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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  Best Value for a Mid-sized Sedan - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By turbo2013_56 - November 3 - 3:55 am

  Only had it 5 months but so far it has been nearly perfect. Limited visibility out the back and some road noise (not all of it bad, nice little engine hum); lower gas mileage but have taken no long trips and my commute is a nightmare so maybe MPGs are OK. Got Limited turbo with premium package and cannot imagine getting a finer car for the money I paid. Rides well; handles great; very fast and responsive, I love this car.

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  Great Little Car! - 1997 Hyundai Elantra
  By ckn - November 3 - 2:00 am

  This is my 1st car right after college. I have driven the hell out of it (93,400 mi). I have lots of money to buy a new car but dont because this baby has never given me any real problems. Past problems have been a cracked gasket, broken door hinge, and the CD player laser sometimes messed up. Just now I broke my inside door handle and a fuse keeps blowing so I cant shift out of park (but you can override that). All these things are minor. I replace brakes every 40k mi. Gas mileage is between 25-29 mpg. Yearly maintenance/repair costs (for everything) are approx $500. Cant go wrong there! I saved lots of money w/ this car!

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  Careful - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By pfc95 - November 3 - 2:00 am

  There is a reason that this is lower priced...quality is not good. Currently my Elantra with 44,235 has had 2 front bearings replace and a tie rod end. Window panel on door rusted out and its not covered!!! I needed to bring the car back with 33 miles due it not being properly prepped (tire air pressure at 15psi etc.) Warrenty is excellent and they fixed with no charge but beware, it will need fixing and often!

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  Pits compared to the 2000 Hyundia - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By ripped off - November 2 - 11:20 pm

  Problem starting motor, 2 to 5 tries needed. Missing stard equipment, lock on glove box repaired - looks used. they repaired the motor while still in for dealer options. Repairs not reported, seems there more damage since they do not list repairs done on invoice if i get one. They didnt have the sticker on the side window stating model, year, equipment, where it was made, seems to be a used car. they refuse to even help, not very fair to the buyer. seems they are back to where they start, past was junk; whats this? honesty seems to be gone

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  best choice - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By DSinND - November 2 - 8:10 pm

  My 1st Hyundai, will definitely not be the last! Looked at CR-V, RAV-4, Jeep and more, chose Santa Fe for a few reasons: best looking, best size, best price, best warranty, on and on and on. Bought as a program car, best vehicle purchase I ever made. Traded 03 Chev Trailblazer (possibly the WORST vehicle ever made!) and have been nothing but happy with the Santa Fe. North Dakota winters are no problem with AWD. Fuel economy not exactly what I expected (or told by dealership) but not too bad. Just drove the family to central Florida and back with no complaints.

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  Excellent - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By steve - November 2 - 9:56 am

  I have recently had a 2002 Saturn Vue and a 1999 Accord LX V6. I needed something with better mileage. I considered numerous other cars, but found that this 06 Sonata, even with a 4 cyl was better laid out than even the mid-upper levels of a Camry and an Accord. This is much better than the Accord. I have received many compliments on the look, the interior, and the smooth ride. I got this for less than 20k...this would have gone for closer to 30k with comparable models. The 4 cyl has great power, the trunk is huge, the interior has a very Euro-style to it, the shiftronic is great, the stereo is loud and even has tweeters. The warranty is phenomenal. Very happy with this purchase.

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  great ride - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By guinness1 - November 2 - 2:00 am

  What a great interior for look and ease odf use. Its a great ride and the exterior looks just like a jaguar. AC and is super ease of console is great. Radio could use a boost as well as cd player

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  Excellent Value - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Alhob - November 2 - 2:00 am

  You cant beat this car for the price. I shopped around for almost 2 months before finally deciding on the Sonata. I was unable to find any other car with as many amenities for the price. Ive now had the car for about 2 months and have put about 1000 miles on it. I have not had a bit of trouble with it so far. The last time I checked, I was getting about 22mpg in almost exclusively city driving. Handling is a little soft for my taste, but thats to be expected for a car in this class. My previous car was a Mitsubishi Eclipse, so I was used to something a little sportier.

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  Mechanical Nightmare. - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sam - November 1 - 12:43 pm

  So as the economy riddles us all, I decide to purchase a fuel efficient low cost vehicle, low priced and one that will be reliable, boy did I make a mistake. I purchased 2009 sonata gls, the suspension is horrible, my transmission makes a slight rattle, I have creaking noises coming from my interior and I have only 1000 miles. The service manager and mechanics of course cannot locate the problems and are telling me that the noises will go away with time ? are you kidding me. I think everyone who is incurring these problems should create a petition forward it to Hyundai and take care of the issues. If anyone is thinking about a sonata, test drive it as long, far and as many bumps you can.

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  awesome car! - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By abelino - November 1 - 2:00 am

  it looks like a lexus from the front and a jaguar from the back!! cool!