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 your buck - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By Palman - June 18 - 2:00 am

  My Sonata has been great. I havent had any major problems. It is a joy to drive. It is comfortable and has a lot of get up and go. Im always approached by strangers who tell me that they love the styling and wonder how happy Ive been with the car.

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  Still a great car - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Catfish - June 17 - 4:03 pm

  Reviewed this car when I first purchased it. Gave it a great review as most people do with a brand new car. Now that I have some miles on it thought it only fair to update the review. It is still a great car. Just finished a 3000+ mile trip through 10 states and this car performed superbly. Drove in very hilly country, pouring rain, heat, interstates, two lane etc. Average about 26mpg. Lots of interstate driving with A/C on. couple hundred miles city driving to boot. Car is quiet, comfortable and drives like a dream. Love the shiftronic transmisson in the mountains. Car is not perfect but for the money is darn close.

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  Dont waist your money - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By tuscon - June 17 - 4:07 am

  Ive had the car a year and on my second service they replaced a part in my transmission. I asked why and they made it sound like a recall part, but it wasnt I found out. This is when the problems started. The car once warmed up and I come to a stop in drive position it would feel like someone was push on the car from outside, and making a rumbling that seemed like it was going to stall. I have taken in three time to have fixed with no help. Since my car has no lights indicating a issue my dealer or Consumer affairs Hyundai would help. I told the dealer to reverse whatever it was they did, but they said they couldnt. Besides this the car shifts all over the place and jerks you around its horrible and engine sounds terrible. The cloth interior is horrible I have white stain marks everywhere on my black cloth. If you get water or any kind of moistness on interior it stains. the only way to get fix is shampooing the car seats which is expensive. Lots of plastic and falling apart already. Im really depressed because I have always had used cars and problems and finally bought a new car so I wont have to deal with issues and here I am again. I will be turning car into Lemon law attorney to take care of since no one can seem to fix. Also, I meet a girl with same car and same issues. These cars should be completely recalled they should not be allowed out on the road.

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  Decent little car - 1998 Hyundai Accent
  By redfraggle - June 17 - 2:00 am

  I had this car for 3 and a half years and overall had a good experience with it. It did have some annoying quirks (like the check engine light going on all the time when I first got the car), but overall it was a good value. Between 60 and 70000 miles I did have to bring it into the shop a few times for some pricey repairs, but I got over it. I had the car until recently when I hit a deer, and surprisingly walked away from the accident without a scratch. This was a great little starter car.

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  Hyundai Santa Fe - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dk1706 - June 17 - 2:00 am

  I love the Santa Fe, I looked at many different automobiles before I even thought of givine the Hyundai Santa Fe a test drive and when I did I bought it that day. It drove much better than even the most exspensive SUVs I saved over 30,000 dollars and am still satisfied. You dont need an exspensive car too have the same peformance. its just prestige I guess.

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  Good little car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By TomF - June 17 - 2:00 am

  $12,008 total price. $1,000 under invoice. I am very pleased with the quality and the features compared to the price. Plus a great warranty. Peppy little car. Ive put 17,000 miles on it in 7 months over rock roads. I had two problems, a defective throttle sensor and 7 flat tires. The dealer repaired the sensor. No charge. The flat tires came from nails, probably due to the miles on rock roads. The gas milage could be better. Ive averaged 24 mpg but it has been decreasing steadily. On recent tanks Ive only been getting about 22mpg. For this size car I expected better. Overall Im impressed. Would definitely consider other Hyundai models.

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  The Accord Killer - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By xygman - June 16 - 1:20 pm

  1-Just purchased this week so no personal data on longevity of build quality or reliability; will review again at a later date 2-We came straight from the Honda dealership where my wife had just driven the exact Accord she wanted, highest trimline, leather etc, favorite exterior color ect: she would have bought it on the spot but I asked her drive the Sonata first based on good reviews by Edmunds and Consumer reports 3-The instant I sat in the Sonata I could tell the seat was more comfortable with better lumbar support 4-Ride was quieter with much less road vibration on intersate and overall a more refined experience

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  Genesis in Durham - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By Michael Johnson - June 16 - 11:39 am

  Awesome car for the money. You cant beat the bells and whistles for the price. Also the maintenance was easy with regular gas and simple checkups. I highly recommend this car. I have the 4.6 engine.

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  LOVE IT - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Krystal - June 15 - 7:40 pm

  I love this car! Much better than my honda civic EX. Its peppy for a 4 cylinder, the gas miliage is decent, and it had a cute body style with plenty of room.

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  Great Ride - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By anteup - June 15 - 5:50 pm

  Was pleasantly surprised during the test drives. previously drove an Acura; that was nice; this is better. Interior layout is tops; GPS is a snap to operate, as is bluetooth and XM radio. Decked out, this is a great ride for the price. Then theres the warranty - as good as it gets in the industry.