced, had to get towed for this one. Happened at a movie threatre, we had a baby sitter at home, had to get a rental for 4 days until it was fixed… they didn’t cover the rental. 5. There has been ongoing battery / wiring (unknown) issues. It is currently in the garage for a 3rd battery replacement. Approx every year the battery dies completely and won’t hold a charge anymore. Last years fix was a computer s/w upgrade… yeah right. Today they are saying it is a module recall for the side doors that they think is the problem… yeah right… and whatever happened to informing customers of recalls. I have a 2nd small car, 97 Toyota Tercel with 200,000 KM that I trust more than this vehicle. 6. I also have an ongoing headlight issue. When I break or when the gears shift, there is a noticeable dimming (1 or 2 sec) of the headlights. I think it is related to problem number 5. 7. Yes the powered side doors are great when or if they work. Someone told me when I first bought the van, having everything powered is just more to go wrong… how true. I live in Canada, any amount of snow or frost the side doors are impossible to open. This vehicle was to be our long-term family car. I wish this info was available before I bought. Avoid this vehicle or suffer the consequences. LEMON LEMON LEMON

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  John of Columbus NC - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By jaacolumbusnc - February 5 - 8:33 pm

  I purchased my 2011 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 from Dave Edwards Hyundai, Spartanburg, SC. The dealership is one of the best I have done business with. The car is truly outstanding in every respect. Color is Titanium Gray Metallic with Saddle leather interior. Traded in 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited purchased from same dealer. I really liked the Sonata but after driving the Genesis it was impossible to resist the purchase.

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  5 years and still love my car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By concordenerd - February 5 - 11:05 am

  I have had my Sonata for 5 years now and still like the car very much. I wish it would have some of the newer features, but no big deal. Gas is a plus as well.

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  Nothing but just Praise. - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By ucool80 - February 3 - 8:29 pm

  I cant say enough good things about this car. There is just no other car in its class that comes even close to the features, fit and finish of this vehice. The car on its first trip on the highway from the dealer, showed that it was using only 7.6l/100km. That was on a very short trip, I am sure it will be in the low 6 if not below the 6l/100km mark on a longer highway trip. The doors and trunk close with a thump. The doors are quite heavy for a compact car. With two car seats in the back there is still enough room for an adult to fit in between the car seats. I have got nothing but compliments from everyone who has seen it.

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  Best car so far - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By tommynatl - February 1 - 4:24 am

  I am the type of owner who drives and maintains a car till the wheels fall off. That being said I typically buy new so I am assured of its maintenance and driving record. This is my first hyundai and I am so impressed I have quikly switched my alliegence from honda. Whatever they are doing, they are doing it right. It handles like a typical 4 door sedan except for less roll or g forces. It takes off like a rocket even when left in auto ( you can manually shift ) . But more important it has not had one single repair issue since ive owned it. This after 145 k miles. Thats right, 145 thousand miles. Not one breakdown. Not one tow. Not one replacement part. Bear in mind I do basic maintenence.

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  The Mercedes of Compacts!! - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By carfreak24 - January 31 - 5:07 pm

  I ABSOLUTLEY love this car! I was looking for a car that would deliver good mileage, comfort, and be inexpensive and this car does the trick. My brother works at a Hyundai, Toyota, Buick, GMC, Scion, Nissan, and Mazda dealership and he showed me all the cars in my range. It came down to the Toyota Corrolla, Nissan Sentra, Mazda 3, and finally the Elantra. When he showed me the Hyundai I thought it was totally out of my price range but it wasnt! The car is soo PERFECT throughout. It beats all the competition by far!

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  Blk Ext. Gry Int. GLS auto w/pref. equip. pkg. - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By craign1 - January 29 - 1:02 pm

  I went to dealer the to drive a Sonata and noticed the Elantra which I think looks even better. Test drove both it and liked the smaller cabin with sportier ride and "growling" engine of the Elantra. I traded down from a 03 Accord EX-L (both the new Accord and Sonata felt too big to me). The front cabin feels similar to size to the old Accord. The back seat room is smaller but fine for kids, and the car is more fun to drive than the old and new Accords, Sonata, and Fusion. $17,500 with a 45,000 service contract and lifetime power train warranty from the dealer and I was sold. With 600 miles on it Im getting about 32 MPG which is fine, but I assume it will improve with time.

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  Dependable - low maintenance - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By gr49548 - January 28 - 6:27 pm

  Bought my 2002 Elantra new for 12K. Have driven it for nine years 94,000 with only regular maintenance. No problems other than frequent head light replacements. Rotors replaced twice now. Some warranty work. Timing belt replaced at 80K only because the manual said to replace it at 50/60K. Recent check engine light came on, however mechanic can not find any problems. Still running on original exhaust and rear brakes. Overall a good car for the money.

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  less than 10k - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By screwedinaz - January 24 - 10:20 pm

  this thing sips gas, is alot of fun to drive since it is a manual trans. i have to keep checking the tachometer to make sure it is still running very quiet at idle. which the idle is low way low around 500rpm??? the interior is adequate for tall drivers im over6 feet tall and no head bumping. overall performance is about what i expected from the 4 cylinder. i do miss my 3.7l v6 dodge but the pain was at the pump. so i look at this little can do car as one huge tylenol on my wallet.. with the 10/100 optional warranty and the dealer provided maintenance it will be a long time before i reach into my wallet to put out a dime for this car outside of the payments and washes