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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  Not a high quality car for road in Boston - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ambi - January 7 - 5:13 am

  I had this car from 35K mile to 65K mile. It was OK when I drove it in Texas with the smooth high ways. But it has been giving me problems since I moved to Boston. I need to replace the battery, ball joint, rear suspension, master brake cylinder. The CD player always turn it self on/off when Im driving on a bumpy road, which seems to be everywhere in Boston. I plan to sell this car now after driving in Boston for one year.

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  Perfect Car! - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Enzo Simoni - January 7 - 4:44 am

  This has been a perfect car. Never been to the mechanics, never left me stranded. Awesome gas mileage, great in the snow. Nothing fancy but has been perfect.

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  Dont Do It - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By Can win for losing - January 7 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Hyundai in December of 2001. By January it was in the shop because my transmission fell out. I got my car back in February because the dealership had to call in a specialist to fix the car. We took a trip from Indianapolis to Detroit that following May and got stranded. I replaced the battery, but by June we were in the shop again. For the next 6 months my car would sit in the dealership. I would get in back a few days at a time only for it to self destruct in a matter of hours. Im getting it back tomorrow for the last time. STAY AWAY!

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  Happy owner - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By dickross13 - January 6 - 5:53 pm

  Vehicle fitted with lift for my electric scooter. The performanc has not been hurt with wth the extra weight. The only fault I found is the LCD clock, Totaly unreadable.

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  My Tiburon - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By jolschlager - January 6 - 4:16 pm

  I absolutly love this car. Im very satisfied with Hyundai and everything they have done to make affordable cars. The warranty is outstanding, you cant beat that anywhere. I look forward to purchasing another very soon.

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  More then you would expect - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By MarcinZ - January 6 - 10:00 am

  I paid 16500$ for my GT. This is after taxes, fees, etc. I took all the optional equipement and California emmisions. For the price I paid I got more then any other vehicle in the class could offer. GT looks great, is extremly fun to drive, and has great performance. If you are looking for a car that wont drain your wallet and you want to have fun driving it, GT is your best bet. Love the car and would definitely buy it again!

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  very nice ride. - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jordan Cruz - January 6 - 10:00 am

  Love the way it handles and the price range of this size suv. Also love the body style.

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  My Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By nanday - January 6 - 10:00 am

  It looks, drives and feels like a much more expensive SUV. Sound system is great. Nice, roomy cargo space with two ways to load, which I have found very useful. Would buy again.

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  WHATS THAT SMELL!? - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By CARGUY - January 6 - 10:00 am

  SANTA ANA HYUNDAI: DONT GO THERE. LYING CHEATERS. THEY DONT EVEN OFFER FIRST OIL CHANGE FREE LIKE MOST OTHER DEALERS. I AM SAD ABOUT THE NEW CAR SMELL, SMELLS MORE LIKE A DEAD CAT. I CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR THE PLASTIC DOOR HANDLES TO BREAK. AND WHAT IS THAT HESITATION BETWEEN REVERSE AND DRIVE?

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  AWESOME! - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By SM - January 6 - 8:53 am

  I absolutely ADORE my Tucson! I bought it in Dec 04, and Im still infatuated with it. When I bought my Elantra the "honeymoon phase" lasted about a month. Hyundai improved their quality and performance by leaps and bounds between 98 (my elantra) and 04 (my Tucson). Ive actually been stopped by several people (at the gas station or parking lot) who were really impressed with it-and shocked to learn its a Hyundai.