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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  Bang for the Buck - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Fe Fan - March 1 - 6:06 pm

  We bought this vehicle as a demo unit (it had about 2800 miles on it). 10,000 miles later and several trips and weve found it to be a very useful car that has a different look and some impressive features for the price. The gas mileage seems a little on the poor side (it gets worse mileage than my 94 GMC Jimmy which has a bigger engine) but the overall ride is satisfactory. The AWD is impressive and although I wouldnt take our Santa Fe for any serious off-roading, I would trust it to handle most mud and gravel driving without serious problems. Parking in the city with this car will take some getting used to as it doesnt turn sharply...which weve found to be the only major handicap.

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  Looks great, cant beat the warranty - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By redwestcoaster - March 1 - 7:10 am

  I thought Id buy a Honda and be like other good moms driving an Odyssey. But they wanted about $6K more and a 36K warranty? This family uses the van, were talking miles, last van-4 years-116K miles. Mileage folks! When we test drove, we parked at a mall to look things over, right next to a family with a top-of-the-line Honda van. The mom keep looking over and asked, what van is that? The Hyundai looks almost like the Honda but I think a little shaper. So far only a couple minor fixes, computer chip, pulley. The original dealer was less than stellar after the sale. But around DC none are known for customer service. Overall a good van and good value for the money. Good warranty.

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  blacksilver - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By blacksilver - February 27 - 9:46 pm

  Overrall i like the 2006 hyundai. my biggest cry is that the leather seat covering with just normal wear already has noticeable blemishes, the gas mileage remains consistant at aorund 21 miles/gal. i can never seem to reach that estimated 26miles/gal. promised to me,i can feel the slight roll motion navigating a curve under what wolud not normally be an isuue in most suvs. however,i like the comfort level and the relativley smooth ride of the vechicle...but if i had it do do again, i would probably choose something different.

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  Verdict still out - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By blue17 - February 26 - 10:37 pm

  Fun to drive and overall nice looking van. Reliability is the question? Van did not start six times this winter. Found out there is a TSB on the junction box/fuse assembly. Just brought in for the second time for this issue. Dealer replaced battery. Hope this does the trick as I really like the van(when it starts).

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  LOVIN MY HYUNDAI - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By nmccat - February 26 - 6:33 am

  I love driving my hyundai...enjoy the smoothness of acceleration,transmission and turning radius....the color red and the upholstrycoche Premium sound system is not...a great disappointment....Blutooth not so great....I keep my cars for 10 yrs but this baby may see a new owner much sooner due to a crummy air- conditioning system....its slow to start and i dont believe it will cool our summer days--hasnt done well now in the spring...gas mileage at 24 mpg with 10 percent city90 highway long trip did make it to 28mpg

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  lots wrong - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By red tib - February 25 - 10:23 pm

  i like the look of the car and the pick up.. i dont like the tires why does it need a v rating? i had it up to 148mph but i got a aem cold air and a 2 1/2 catback. i hate the cup holders and the room in the back. i had alot of proublems with it i had 2 replace the lights a couple times and the motor in the window. the moonroof had a leak. and when i got the music up somtimes the window wont go up or down... its not that smooth of a ride and it makes alot of noise even though i like the car at times i would never buy one again and i wouldnt let any of my friends get one either

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  Best value SUV for the price - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ericmalcolm82 - February 24 - 10:41 pm

  I live in the midwest and our winters are brutal, so I had saved up about $4,000 to buy a used SUV that I could drive during snowy treks. Found this SUV with 100,000 miles for only $3K, with minor issues (heater didnt work, check engine light). Heater was easy fix, I passed e-check with some Seafoam, and have been driving for two months and love it. Snowed real bad last night, and felt very safe all the way home from work. Interior is boring but everything you need, handles well, fun to drive. Looked at older CRVs that had higher miles and that cost about a grand+ more. Very happy with this vehicle, and hope to drive it for another 100,000 miles.

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  Engine Issues - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By prof - February 24 - 1:20 am

  The Elantra is a nice car with a great interior and decent performance. I was surprised to find out the engine uses a timing belt whereas the competition from Toyota, Honda, Mazda, gm, ford, chrysler have graduated to timing chains that never require replacement. Worse than that, the engine is a "interference design", meaning that if the timing belt ever breaks, the valves will crash into the pistons and destroy the engine. Interference designed engines were phased out by most manufacturers in the 1990s. A broken belt leading to engine destruction is a gamble that we dont have to take in 2008.

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  Good Choice - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Hua - February 20 - 4:28 pm

  After 10000 miles, the ride has been smooth, and the features have been pleasant. The dealership I go to is very friendly, but they deal in a variety of manufacturers, and have many returning customers. I havent had any significant problems, yet. The drivers window squeals, and the glove compartment rattles, but the interior is wonderful otherwise. The manual transmission does not hold reverse very well, and will grind out from time to time. Downshifting into first at very low speeds can be hard sometimes as well.

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  Azera Problems - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By LTG3122 - February 20 - 1:45 pm

  Gas mileage less than 12 mpg city told car should have at least 10K miles before you get good mileage. Had car in 3 times told everything normal, "thats what you should expect". Combined city/highway only 17 with >50% expressway. Minor items: accelerator very sensitive on starting doesnt shift to highest gear til 40 mpg (told normal) keys bump against steering column no coin holder for tolls, parking meters light beige interior shows dirt readily.