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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  My Hyundai Genesis - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By triple c parker - August 19 - 2:11 pm

  The car is a real beauty, with lots of nice features, the sound system is great, the gas mileage on the highway is exactly what is on the sticker. My only complaint so far is with the leather seats. I have had the car for 1 month, and have put on 1700 miles, and the drivers seating surface is stretched, and appears puffy, not tightly stretched like when i bought it. I took it back to a dealer, and the service manager showed other vehicles with the same leather seats doing the same thing. I would think for the price of the vehicle, the leather seating would not look sloppy and loose in such a short time. The dealer I bought the vehicle from was great to deal with.

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  Expensive to maintain - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Nichols - August 19 - 12:08 pm

  Caliber stuck at 9,000 miles whole new break job on rear, then front pads fell apart at 15,000 not covered. front interior handles cut passenger had replaced prior to recall. flush trans fluid expensive due to special fluid. alternator went out at 60 thousand, very expensive to replace, labor cost will kill you. Timing belt goes out around 60 thousand. Be prepared for tune up. Have your check book ready if you by a used 2003, youll need it for repair cost. Paint flakes off exterior door handles.

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  Sonata is THE Best car - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Donna - August 19 - 6:43 am

  Sonata is THE Best car even-though I used to have Mercedes and Lexus.

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  Best Car I Have Owned - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By Leslie - August 18 - 4:15 pm

  This is our 5th Hyundai and they just get better each time. Great car to drive back and forth to work everyday (50 miles so comfort and safety are paramount). The leather interior is luxurious and the wood trim gives a sense of elegance and opulence in an otherwise very affordable car. Such a smooth comfy ride, reminds me of my Mothers 1978 Cadillac El Dorado.

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  Danger - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By John D. - August 17 - 7:08 pm

  Be careful if You own one. My daughter drove 50 mph. into a guardrail head on and the airbags did not deploy. Thank God She wasnt hurt badly. Hyundai was not concerned with the problem. I will never buy another.

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  Great Car for the Money - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Zeus Charles - August 17 - 6:57 pm

  I have owned my car for 3 1/2 years. Got a great price. At 55,000 miles, I still have 5,000 miles bumper to bumper warranty. Thus far, all I have needed done is my lumbar support on the driver side. When I get into my car I still feel like its a fun, luxurious drive. My family, including my father, has had five Hyundais (2 Accents, 1 Elantra, 1 Sonata, and 1 Azera) since 2003. No regrets.

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  Michelin tires - 2010 Hyundai Azera
  By JIMT - August 16 - 6:06 pm

  The tires on this car are very noisy. The car rides very roughly. Next time maybe try a sonata.

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  Ol reliable - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By florencejeanne - August 14 - 3:26 pm

  This has been a generally great little car. It is not very peppy when you first take off, but it is great once it gets going. I get 33mpg in town and 36 mpg on the highway. Mileage with ethanol is lower. It is unbelievable how much this can carry with the rear seat folded down. This car was in an accident about 5 years ago. I t-boned a Ford LTD that ran the light. I hit their center support column and their car was a loss, not mine. The crumple zone did its job and nothing farther back than the battery was touched. I had no major injuries. The car went for years with only oil changes. In ten years, besides belts and hoses, I have only replaced the computer and the water pump.

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  Very Impressive - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By Old Fogey - August 13 - 8:59 pm

  In less than a week this car has knocked my socks off. This is our first foray into the upscale market, we had been Honda devotees. This car has the best brakes, acceleration, quietness, space, and safety ratings, Ive ever experienced. The "driver information system" has more features than I can count and the sound system is Superior.

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  Not quite what a luxury car should be - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By ddmoore - August 13 - 6:05 pm

  I leased the Genesis when it first arrived at the dealers. I will be turning the car in soon and finding a replacement due to some issues I have with the car. The stereo has terrible sound quality. They claim this car has the same stereo as a Roll Royce. Well I guess the stereo sound is bad in a Rolls too. The car has plenty of power but has a problem putting the power to the road. The six-speed transmission has a shift point from 1st to 2nd right in the middle of a turn from a stop that makes the car "jump" and engage the traction control. The stereo only supports 1st and 2nd generation iPods. Ive never been able to use my iPod. If they fix some of these issues, maybe Ill buy one.