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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  Cool Ride - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Mike - February 22 - 10:03 am

  I owned this car for 1 year now, and has no problem with it. Still perform great, I have no problem with the performance of the car, as I can easily overtake any audis, bmws or benzies on the highway. Its true that the tiburon is not as powerful as some other high performance sport cars, but speed defend on both the driver and the car not just the car alone. The tib can easily do 180 km/h, but then again only pro race car drivers would drive any faster... Simply put, the tiburon is best of class in term of price per features. If you crave that extra power then you can easily add a supercharger on your tiby for only a few grands.

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  Good car overall, but beware of a few weaknesses - 2016 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jason - February 22 - 9:38 am

  The car is roomy and looks good in and out. Acceleration, braking and handling are also good for a car in this class. However, I feel that a few weaknesses must be pointed out: (1) Very poor design of the air vents in the dashboard. At the highest position, the air blows right on the drivers wrists on both sides. If you try to hold the wheel differently, it will be in your face and shoulders. Lower directions are about as inconvenient and also reduce the air flow. (2) Poor engine braking when descending steep slopes. I drove this car up Mount Washington (average slope 12%) without any problems but on descent the first gear (selected manually) could not hold it. Even on the less steep portions of the road, in a few seconds it was approaching the red line. I had to brake a lot and wait for the brakes to cool off a couple of times. There is no excuse for this. Every other car I had the chance to observe was doing better. A few years ago I drove a 2006 Corolla (also automatic) into a canyon in Colorado (average slope 16%) and the first gear held beautifully at no more than 15 mph. (3) So-so rear visibility. (4) No spare wheel.

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  Dan B.s Gray Accent - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Lou Garou - February 22 - 2:00 am

  This Accent has given almost 39 MPG on an extended trip of over 250 miles. It handles great and it has enough power to get me on to the Capital Beltway. Its air conditioner and heater work great!

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  Great Job - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By CoryApp - February 21 - 2:00 am

  I Love my accent. Very fast and takes corners well.

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  Horrible Car for Kids - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Hopkins - February 20 - 2:00 am

  This was my first Korean car as well as my last. Although on highway speeds, steering is not so good. One bad thing with this car is that the shifting in automatic is horrible. I got stuck in the middle of an intersection many times because the shift gets stuck in between gears, leaving you helpless until it shifts in. Other than that it is a fun car to drive- until you have a accident. This car was hit offset and it looked just fine. However even with not that high of a speed the car was totaled- the whole frame bent and it became almost impossible repair to repair. Do not buy this car if you are worried about your life or you have a brain.

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  Best economy car.......hands down!! - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By JoelP - February 20 - 2:00 am

  This is the BEST economy car on the market....hands down! I replaced my automatic 1998 Accent hatchback with a new, 2003 same model and the improvements made by Hyundai are numerous and welcomed. No more turning off the air-conditioner to pull out on the highway...this Accent has spunky pick-up! The automatic transmission has been improved with the car now shifting/staying in the correct gear. The ride is quiet (okay, the engine could be quieter but hey, it is an economy car remember), smooth and sturdy. Hyundai did a great job on redesigning this Accent from the exterior classy look to its comforable interior. Guess you can tell, I love my Accent!

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  Nothing but trouble - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By Daman - February 19 - 10:00 am

  Car appeared to be a value but I am on 3rd transmission, front brakes and rotors went at 30K miles, battery gone at 2 years. Tires worn out at 35K. Just had 60K service! WOW! Over $1100 for timing belt and service! If you dont get the timing belt done, warranty is void! Needs to sacrifice some ride quality for handling. Sways in curves almost to the point of being dangerous.

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  This is BEST new car in 25 I have owned - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By mike350l - February 19 - 10:00 am

  I dont understand the low ratings by the editors, we have owned 25 cars in 14 years (between us) and this is the ONLY one I have had more than 12-14 months. It is comfortable and reliable. Best deal going only paid 24k for it when similarly equipped models were 34-39k when purchased. It has EVERY option you could imagine and it is so quiet and smooth to ride in. We have logged over 50k so we travel a lot. The seats are still great. Most people are afraid of trying a name their family, friends or others have not tried or deemed COOL. If you want to save a lot of money and have a great warranty buy one! give one of these a look.

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  Mi Amour - My Love - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Princess45 - February 19 - 10:00 am

  After taking a test drive I feel deeply in love with this vehicle. Ive always wanted a sports car and the price was definitely right on this. It was such a ease to purchase this vehicle and I drove him home the next business day after the dealership let me keep him for the weekend! Hes been very true to me and only has eyes for me!

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  Great Sonata - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By popeguy - February 19 - 10:00 am

  I own a new 2004 Hyundai Sonata GLS V6. I have put 4,000 miles on the car and I love it more everyday. Great ride and great warranty.The styling is so cool and the interior is top notch.