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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  Love this car. - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Demetrius Smith - December 16 - 10:00 am

  No mater what I gave it for marks, Ilove this car. The looks are beautiful, the engine is smooth and it hauls ass for a little 6 cyl. This is my third Hyundai since 1992 and I must say that the Hyundai has come a long way in 10 years. For longs trips this car is very comfortable and unlike the Acuras I can tow things(like my motorcycle)with this car.

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  Best Buy - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Erin - December 15 - 7:10 am

  I reciently baught a Santa Fe and I love it. The dealership that I purchased it at made the whole stressful proceedure very easy and fun. I looked at a lot of different SUVs, with all the features, and for the price, i think this is the best mid- size on the market.

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  love my xg 350L - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By al greiten - December 14 - 8:43 am

  it is simply the best car we have ever owned I have been driving since 1958!! no american car comes close to the fun of driving the XG.

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  I love this car!!! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By RickBell - December 14 - 5:50 am

  I cant explain it but I love this car. My friends were skeptical and kept saying, "A Hyundai?". But yes, this car kicks major butt in performance and styling when compared to the Accord and Camry. I look forward to driving this car. I am changing jobs and will be driving 62 miles round trip per day and I am excited! My LX is bright silver with leather, tinted windows, sunroof with wind guard, spoiler, and sporty 17" low profile tires with 5 spoke alloys. This car turns heads, and for as long as it performs as it has through the first 4200 miles, I will be the best salesman Hyundai could ask for. I urge anyone looking to get a quality mid sized sedan to seriously look at the 2006 Sonata.

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  Peoples Choice - WOW! - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By HyundaiOwner - December 14 - 4:30 am

  This is an amazing car. The leather wrapped dash, AC seats, sound system, adjusting headlights, I could go on and on. I personally have never owned a luxury car but most of my friends do, and they cannot believe the features this car offers for under 40K. It is unbelievable how many Lexus, BMW and MB driver approach us, telling us how beautiful the car is and cannot believe it is a Hyundai. I would recommend this car to anyone, and do. I am looking forward to what comes next with Hyundai.

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  Great so far-SE Value Edition 2017 - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By David Nasr - December 14 - 4:00 am

  Ultimate test: Round trip from Tulsa to Las Vegas.. Dove it a total of 2500 miles, flawless, no issues. Comfortable, and did close to 45 MPG average. Drove though a winter storm in the mountains of New Mexico and although it was scary as hell at night, the little beast performed very well. I love all the features included in the Value edition and the MPG. Very easy to drive in town through stop and go traffic, especially through the Tulsa streets which are full of potholes. The looks are growing on me, in the beginning I thought it was kind of bland, but it really is a nice looking car, it is classy looking and doesnt look (to me) like an economy car, but more like an upscale-sporty sedan. The design is similar to the Sonatas and it has reminiscence to Audis due to both sharing the same designer. Overall this car is a great value, its safe, reliable, well built and economical.

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  good deal - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By kevin nell - December 13 - 4:16 pm

  I paid $5000 less then the closest Japanese suv. It comes with better warrant program and re-sale price is getting better...

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  Sonata Great - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Don Segel - December 13 - 10:00 am

  Have owned the car since February and find no faults except that the mileageI am getting is less than anticipated.

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  Awsome - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By mmmm124568 - December 13 - 10:00 am

  My Hubby got me a Santa Fe as a surprise for my 30th b-day, and what a surprise it was, Ive never had so much fun driving a car, and this is the first SUV I have ever had. WOWzers, getting our 5 year old son in and out is a breeze and with tons of room in the back for groceries makes shoppin easier too.

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  Great Car!!! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By CAjessy - December 13 - 10:00 am

  Ive had my Santa Fe for about a year now and Ive never been happier! I do a lot of traveling for my job and needed a reliable car that would withstand the 162 RT drive I do on a regular basis. Gas mileage is excellent for an SUV and so far I have not had any problems except for the cd changer.