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, good looking SUV for the price - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jackie Shroff - June 16 - 2:00 am

  Exactly after 3 months & 3000 miles, this decent SUV is going great, love driving it, not a head-turner but great SUV for the price. Test drove Tuscon, was very tight, harsh drive and wasnt good, liked Santa Fe better. Interior is comfortable and Sonata-like (we own 2006 Sonata), turns are sharp and steering is fun. Brakes were a tad hard initially, but now they work fine. Had a few doubts about I4 engine, but it gives enough power with four adults inside and decent pick-up. In fact, had to tell a friend that its not V6. AWD is good, but will know more in winter. After reading a few complaints about transmission problems, was a bit concerned, but GLS seems to be fine. Love the BlueTooth!

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  New Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By dan.mccabe - June 16 - 2:00 am

  Best car in its class, if I were Lexus, Acura or any other dealer on the high end market, I would be worried!

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  Best suv for the money - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jap - June 15 - 7:48 am

  Know what youre buying it for and what you can afford.Satisfaction is mainly about making the right decision.

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  Hyundai has hit a 10! - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Richard Ojeh - June 14 - 3:36 pm

  I previously was the owner of a 2006 Hyundai Azera which I traded in for the 2009 Hyundai Genesis w/Tech Pkg. Absolutely the best bang for you buck on the market today. This car has lived up to the hype. This car is definitely 7 Series size, 5 Series performance, 3 Series price!

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  The little engine that could! - 2016 Hyundai Elantra
  By Sam - June 13 - 7:32 am

  I recently purchased this vehicle, and I am in love with it. This is my first Hyundai and Im glad I got the 2016 Elantra SE with popular package over an older, used version of this car. My sales consultants Tim and Aaron at Malcolm Hyundai were amazing! They helped me through this entire process and I was able to purchase the car I wanted in the color I liked for the price I wanted. This is also my first new car so Im extremely excited about that. The 2016 Hyundai Elantra combines the best of both compact and midsize cars. The outside has this sporty, compact look and its bigger on the inside like a TARDIS! Its still spacious even with four adults in the car; although, tall people may be uncomfortable riding in the car for long periods of time. Its no sports car but the engine still packs a punch. I routinely drive on city streets and highways and I havent had a problem keeping up with the traffic even though it only has a 4 cylinder 145hp engine. My Elantra is an automatic but it has manual capabilities with this transmission they call Shiftronic. Im terrible at using a manual transmission so I havent tried this feature yet. The good thing is theres no clutch to worry about if you use the Shiftronic. I really love the touchscreen media system, Bluetooth, and rearview camera. The rearview camera is really awesome. Ive never been this calm backing into a parking spot before! It only took seconds to connect my phone to the Bluetooth and I didnt have to use the owners manual to figure out most of the bells and whistles in the car (I still recommend reading it). The noise level in the cabin isnt loud but its not silent either. The Sonata was quieter than this but the Elantra still does a good job keeping out a lot of the road noise. Overall, I really like my 2016 Hyundai Elantra. Its a beautiful, sporty looking car thats packed with a lot of features.

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  NOT RECOMMENDED - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By disappointed53 - June 13 - 5:41 am

  Ive had 2 santa fes, a 2007 and a 2009, both 2.7 v6 engines. the 2007 had numerous engine problems including breaking down on me 300 miles from home on a vacation trip; traded it in for an 09 and a year and a half later it developed a tapping sound in the engine and trying to get it serviced is like pulling teeth. this "rep" has to approve all engine replacement jobs but he apparently can check in whenever he feels like it. after numerous tries to get it fixed, including calling corporate office, my frustration made me trade it in for another brand..it is not worth the aggrevation.I will never buy a hyundai again...buyer beware!!!!!!

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  Hyundai Santa Fe 2002 - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By tu - June 12 - 2:00 am

  Compfortable ride even in the back seat. Complaints: Difficult to put down back seats, had transmission problem that needed to be fixed by dealership after 1 year. Anyone else w/ transmission problems on a 2002?

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  New to the Hyundia family - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By GGagne1955 - June 12 - 2:00 am

  Just purchases a 2004 Sonata and a 2004 Elantra for our son in college. Very pleased with both vehicles. Dealer was a pleasure to work with, they even allowed us to apply the Hyundai loyalty owner rebate to the Sonata. Our first trip in the sonata returned a very good 29.33 miles per gallon.

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  This is a great SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By mwagner2004 - June 12 - 2:00 am

  I think that this is one of the best hyundais that i have ever bought. I have owned more than just a few and this one seems to be the best due to the fact that it has all wheel drive and it has plenty of room and is very versatile!

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  Lots of Trouble - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Cloudy625 - June 12 - 2:00 am

  I have had nothing but trouble with my Santa Fe. Since the day I bought this vehicle, it has been in the shop approx. 15 times. Its constantly a sensor, other problems. It has even slung a rod already and had to have the engine replaced. This is not an exaggeration. ANd the dealership that I have to deal with on service is just terrible. They hate me and I hate them. lol