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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  my first hyundai - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Si - November 9 - 10:26 pm

  This was a great experience. It was a lot more than I expected. I remember the old Hyundais and this is not that car

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  great car - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By florida driver - November 9 - 2:40 pm

  the v-6 has lots of get up and go. i drive a lot and love the vehicle. do not like the a/c unit or the windshield wipers. the wipers dont work fast enough in florida downpours but with rainx it is fine. a/c is designed so does not blow in the face and personally i prefer it to be in the face.

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  HPCU Died in Less than Two Months - 2014 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By jonqyork - November 8 - 7:36 pm

  I bought this car on June 15, 2014. On July 14th, it wouldnt start. Had it towed to the dealer. It took them 5 days to find the problem. It was a blown fuse. On August 13th, it wouldnt start again. Towed again to the dealer. Now, 9 days later (when I originally wrote this), they still have it and cant figure out the problem. They said theyve had another Sonata Hybrid in the shop with a similar problem for a month. They simply have no idea whats wrong with it or how to get it back on the road! And they told me theyre now turning down tows because they dont know how to fix it!

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  New Hyundai Owner - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By skwaz - November 8 - 2:47 pm

  Bought Santa Fe 2.0T in July to replace a much loved 2002 CRV. Thus far have found the car to be very fun to drive, comfortable at highway speeds, and the perfect size for driving around town. Only time will tell regarding reliability and dealer service. I have not had any complaints with the steering (as others have reported), and the 2.0T has plenty of power even in the ECO mode. My only complaint is the blind spot created by the severely angled rear windows. They seem to have sacrificed clear sight lines for styling.

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  love it except ... - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By sharoniowa - November 8 - 6:56 am

  This car handles well in the snow and ice with impressive lower gears available in the automatic. Its comfortable and attractive.

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  200k Miles Later... - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By lovemygt04 - November 8 - 4:10 am

  I bought my 04 GT in Sept of 06 with 30,000 miles. I just traded it last month at just under 200,000 miles. (187k) Ive LOVED this car since the day I bought it! I was 19 when I bought it, so this poor car had more than its fair share of abuse, and the Tiburon responded very well under the pressure. I did very few repairs, especially for such high mileage! None of the repairs were big ticket items, such as engine or transmission issues. More of the pesky nature, like struts, tires, and brakes. Overall I LOVED this car, and was very tempted to buy another, but set my sights on the Genesis Coupe! Hyundai has exceeded my expectations, and I am now a loyal Hyundai owner.

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  Convinced - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By DaveS - November 8 - 4:00 am

  My wife owned an Elentra GT, 1st gen Sante Fe and now a fully loaded 2nd gen Santa Fe. I always thought they were "nice" and reliable, if a bit dull. The 2011 Sonata? Not dull. In shopping for a car, I debated between new (Sonata, Fusion, Taurus, Accord, Legacy) and used (Passat, A4). After a lot of internet research and test drives, I was most impressed by the Fusion and Sonata. I really liked the way the Fusion SEL V6 drove, but didnt like the looks or the price tag. The Sonata impressed on the road, looked awesome and was priced perfectly. 2 weeks and 800 miles in, I can honestly say I look forward to getting in my car every morning and evening - 40 mile commute or not. Thats success!

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  Fun wore off - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Mahmga - November 7 - 10:00 am

  I really liked this car when I got it because of the price, lightweight body, peppy motor, 4 doors/roomy back seats, and leather interior. Now that I have had it a bit, I am unhappy with vibration in the steering wheel at 75+mph and am unhappy with the extreme vibration of braking the car when at modest speeds..esp on downhill slopes - very unsatisfactory. I also dont like that the US version engine is dialed back esp. in the lower power band. This car needs a mod-chip to reclaim that low-end power.

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  My Hyundai - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Henry Getkate - November 7 - 10:00 am

  Just a great car. I looked at because some other executives were happy with theirs. I have put 25000 Kms on the car since the middle of March this year, and I love it. My previous cars were, Mercedes, Volkswagon, Toronado, Montecarlo. Montecarlo SS was better handling. But I am going in no races, and my snappy XG350 does it for me.

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  Awesome Mid Size Suv w/ an Awesome $ - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By v. gessler - November 7 - 10:00 am

  What an amazing car for your money! Its alot bigger on the inside than it looks!!