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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  Cheap - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Kaci - February 10 - 7:16 am

  At first I loved this car. It was cheap and fun to drive, but after about 3 months things started to stop working. First my doors stopped locking whether I used the remote or tried to lock it from the inside. Then my back windshield wiper stopped working, and then I could no longer open my trunk from the inside. That winter I couldnt get into my car because it was frozen shut. I tried both sides and I ended up ripping off my passenger side handle. Luckily its a hatchback so I ended up crawling through my trunk. After a while my car stopped handling the way it used to and it felt unsafe and wobbly. Although many things stopped working this car never broke down on me

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  What a piece of junk - 1997 Hyundai Accent
  By bultaco - February 9 - 2:00 am

  Constantly breaking down. Water pump, clutch, power steering, window seals, window cranks. You get what you pay for!

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  Great car, and then some..... - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By 91CavGT - February 9 - 2:00 am

  This is a great little car. I have put over 40,000 miles on my 2002 Accent GS and have had only one unscheduled service to replace a faulty throttle position sensor. This is incredibly suprising to me considering I race this car at autocross events and have even took the car to a high speed drivers education event at Hallett in Oklahoma! Interior design is VERY good and the seats can accomadate drivers of many differant sizes.

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  Nice car - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By boxer459 - February 8 - 5:36 pm

  I have 1300 miles on my new Tiburon. Much fun to drive. The 4 cyl engine is almost enough power. I chose the small engine for the fuel economy, and its acceptable.

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  The Best for Less - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Michael Easton - February 7 - 1:16 pm

  If you drive a Cadillac, Lincoln, Acura or Lexus, ask yourself why when you mail out a check every month? This car has it all, does it all and all at a price that no one cn match with warranty that no one can match. Botton Line: This is the one, luxury, fuel economy, feel good warranty, quality and great looks

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  Mene Mene Tekel - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Josh - February 7 - 11:10 am

  A little over two months, wishing it had better features than I have found. When I am in the drivers seat, I am comfortable but I dont like looking at my co-driver. REASON? Poor head rests, nonadjustable horizontally. You can only raise them up, but not side ways i.e back and forward! I have found it a little wanting, not exactly what I expected.

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  Elantra - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Paul Pardesi - February 7 - 7:56 am

  So so

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  2001 Sonata review - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By Alan Watts - February 6 - 2:00 am

  The Sonata is a great value. The car looks good, has the best warranty available, and is loaded. This would make a great reliable car for anyone, especially a family. My only complaint is the lack of power.

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  My Sonata - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bobraney - February 6 - 2:00 am

  Dealer service has been incredible at two different dealers. Loan car while window motor replaced, new battery at no cost after 14 months use.

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  Great car! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By tibownr - February 5 - 4:33 pm

  I bought this car new and have had no major problems with it so far. I had to get two new tires a year ago and that is the most money other than gas i have put into the car. Great reliable car that has never left me stranded. Fun little car to zip around in!