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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  ??? - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By deedirt - March 23 - 2:00 am

  after 28000 miles a new transmission was put in. many problems relating to trans. now it approaching 40000 miles is showing agian signs of another trans. electrial problems also was about 25000 miles. over all very dissatified with this car. bought it for the warrenty and plan of getting rid of it before it is up.

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  Simply the best! - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Warren Davis - March 23 - 2:00 am

  Have put on 80,000 miles cross country driving - oil changes, gas and new tires our only expense. Comfortable, fast, great handling/cornering, totally reliable. We have averaged 24 MPG (US gallons). I have been driving 45 years and owned many cars in all price ranges. This is the best. The climate control does have a mind of its own sometimes but not a major issue.

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  Cheap yet Expensive parts = Buyer aware - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Steve - March 23 - 2:00 am

  First of all I want everyone to know I love this car. But to my surprise it is very, very expensive to fix this car if there are issues. The warranty is also useless. I went over a speed bump at an odd angle and apparently the Transmission Pan got cracked. IT IS PLASTIC. I had the car towed to the dealership and was thinking that this would be a pretty simple and cheap fix as it is just a pan and fluid replacement. Well guess what. IT cost $1238.00 to replace the cheapo plastic transmission pan. They tried to tell me the fluid costs $70.00 a quart to replace. I was infuriated and had to clean out my savings to pay this rip off bill. The warranty does not cover it of course...

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  Best car I ever purchased! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By vickiepayne - March 23 - 1:48 am

  All I can say is WOW! I did not test drive this car, I bought it online and had it delivered to me at work. I was a little worried about it only being a 4cyl. But to my surprize this car has the get up and go to pass anything on the road. It rides and handles great, I live in the ozark mountains and it is darn right fun to drive through the curves, climbs the mountains without hesitation. I get 34 mpg through the mountains and got as high as 37mpg on flat land with cruise. some of the plastic in the interior could be better grade, but for the money this is one sweet ride. I used to have a lexus SC400 and I rate the sonata right up there with it!

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  Ejoy your ride. - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Anand - March 22 - 10:33 pm

  I am very satisfied with my new 2006 Sonata. My old car was Accord. Sonata is much superior than the Accord.

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  Economical Luxury - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By jaykay - March 22 - 8:40 pm

  Bought a 4 cylinder due to gas prices, and yet, performance certainly does not disappoint for the size of the car. Not only is it comfortable to sit in, the ride itself feels like a full-size luxury car on the road. Interior styling is great, specifically the gauges and such. Exterior styling is obviously top-notch when compared to cars of the same price range.

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  6 months and happy for the most part - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Suetalk - March 22 - 4:53 pm

  I have now had this car for 6 months and 7,600 miles. I love it but it does have some flaws. The mileage is not what its rated at all. Its actually 2-3 gallons lower on city as well as hwy. I did have a bad battery and the car had to be towed twice in the first week before they replaced it. The biggest gripe with the car is the bluetooth. Its totally lame. I can get good reception for the most part but the party on the other end only can only hear decently on "outstanding roads when driving in little or no traffic". When does that ever happen. The bluetooth is a totally cheap unit and is a burr under my skin. Its probably the reason I wont keep the car more than a couple of years

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  Great value car! - 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Norman kavanagh - March 21 - 5:16 pm

  Looks, great warrant and super value.

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  Tucson Bond - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By DooDazz6776 - March 21 - 3:26 pm

  As a primarily sports-sedan driver, the more I drive my Tucson, the more I am bonding to it. Surprising number of luxury design features, including heated leather seats, reclining rear seats, hard-shell rear compartment cover, hidden full-size spare tire, dual opening rear hatch/glass. Contemporary styling both interior and exterior. User-friendly interior design and controls, with easy accessiblity to compartments and storage. Generous standard warranty.

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  It Keeps On Surprising Me - 1998 Hyundai Sonata
  By alliknow4 - March 21 - 2:00 am

  One day some friends of of mind gave ride in this car they had rented, it was 98 Hyundai Sonata I new nothing about them, but I remember getting out of it after they had dropped me off, thinking damn that car really feels good, it good to, it was Mid Night Blue with leather seat V6 in order word Heaven. I now own that same car, I bought it from the rental company that owned it, its been over a year and as I said it just keeps on getting better. I hear the critics say it cheap, unreliable, and all of that well I dont know what they are talk about...I feel like king in such a beatiful car. Driving really is Believing!