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 CAR, no soul - 2016 Hyundai Elantra
  By Big mike - February 13 - 2:35 am

  this has been an VERY good car at a great price. in 12,000 miles have had no problems. I would recommend this car to anyone as a great "a to b" mode of transportation - gas mileage has been excellent - in the low to mid 30s. rides nice, handles nice, roomy interior and trunk. while it has performed very good in EVERY respect it has no soul, no wow factor, nothing to make you go "awesome".

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  Very nice car - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By mac - February 13 - 1:41 am

  This is a very nice looking and nice driving car. Very good value if youre looking for something in this class. Im very pleased with it and would buy it again. Highly recommend taking a good look and test drive.

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  2006 Tiburon = Best Tiburon of em all - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Uifz - February 12 - 7:30 pm

  So youre thinking about making a car purchase, however you want something different out there. Youre tired of all those 4 door sedans, that all look the same, drive the same, and are BORING...well no fear...because I was in your shoes about a year ago. The 2006 Hyundai Tiburon is an awesome Sports car! The look is great (especially yellow), the ride is comfortable and its got some juice to it too. Its a QUICK car, not a FAST car (theres a difference). The car simply stands out because of its engaging and creative look. So far in my one year of having it, zero problems with 20,000 miles of driving since I got it! Did I mention, its inexpensive?

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  Not worth it even for the cheap price - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By matt44 - February 12 - 4:30 pm

  Multiple trips to the dealership for problems including leaks, washer motor, etc... and one recall. Very poor gas mileage. Much worse than the accord i owned. Resale value very poor - over 50% of all sonatas go to fleets. I guess real buyers know better than to buy this.

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  best you can get for the money - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Mike - February 12 - 8:46 am

  Ive had this car for four weeks and Ive had so much fun with it. So far Ive racked up about 3,700 miles with it and I have to say Im definitely satisfied. When buying my car, I considered the Civic Si, Scion tC, Acura RSX, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Corolla Type S, and of course the Hyundai Tiburon. It was so typical to think "eww, korean car", but after many test drives, I picked this car because it had what others didnt offer (two-tone interior + leather, auto climate and auto headlights, V6!!!, etc). There are bad parts like the lack of a trunk opener on the remote (despite being electronically popped open), but i like this car. Dont be fooled by my long list of cons, Im just picky.

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  total quality of Hyundai Sonata - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By John Cray - February 12 - 7:10 am

  Compared to Honda Accord, this car is an excellent buy hands down. In every aspect it is the equal of the Accord. Fuel economy, power, appointments inside and outside are equal. For the money I spent, I would rather have the Hyundai anytime than spend an additional 3,000 to 5,000 more and get nothing the extra money affords.

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  A must have for the price xg350 - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Chris - February 11 - 10:23 pm

  We got this 2004 xg350 about 3 days ago and love it. We are going to take it back at get the 2005 xg350L. This is one of the best cars for the price, you can not go wrong and with all the warranties, you are always covered. I will be writeing another review for the 2005 Xg350L we will be getting.

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  Tucson review-4th Hyundai - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jana & Bob Framstad - February 11 - 7:20 am

  Easy & fun to drive.Turning radius as good or better than a car.Snow driving has been handled with very good control. Like the size better than the Santa Fe. Like the comfort better also.4WD has been advantage to the size & ability to control vehicle.For the price in comparison with other vehicles of like it seems much more worth it than all the extra thousands for just a few more add ons or a little higher quality materials. Dealership has been very good in working with us. This is our 4th Hyundai-for Service,Friendliness, what they say they will do,they have been following thru,probably another reason why this our 4th 7 they get our return business.Only got 1000miles so farbutonly21mpg,

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  Great Car, Great Price, Great Warranty - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By adney4x4 - February 11 - 2:00 am

  I am 65" and demand space. The little car has it. I have no problems getting in or out of the vehicle. I got the GT model at the price I expected for a base model car. I have driven it every- day without any problems. I drive 60+ miles a day with a fuel economy of 29mpg at my last fill-up. However, this has increased with every fillup. I am very pleased with the little car. It has good pick up, tons of features, a low sticker price and an awesome warranty.

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  My first suv - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Paul C. - February 10 - 10:43 pm

  I am very pleased with this SUV. We looked at cr-v and rav-4 and found this was a best buy for our money. We are snow birds from Boston so the space was important to us. We bought a fwd ( no snow in Fla. ) I have only 350 miles on it. I am getting about 21- 22 mpg. All city driving and the ac on.