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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  Looking good so far! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Luther - July 13 - 9:10 am

  I am a former Honda Accord and Nissan Maxima (3) owner, so my standards are high. The Sonata is not as "cushy" as my former cars, but it measures up very nicely when one examines the overall look, fit and feel of the car, the warranty, the standard features, and then the price one pays. This has excellent value. I bought mine for $3000 less than the MSRP. I am pleased with the handling and overall comfort. The 4-cylinder engine has plenty of power. I especially like the Shiftronic feature, having owned manual transmission vehicles for more than 25 years. I can shift down when descending steep hills in my community. If the reliability of the car meets expectations, Ill be a winner!

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  Great vehicle - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By DeerJohn - July 11 - 8:26 am

  When I decided I no longer needed a pickup, I looked at RAV4 and CRV, but chose the Hyundai because of price and warranty. I no longer consider American-made cars. The Tucson is roomy, comfortable, handles well, and has great visibility. The 4c engine seems noisy and underpowered to me compared to my wifes 4c Accord, but I no longer need those features. I did expect better gas mileage than 24 mpg, but that may improve. One bad feature is the light-colored interior, which is hard to keep clean. Did not think of that when I bought. I always felt that home carpets and car interiors should be a dark color, as people tend to walk on them. Seatcovers and mats help.

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  Hyundai XG350L - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By MYhyundaiXG - July 9 - 7:36 am

  ...awesome car...a lot of bang for the buck

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  Love the car, but bumper is flimsy - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jean - July 6 - 6:13 pm

  Mpg is great-36-39 on a trip, ride is comfortable, looks modern. Big drawback or design flaw -if you scrape the front bumper you dont have just a cosmetic problem. On drivers side we didnt have any collision or bump and it separated from the fender. We scraped the bumper on a curb on the passenger side while backing out and the entire bumper separated from the body of the car. It is held on by tiny flimsy tongue in groove construction like a snap together kids toy. We were going about 2 miles per hour. Were told that the bumper would have to be replaced. This is our second sonata (2007 which we loved) but this one is poorly constructed and bumper is poorly designed, too low on sides

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  sun roof - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By abagale - July 5 - 11:46 am

  if your tuscon has a sun roof, check it out when it rains. there is a rubber drip rail around the window to catch water.Seal may leak.

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  Best Car Ever - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Gemg - July 4 - 9:43 pm

  Bought new out the door for 14K, pretty good. Ive only done routine maintenance, the car has never had a single problem. Most trouble free car Ive ever had. An unassuming simple car but a little nicer than "basic transport". Always gets 30+mpg. Even got 38mpg between Reno and Sacramento (all downhill LOL!) Commuted in Colorado going 40 miles each way from 5000ft to 8500ft elevation each time. Sub zero weather and never garaged. Someone ran a red light and hit the side from drivers door forward at 60mph - totaled it. My daughter who was driving and my son the passenger walked away with only bruises and sore muscles. Now looking for another Elantra to replace it.

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  Hyundais Sports Sedan - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By jimpimms - July 2 - 10:50 am

  A bona fide sports sedan, and all for a paltry $13,999 MSRP. The included equipment for that price is phenomenal. Even with the moonroof-ABS-traction control package, its barely over 15Gs (plus delivery, fees, and taxes). Fit and finish is superb, inside and out. With the traction control option, the car refuses to plough in the corners, and holds the road like its on rails, even in the wet. The gutsy 2.0 litre 140hp engine accelerates spiritedly, ride and handling are well-balanced, and NVH is minimal. Add the impressive warranty and 5 year unlimited mileage roadside assistance, and its a deal you cant refuse.

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  Good 1st Car - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mike - July 1 - 3:52 am

  I bought this car for my wife, whom is also an import, for a first car to learn with. I was pleasantly surprised with the handling. The car feels very nimble even in the mountains. The 4 cyl engine is smooth, but noisy. Not bad after getting moving at a moderate pace. Everything is built cheap and lightly, which probably explains the nimbleness. It has standard cloth seats which are not very comfortable. Good gas mileage.

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  not too bad - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By bpg - June 30 - 5:19 am

  Ive had my tibby for almost a year. it has 39,000 miles. Im pretty pleased with it, but for being a 4 cylinder "sports" car its pretty slow.. I tried racing my friend who has a very old crappy car and he kept up with me the whole time. i wish it was faster.. the only problems I had was a headlight going out and the tires seem to bald quickly. but the style is awesome. its a good little car for a small gal like me.

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  Satisfied but not ecstatic - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By dbh1 - June 28 - 10:00 am

  I had to have the starter replaced. This was covered under the 5 yr 60k warranty. The roadside assistance program works.