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 MPG/Great Bang for the Buck - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By rkovach51 - December 18 - 5:21 am

  Love it.I bought my 2003 Elantra 5-speed manual w/35,000 miles in March 2003 from the dealership have 7000 more miles on it. (Hyundai is THE benchmark for customer service in this market!!!). I get 31+ mpg city/hwy and 33+ mpg on freeway travel from Chicago to Northern Ohio at 75+ mph. Great car! Room enough for the single person or small family great handling heater brings up good heat in cold weather within 1/2 mile or so front SIDE airbags. A little noisy in the manual 5-speed. Runs remarkably smooth on mid-priced tires (Barum Tires). Caution: It does take a crowbar and body builder to yank the tire off the wheel! I would buy a new (and now larger) Elantra in a heartbeat. Enjoy.

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  Happy owner! - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By k14k - December 17 - 11:21 am

  bought Elantra GLS on 12-14-10, and love it. Handles great, averages in high 30s on fuel overall, and looks very sharp. Would like more power, but its good enough, and is the tradeoff for great fuel economy, which matters more to me.

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  wouldnt recommend to anyone - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Anonymous - December 8 - 2:00 am

  very unhappy with the car, havent even had it 2 years yet and Im having problems, luckily nothing with the engine, it all seems to be electrical or interior problems except for the awful noise that my back window makes when I go over bumps, it makes this loud cracking noise like the window is going to fall out. Also you can tell the interior is cheap plastic because while driving all I hear is rattling, like something is loose in the dash. I will be getting rid of the car ASAP. Also had a brand new 2008 Accent before this car and had engine problems and brought it back within 8 months of purchase.

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  Very Good Buy - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Anonymous - December 7 - 2:00 am

  I bought my 2006 Sonata LX in April of 2007. It had about 3,000 miles on it. Since then Ive driven it nearly 35,000 miles. This car has performed well and has had very minimal problems. The ride is great and the acceleration is more than adequate. The only service I have done to it besides regular maintenance was: power mirror replacement(under warr.), brake light sensor (under warr.), passenger sun visor broke(under warr.). I also had to replace some air valve in the engine due to stink bugs crawling up inside it...ugh. Thats nothing against the car tho. Overall, I love this car and its been very reliable. Would definately consider buying again!!

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  Good Deal and Great Reliability - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
  By Anonymous - December 6 - 2:00 am

  I purchase my car with 100 K miles on it. Now it has 215 K on it and it is still going strong. I am looking for another vehicle right now and possibly going to purchase another Hyundai. It has been super reliable and has only needed general maintainence.

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  Wouldnt Buy Another One - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Anonymous - December 6 - 2:00 am

  This car is not an entrance to the luxury class by a long shot. The transmission in my car is an abomination to the name of luxury car. It shifts with jerky motions, cant find the gear it needs to run in and has to catch up to the engine after braking. Two trips to the dealership and I have been assured that this transmission is within Hyundai specs. The cruise control loses 3MPH up any grade hill and gains up to 3MPH down the hill. I have a 2002 I-35 that keeps set speed dead-on. I think Hyundai needs to reverse engineer an Infinity transmission and cruise control. The ride is rough and the engine is noisy. Other than that the car is OK.

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  340,XXX Miles Strong - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By B.D.Carrasquillo - December 4 - 2:00 am

  My wife and I were looking for a basic 4 cylinder car. Commuting to work roughly 150 miles, roundtrip each day, we wanted a basic 4 cylinder with decent mileage and warranty. We went to Suresky, Hyundai dealership and purchased GT version. We immediatley loved its look. It was fully loaded with everything except powered seats. It was and still is a bit small inside but manageable. The engine is a bit noisy. The only major thing weve had to deal with was a stuck fuel injector at about 290XXX. The car still shifts smooth and looks good as well. 10 years and almost 350,000 miles later we are Hyundai fans. We would purchase another Hyundai without hesitation.

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  Transmission issue - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Mo - December 4 - 2:00 am

  The car has transmission issue, i thought it is mine only, then after researching the web i found it is very common, it is also pulls to the right, i took it to Firestone, they found a factory error that can not be corrected (it was not that bad), the conclusion is: you get what you pay for, the good thing is parts are kinda cheap compared to other cars.

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  Great car! Lots of Bang for your Bucks - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By George - December 2 - 2:00 am

  I dont know about some of the previous reviews. I bought this car from the estate of a friend who bought it, then died shortly thereafter. He told me he loved his previous Hyundai and this one also. I was skeptical, but at the time it was just what I needed. This car has been extremely reliable, easy to drive and repair (for what little repairs it needed). Assessing the quality I would say it is not quite as good as a Honda Accord, but better made than a Camry, too bad the resale value isnt that of either of these models. I would definitely buy another Hyundai and I think that the new Sonatas are better than ever!

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  Poor Gas mileage No overdrive - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By chriskaline - December 2 - 2:00 am

  Overall this car has been awesome! The only problem is:gas mileage not fitting this car, 25 to 27 overall is not very good, no overdrive, it is simply a fifth gear. At 70 mph it turns appox. 3500 rpm, that is not good and certainly effects gas mileage.