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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  Welcome to my Nightmare - 1994 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jesse 777 - January 26 - 2:00 am

  I fell in love with the car, at first sight, but it turns into a nightmare at soon I started driving. The engine get damaged immediately, it was fixed by the dealer and at soon the guarantee was over the engine went down again, I fixed and never get in to a good conditions, finally the clutch get damaged and it cost more than the car to fix it. I am without transportation and I have a car to keep making payments.

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  Definitely a nice looking SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Kelly - January 25 - 7:16 pm

  I have had my Tucson for about 2 months now. I have no major complaints but also on the other hand no major excitements. It is my first new car purchase and I was impressed with the warrranty and safety features. I do love the way it looks though. I just recently go my two front windows tinted to match the privacy glass in the rear of the vehicle and now it looks absolutely stunning.

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  Sharp car, very comfortable - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By DonPat - January 25 - 4:03 pm

  I just bought this car a week ago, so keep that in mind. I immediately took a 200 mile trip. The seats are fantastic! Very comfortable. I have a bad back, and my back did not hurt at all. The ride is surprisingly smooth, especially given the low-profile tires. The 4-speed manual is not real sporty, and acceleration is not blazing. The engine sound on acceleration is sweet. There is a lot of room under the hatch. The rear seat is for children only, but holds a booster seat comfortably. If you want quicker response and acceleration, try the SE with 6-speed manual. I drove it, and it was smooth with great pick- up. I only got the Limited because my son will learn to drive on this car.

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  Sold - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By senior - January 25 - 4:56 am

  Just finished a 5400 mile round trip from Florida to Arizona, Nevada and Utah and back. Actual mileage was 31.97 mpg from start to finish. Drove the interstates at speed limit plus 4 mph. Never felt the need for more power, engine and transmission handled every condition without any problem. Hit temperatures of 106 and auto climate control did its job flawlessly. Smooth, quiet and comfortable with outstanding looks. Handled the back roads well, especially coming out of Zion national park going to Bryce canyon. Sold on Hyundai

• 

  OK - 1998 Hyundai Sonata
  By gregjstewart - January 25 - 2:00 am

  No major problems. Does not let you know youve left your lights on. This can be a problem with weak battery that comes with car. Tires weak on takeoff on wet surfaces.

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  Rally Edition value for money - 2016 Hyundai Veloster
  By GOV - January 23 - 6:34 am

  Performance for the money is great. There are other cars in the segment that cost about the same with similar performance (and maybe a little better performance). That said, you have to like the way the car looks. The other comparable cars I didnt like the looks. If youre a fan of the Velosters looks you will not be disappointed if youre purchasing a turbo. If you just like the way the car looks and buy the normally aspirated model and are looking for economy, not a bad car. What you get is pretty good if youre just driving on the street and not the track (turbo model). Lots of power to get you in trouble on the street if youre not careful. This is a fast car. The rally model comes with JDM wheels that would cost over two grand to add to any other car, but are included on that model. Handling is stiff on the rally. If youre looking for a very comfortable car, buy the normal model or a different car. These cars are set up for a sporty ride and can be harsh over bumps. Handling around really tight corners is not great. Its not bad, but this car shines more on the longer, faster corners. On the freeway its excellent. Freeway passing power is up to the job even if the speed limit is 85 MPH. The manual transmission is very slick with the B&M short shifter. Its really good but takes a little getting used to. If youre new to manual transmissions it can be difficult to start out in first gear until you do it a few times. Ive killed the engine a couple of times and I have a lot of manual trans experience. With the modern twin scroll turbo it has lots of low end power. Punch it at any RPM and it goes. The interior is pretty nice for a car on the cheaper end. Leather seats, infotainment, steering wheel mounted stereo controls, back up camera, 450 watt sound system with subwoofer. The stereo will blast your eardrums out if you want it to. The third door is great for grocery getting and lots of space in the hatchback if you lower the back seat. I come from a background of mostly JDM cars. This is my first Korean car and Im impressed. The fit and finish is not as good as on some JDM cars but it is a minor annoyance. Youre also not getting the power for price from those vehicles. One word of warning: Matte paint. If you buy the matte painted version of this car you will get non stop attention from other car enthusiasts. You will also get a non stop headache. You cant take it through a normal car wash. It has to be hand washed. Hyundai does include a nice kit to wash and protect it with, but its not like owning a normal car. If you really, really, really like matte paint then buy it but know that its going to be some work to take care of. They even make you sign an agreement! The rally is the ultimate edition and only 1200 were made. If thats your thing it is definitely worth the price. In fact, I think its worth more than what I paid.

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  Pleasantly surprised - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By Monipeni - January 23 - 2:00 am

  Was forced to buy the Sonata due to constraints set by the bank and my budget. It turned out it is a great car for the money. Fun to drive on the highway, handles like a dream and has lots of pep. Plenty of room inside and in the trunk. Nicely styled too. The stereo cranks except the CD player skips sometimes. Some of the paint is peeling off a door handle. Its a 5 speed. The shifter is horrible, hard to find 3rd gear sometimes and have to be at a complete stop to go into 1st. All in all I would recommend to a friend to buy a Sonata anytime.

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  quality/reliability - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By brumble - January 23 - 2:00 am

  Weve got 26,000 mostly-city miles on our Sonata. The ONLY things weve replaced/fixed are battery and one light bulb. 4 cyl. with 5-speed is lively performer. Quality so far is BETTER than our Camry.

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  Is it really an SUV? - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Mike - January 22 - 3:16 pm

  First time I test drove it, I couldnt believe it was an SUV! It handled great! I had to watch my foot on the accelerator, too. Very responsive. And all the standard features. It seemed too good to be true.

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  Few small problems - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By ABC123 - January 21 - 2:00 am

  Drum brakes problem around 8,000 miles (dispute with dealership) Head light(warranty) Battery failure(warranty) Vibrating(steering wheel and chair) (disputed and not resolved, but will check on other dealership) (service center: Freeman Hyundai)