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 Buy - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By deca75 - July 22 - 2:00 am

  This vehicle handles well quite and very fun to drive.

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  THIS IS A HYUNDAI? - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Paul - July 21 - 4:03 pm

  I have had multiple BMWs, a 300E and 3 Acura TLs and a 2006 Acura RL. This car hands down is better in almost every category than anything I have driven. They built a first ever rear wheel drive car that is quiet, has an incredible sound system and everything you would expect in a $60,000 car except that it cost 40. I realize that this is a first year model but as of now,Hyundai hit it out of the park

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  Luxury - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By Kathleen Pritchard - July 20 - 2:25 pm

  Love it

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  Love my Sonata! - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mitchell - July 20 - 10:34 am

  This is my second Hyundai and I love it. The SE turbo with paddle shifters is both fast and comfortable. A great travel car but still fun during the daily commute. Sexy and sleek. I will never buy anything but a Hyundai.

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  Awesome Vehicle! - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Lori - July 20 - 7:46 am

  I bought this SUV new in 2001. I have kept up with all suggested maintenance, and have never had any problems whatsoever. It looks and drives just like it did the day I bought it. I absolutely love it and will most likely buy another one when the time comes. I have recommended this SUV to many friends who have wound up buying their own and are just as happy as I am. Buy it!

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  XG350L - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By kevin yates - July 20 - 4:40 am

  I have owned Mercedes Benzs, BMWs, VWs and a Corvette this is one of the nicest cars I haved owned. Right now you can get a xg350L for about 21000 plus tax and tags. This is one heck of a lot of car for 21Gs. It has more options that my BMW 7 series that I traded in on the XG350L had. The mirrors point tothe curb when the car is shifted in reverse. Iknow this does not have sport suspension but remember it is a luxury car and if you drive it like a luxuary car it drives very nice.

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  I hated to trade it in - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Hal - July 19 - 6:15 pm

  This was my first Hyundai and I was very impressed. The only reason I sold it was because I needed a truck. 3 years of flawless performance. No squeaks, rattles or disappointments at all. The only time it saw the dealership was for oil changes. Id buy another Hyundai in the future.

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  Could have been built better - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By pfehrman - July 19 - 3:36 pm

  The assumption that a car must be good based on a 100,000 mile warranty is faulty; especially when it does not transfer to a new owner. I purchased this vehicle from a dealer, used, and then was told it needed $2,000.00 worth of required maintenance to keep from voiding the warranty. After that I had constant problems with the brakes, and transmission. Coming back from Florida one time, the car began to buck and jerk for more than 400 miles. We took it to a couple of places and were told that it was a transmission sensor. After paying many hundreds of dollars for repairs, we still are having transmission type issues, along with a brake fluid leak, and other continued brake issues.

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  THE BIG LIES !!! - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By jizzag - July 19 - 10:00 am

  The BIG LIES: First, the horsepower is 10 less than the respectable (for the money) 192 HP advertised, which was one my deciding factors in choosing the XG over other cars considered. Second, the "premium sound system" is NOT! Other disappointments: the "service engine" light still on after four service department visits, rusted brake drums, poor front interior lighting, inferior paint job. Im also very suspicious about the odometer accuracy. Otherwise, I still like my car a lot. Features usually found in cars that are more expensive are standard in the XG300L, which make its it still a best buy for the price. And the performance, even at 182 hp, is adequate.

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  What A Surprise! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Philip KT - July 19 - 10:00 am

  Theres been an amazing change in Hyundai vehicles. My Loaded 5-speed Elantra GT(5000 miles so far)is a champ, with few indications of a cost about half of an Altima or Passat. Amazingly, except in pure Driving Joy (read: Fahrvegnugen)its inexplicable that even a Jetta costs 5-8K more then an Elantra GT. The only drawbacks were the salesman (unpleasant)and the engine(slow as a horse headed for the glue factory)