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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  Surprise, surprise, surprise - Korea!!! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By hockeysignor - July 15 - 10:00 am

  Had it for about 3 weeks. Runs nice, has very good power and looks decent. Mileage has been avg. (21mpg overall, w/about 70% highway). Trade off in mileage for power. Actually has slightly better mileage #s than the 2.7L. This is my 1st Korean auto and Im impressed, so far. Lets see how it wears, down the road. Like the fact that I still do not have any rattles/squeeks, like most US/Japan made vehicles I have owned. Time will tell.

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  Great value - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Spursrule - July 15 - 1:56 am

  We were loyal Honda and Toyota owners for 20+ years. Checked this out and what a nice vehicle. Specs for the $$ is a great value. I spoke with past Hyundai owners before buying this and not one had a bad thing to say about their Sonatas. If a family sedan is what you are looking for, drive this before you make your decision. Handles great for a sedan. Interior controls are logical in places. Ours Limited is Powder White w the wine leather interior. We love it.

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  best suv for your money - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By santafeguyfl - July 14 - 12:13 pm

  The carbuying press always bashes Hyundais but we have had our 2003 now for almost 3 years. It has only had one problem at 43,000 miles the oil pump pressure releif valve froze. It was replaced at no cost under the best warranty in the industry while we were given a loaner car. The V-6 has more than adequate power for its class and delivers great gas mileage for its size. we average 24mpg in town and 29- 31 on the highway with the standard automatic transmission. The Quality has been so good in fact that I used Hyundais $2000 owner loyalty rebate towards the purchase of my Elantra. The Santa fe has all of the features that would cost you 4-6 thousand more dollars on a RAV-4 or CRV

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  I own a unicorn - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By iankeefe - July 14 - 4:40 am

  So far its a neat car. I think the exterior styling is top notch. It doesnt appear to be trying to look cool. Nice wheels, and contrasting body moldings. Look at the back of the car at night with the tail lights on. No lie, it has a smiling face. Alot like a Jack-O-Lantern. Youll think I am nuts until you look.

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  Good car - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By CR - July 14 - 4:06 am

  Had my Hyundai for a few months now and am loving it. There are a couple of things I wish were a little different but overall it is a nice small SUV. The interior and exterior are really nice and I love the way it drives.

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  Hyundai Accent: A Quality Vehicle - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Rich Landau - July 14 - 2:00 am

  When in the winter of 2000 my 1989 Honda Civic clamored for yet another exhaust system repair (can you say "poor design"?), Id had enough! My only knowledge of Hyundai was of the Excel back in the 1980s. A real POS! Recent commentary on the brand revealed that times had changed that Hyundai was now manufacturing quality vehicles at VERY affordable prices, backed by the industrys best warranty. A few months worth of research (Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, et al) and several test drives led me to buy a 2001 Hyundai Accent GS (hatchback) at a bargain price. $4,000-$6,000 less expensive than any comparable car in its class.

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  Save the Money, Buy a Sonata - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Jim - July 13 - 10:50 pm

  I Traded my 2006 Sonata in on the 2007 Azera thinking i was upgrading to a higher end car. I get 14-15 mpg city, 18-19 mpg hwy, the same as my 06 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab Hemi, My 06 Sonata got 20 city , 29 hwy with the V-6 . The Sonata was a much better build quality, no rattles, sound system was better, when Azera looses traction on snow , the whole front vibarates as if it will fall apart, something the Sonata never did, exterior trim around windows, plastic overlay on metal is wrinkled. the michelin tires were defective, and at 1,300 miles the dealer replaced them, after 7 attempts to balance. New michelins are perfect, no vibration at all. front speaker in center of dash rattles on 10

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  Excellent Crossover SUV - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MalZ - July 13 - 8:20 pm

  I have a 2007 FWD SE Santa Fe in Slate Blue and I am very impressed and happy with my purchase. The Santa Fe handles well, looks good and is fun to drive. On top of that, it comes with one of the best warranties available all at a great price. I havent had a chance to do any long distance driving yet, but in city driving and on my 15 mile commute I have been getting around 21 MPG.

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  but wait ... - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By suro - July 13 - 3:53 pm

  The radio antenna is manual, i.e., one gets out of the car and unscrews it before going through a car wash. I didnt know this was a possibilty and of course the salesman did not mention it. Where I live snow is packed in and I cannot get it off (ok, so Im 64 years old). But otherwise, it is a great car (although Ive only had it for a week). I love the short stick shift and everything else about it.

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  Hyundai - shame on you - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By mbb7 - July 13 - 2:27 am

  I purchased the Hyundai because they touted their long warranty. I have attempted to have a vent knob repaired, which is covered "under warranty". The car has been to the dealer 3 times (a total of 18 hours) and I have spent over 3 hours on the phone to try and convince HyundaiUSA to fulfill their warranty. Each time I bring it to the dealer, they conveniently find another item that needs to be repaired, that is not covered by warranty. The dealer insists that it will take them, "the majority of the day", to repair and "I must leave it with them". I obtained a part to repair it myself. It took 4 minutes and 25 seconds. HyundaiUSA shame on you for condoning these unscrupulous actions.