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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  I came for price, Ill stay for quality. - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By spitfirexxii - January 11 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car because of the low price. I had just bought a house and traded in my convertible. I was very impressed by the build quality for the low cost. Although obviously there are better built cars, I believe that my $12k car is not one third the quality of a $36k car. Oh, dont forget the best warranty that is available anywhere on planet Earth!!

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  Accent - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By Hyrumjohnson - January 10 - 2:00 am

  I love this car, small and fun to drive. Cheap and comes with allot of features, plus great warranty.

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  **WOW** I LOVE A HYUNDAI !!?? - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ashley - January 9 - 9:50 pm

  Wow, push button start, 18" wheels, dual exhaust, leather/cloth seats, power everything, IPOD, Bluetooth, and 10 year Warranty..... $23000

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  Little Tug That Could - 1997 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kao - January 9 - 2:00 am

  Its second hand and WAS in great condition. Great value. I highly recommend Hyundais 1997+ Elantra and Tiburon- no experiences with their other cars. Even got 35mpg cruising at 75-80mph. The alignment was slightly off due to my brothers excellent driving into a truck. DEFINETLY NOT a mountain racer- sad to say, even my moms 1992 AUTOMATIC Corolla handles better overall! Ive tried emergency lane changes at 40mph. The rear kicks too hard damn physics and weight transfer! Now if the car was lowered 1.25" with stiffer springs and anti- sways, slap some 16"x7" wheels . . . Just a great car, really!

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  car - 1999 Hyundai Accent
  By klpzack - January 9 - 2:00 am

  Actually I was in an accident a few days ago and the insurance company wants to total out my car. I am having a hard time finding a good site to get an idea of a ballpark figure to accept as an offer. My car was very reliable. I had it serviced regularly. The tires are 4 months old. It was a fun little car. I have 2 small children and even being a compact, it was fairly convenient. I felt safer with the dual airbags.

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  Do not buy Hyunday Accent - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By Cleve - January 9 - 2:00 am

  Five times in repair shop for different reasons. After 75000 miles burns oil.

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  Amazing - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Budman - January 8 - 6:03 pm

  I bought a Sonata in 2003, so I was interested in another Hyundai, but the Santa Fe was a little too small. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Hyundai had come out with the Veracruz. I absolutely love it! I have never had anyone ask me what kind of vehicle I drive before, and Ive had several people ask me about my Veracruz. It drives like a dream, and looks absolutely gorgeous. The stereo is sounds better than I can describe, and Ill definitely be subscribing to XM....Im already addicted. Hyundai youve done it again!

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  Fun piece of junk - 1996 Hyundai Elantra
  By umm_bacon - January 8 - 2:00 am

  I got this car used from a family friend, and have had a love hate relationship with it ever since. The car is very fun to drive, it being a 5 speed manual, but everything on it except the engine is crap. Literally every creature comfort has broken on this car: the sun roof, power windows, interior door handles x2, head liner, plastic molding, weather stripping, etc. Aside from the numerous problems with the unessentials (everything but the engine) I have loved every minute of owning this car. I would recomend one for a high school students first car.

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  My Very FIRST Brand New Car-AWESOME! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jana - January 7 - 1:00 pm

  Ive owned used cars since I turned 16 (Im only 21) but 2 weeks ago I bought my first, brand-spanking new car, the 2009 Sonata. This car is a dream come true. I love the smooth ride, great interior(love the USB hook-up, cd player, and built in XM), nice exterior, and the huge trunk space. I researched cars before buying and came SOOO close to buying a used Honda Accord but I traveled down the road and came upon the Hyuandai car dealership and found my car. I recommend this car to everyone. Even my boyfriend inquired about one (and he has a 2008 Ford Focus!) Lovely car--go get one!

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  Transmission Issues on 2106 Hyundai Tucson Limited - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Scott - January 7 - 7:04 am

  The problem that I am having is when I start to accelerate going through the gears 1,2,3 and 4 there is a huge, pause/delay in shifting through the gears. In fact there has been may times when I start to accelerate the gears pauses and I hit the gas again and the vehicle does not accelerate at all the RPMs go up sometimes past 6 and the transmission start burning. I even got an safety display message that the transmission is overheated and to pull over for safety until it cools down. Note I only have 5719 miles and my 4th time taking it back to the dealership for service. I am driving in fear everything because this problem happens when it wants to sometimes the vehicles drives perfect then the next minute Im having the same issue. This problem is happening at a street light, stop sign, stop and go traffic on the streets and on the freeway, when I am slowing down to make a turn then accelerate and in the morning, afternoon and at night. I am afraid when I start to accelerate then the next second I cannot accelerate that the car behind me or if I am changes lanes and stop accelerating than another vehicle will crash into me. I dont know if the problem is the actual transmission and or software related, but it is unsafe and I do not want to drive this vehicle anymore.