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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  Decent - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By kpiechoc - June 27 - 12:50 pm

  Bought car 3 months ago and Ive had it in for service 5 times in the last month and a half for a squealing problem it makes when I first turn it on in the morning. Very unhappy with the dealership and service techs at van dyn hoven for not fixing what seems like a simple problem and offering a loaner vehicle. Gas mileage is less than 20 mpgs. Sunglasses holder to small and doesnt fit glasses. Fuel door broke off already when my husband bumped it with his arm when putting fuel in. Made of cheap plastic. Headrest and armrest are also awkward for me.

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  Reliable Hyundai Entourage GLS - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Man Van 105 - June 26 - 7:49 pm

  My family & I have had this vehicle for a year now w/over 15,000 miles & have traveled a lot since then. So far, we have not encountered any "major" problems that other people have stated in there reviews. I spoke w/a Hyundai mechanic & he told me that this is a heavy vehicle w/a 3.8 Liter V6 engine. So of course the gas mileage is not great. Also a vehicle is considered broken in after 35-50,000 miles & that is when you will start having better gas mileage. But, it also depends on your driving style and terrain as well. My advice, save your money & stick w/a basic van. After reading other reviews, owners of vans w/more amenities seem to have more problems than others,ie. power doors 4 example.

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  Buy the 5 speed manual - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By 3rd Car - June 26 - 6:15 pm

  I picked up my 08 Accent about a week ago, I did about 4 weeks of research before choosing the little Hyundai, The car is fun to drive, looks good and best of all gets 27mpg city and 35 highway. It seems to be well built and comes with a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty. I drove both the 5 speed and auto transmission, what ever you do, go with the 5 speed. Look, its not the fastest or best looking car on the road but since it is our 3rd car, we also have a 98 Honda Accord and a 02 Toyota Tundra, and with gas coming in at almost $5.00 a gallon I am finding myself driving the Accent every where I go. I paid $13,800 with the rebate for a fully loaded SE, A comparable Civic came in at $17,900.

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  Good Reliable Car - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By hdriver - June 26 - 4:09 pm

  27000 miles in the first 11 mos of ownership with absolutely 0 major problems. 33 mpg with 70% hwy, 30% city. Love all of the standard features for the price. If you buy, plan on keeping it forever, they dont hold resale at all! Only complaints are interior fit and finish, this thing is a rattle box.Rattles have formed from everywhere glove box, doors, overhead trim and gauge cluster all rattle or squeak. Could benefit from a 5 speed tranny,seems sluggish/bogged down unless you get on it. All in all though it would be hard to find a better car for the money. As long as reliability stays I will be a happy camper.

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  Good at start but not Long Term - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By breich - June 26 - 8:46 am

  We bought this after owning a CRV. We really liked having the V6, the ride quality, and how smooth of a ride it gave off. We were also impressed that the V6 gave us very similar gas mileage as the CRV but with so much more power. However the love affair began wearing off this past year. We had the Check Engine light come on 3 times and then the Passenger Seat Airbag light began going crazy. Everytime our dealership gave us crap answers that something needed reset, recalibrate, or as in the case of the seat could not replicate. Nothing ever got fixed. So in the end between the dealership experience(only Hyundai dealer in area) & the car issues this was probably our one and only Hynudai.

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  Hard to beat! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By K9Handler - June 26 - 12:40 am

  Unless you are a stubborn person, it should be pretty easy to figure out what car is worth every penny. This car after a month of ownership Im still impressed. I am a car fanatic. I love cars, so when i decided to buy a new car, i did a month long research. On paper this car was very hard to beat especially for the price. But as any car buff would tell you, its not whats on paper. So i test drove, and drove, and drove. The clear choice was a Sonata. Finally someone was listening to the people that actually drive these cars. Hyundai had built a car for people who wanted value without compromise. I love it when people stop and stare and then asks "Is that a Hyundai?"

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  Surprising - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dave - June 24 - 11:29 am

  I traded a 1999 Mercedes SLK roadster for this car when I started my new business and needed a more practical and more reliable car. The service and quality of the Hyundai - which I paid about $16,000 for - far exceeds the Mercedes. Dont get me wrong - the Mercedes was beautiful, but the brand itself has gone downhill. I have over 50,000 miles on the Hyundai and it has been virtually without problems - the problems that I did have were fixed by the dealership. I did not expect much for $16,000, and the real world resale value is good too. Also, the stereo is amazing - better than my Mercedes. I am sure one day I will get a fancier car, but this is the best work car you can get.

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  Decent Car, but missed the mark - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Andrew Carson - June 22 - 8:50 pm

  I saw the car, and for $14,305, I thought about it before buying. I looked at the Lancer, Civic, Corolla, Sentra, Spectra, Focus, Cobalt, VW Rabbit, and the Mini Cooper. The Hyundai just seemed to be the best deal on a new car. I took it on a long test drive, and determined I had found the right one. Two days afterwards, I knew I had made a mistake. The seat doesnt line up with the pedals, the pedals are lined up terribly, and the seat is terribly uncomfortable. The pedals themselves are lined up terribly, with a gas pedal close to the seat, and the clutch having a long throw. Excellent value in a car unless you are over six feet tall.

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  Not a bad ride - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By SLU2 - June 22 - 4:06 pm

  As much legroom as a Ford Explorer but much better fuel economy...

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  Loving it... - 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By abaldtexan - June 22 - 1:55 pm

  I am very pleased with my Santa Fe! It is just the right car for me... size, performance... value... All the things that matter.