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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  looked for practical bargain-- got it! - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By rjfin - March 28 - 10:00 am

  Lots of good cars to pick from in this size; I needed something safe, comfortable, economical, reliable. Price & warranty got me to dealership; comfort, int. & ext. design, and side airbags sold me. Its been flawless. The drivers multiple seat adjustments and the smooth ride make my long trips pleasurable. Plenty of cruising power. Well designed nooks & compartments, and cup holders... I see lots of Elantras on the road, and am hoping resale on these continues to improve as folks see Hyundai has its act together-- but even it if doesnt, I expect to happily drive this car for a LONG time, and am confident Ill get my moneys worth.

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  GREAT CAR - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Brit - March 28 - 2:00 am

  my dad bought me this car for my 16th birthday, Im thrilled with its exterior design and the interior as well, its so fun to drive

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  Fun Little Car - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By blondie7940 - March 28 - 2:00 am

  I have had my car for 2 years and love driving it. Its fun and zippy. I have a 5-speed and think its acceleration is pretty good. Its everything I expected for a $10,000 car. The backseat could be a little bigger, but other than that it suits me just fine.

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  A regret customer - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dolphin39 - March 27 - 5:22 pm

  I am blaiming myself for buying a Hyundai vechnicle. Needless to say the bad transmission and poor mileage that a lot of customers having on this forum, my less than one year old 2010 Sante Fe refuse to start one night, and put me into a cold night waiting for more than 2 hours to have their 24 hr road side assitance to tow my car to a nearest dealship. On the way, the tow truck guy of CAA telling me that he had been faced the same problem lately and feel sorry for me to have a Hynduai with such a nonreliable quality and poor service. So my advice for everyone who intend to buy a Hyundai vechnicle: Look somewhere else and stay away of it!

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  one month review - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By BobC - March 27 - 10:00 am

  I switched from a Toyota Highlander to the SantaFe. In many respects, the two cars are very similar and so far I have no regrets. The Highlander had grown to large for me, along with price. With the SantaFe I am averaging 22-23 mpg on the road and 16-17 in the city. The only issue with 1400 miles is the console cover around the shifter continues to pop loose. Minor issue and yet to go back to the dealer

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  Fun in spa city - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By mario - March 26 - 7:23 pm

  This car is fun to drive. Everybody that rides in it wants one. After driving pick ups for the last 10 years this car made driving a lot more fun. Both my college age kids want me to loan it out to them. I looked at a lot of other cars and the price a warranty changed my mind.

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  Import Quality Domestic Price - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By frank - March 26 - 4:36 am

  Since I drive a great deal I get another car every three years on high mile lease programs. I have leased, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, All GM, FOrd, Chrysler vehicles. For at least 50,000 miles of hard driving in all conditions over the past 27 years. I personally will get ONLY hyundais for the rest of my life unless the company changes a lot. Value in supreme, comfort is great, handling in snow is great, visibility is great. Very Solid car. Until a co-worker got me to look at the Hyundai It was never considered. I have had a Sonata SE V6 since 1/15/09. My wife even replaced our Lexus RX 350 with a Veracruze by Hyundai

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  Great Car Great Price - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Nyla Carson - March 25 - 11:40 pm

  This vehicle runs so quiet that I have to be careful not to try and start the engine again. Smooth driving, looks sharp, I wish it had a horn finder on the car keyless lock. The lights flash instead. I like the fact I can key into the mirror area my garage code, our homeowners gate access code, and my mothers garage code so I dont have to carry remotes. A great looking dash. I also like the shift feature for town driving. The dealership salesforce were not vultures. And I liked the price with the great warranty. Gas mileage, with air on and 80mph was 28.5 with cruise. Would probably be better at a decent speed.

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  $15998 for 5-speed basic - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Happy Camper - March 25 - 7:00 pm

  This is the first "small" car Ive owned. Previous three cars were Mercury Sable wagons all of which I put over 200K on. At the top of my list of car priorities is driver comfort as I put over 37K annually on a vehicle! Im 63", 270 and the Touring is VERY comfy!

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  Elantra is OK - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By Larry J - March 25 - 7:00 am

  Insurance is very high!! Good quality for a low cost car, warranty was the major selling factor for me. It is a little too small for my family now, have to move up to a SUV or mini van.