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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  Great Car - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By MK1 - June 5 - 10:00 am

  We purchased the car after many weekends shopping other dealers like Honda, Toyota, and Nissan and opted for the Hyundai. Not only is it a great looking car with many options that the others dont offer on the base models it is less expensive. The warranty is great! Unfortunately at the rate I drive I should have over 100K miles on it by the 5th year. Which means the extra 5 years on the 10 year warranty will be wasted. This is an awesome buy if you only drive 10K miles a year. We got the V6 model and it has a lot of get up and go with little noise. We have traded in a Mercedes C230 Kompressor and I do not regret it in the least.

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  Merlot GLS 3.5L - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Gpritch - June 5 - 10:00 am

  After 1,500 miles, Im very satisified with my Santa Fe. I opted for the FWD, not the AWD - I didnt see the need for AWD in eastern PA (Snow?-Yes, but so what?). The Santy is quite peppy and responsive.

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  I Like it - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Joe in Maryland - June 5 - 10:00 am

  I really like this car. Its just the right size, but high enough so I dont feel like Im going to get run over by big trucks. Lots of great standard features. Rides beautifully.

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  Love It - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By fancy - June 5 - 10:00 am

  We are happy owners of our new Santa Fe! At 1000 miles,the ride is great, the seating and roominess of the vehicle is fantastic,sun roof helps quite a bit with ventilation(Im a smoker) the combo cd & cassette is wonderful, The vehicle is smooth riding and peppy. We averaged 26 mpg (mostly highway). Its stylish and fun to drive. We did comparisons of other SUVs and based on ride,fuel efficiency, this one came in first.

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  Great Car - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By Bob S. - June 5 - 5:36 am

  No way does this car cost only $20,000 new. Best luxury car I have ever owned. I loved my maxima, put 170,000 miles on it, but this is just as comfortable at much less the cost and at 98,000 miles only routine maintance.

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  Good SUV for the price - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By duclown - June 5 - 1:23 am

  Purchased new in 2003 for wife to drive to work, family use on weekend. Has made several 2,000 mile round-trips from WI to Denver CO through winter snow without incident. Daily commute is about 15 miles round-trip. Reliable car, has only needed one unscheduled maintenance trip for malfunctioning rear diff computer setting (sounds more serious than it is). Our dog loves the cargo area, she sleeps contentedly in the sun on longer trips.

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  Glad I bought it - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By larry - June 5 - 12:10 am

  I bought this car as a replacement for our gas guzzling minivan. The biggest draw was the standard safety features. My wife and I looked at the competitors, none of them offered comparable equipment for anywhere near the same price point. The engine is strong and works well with the 5 speed auto transmission and while the handling may not be a best in class sports sedan it certainly is acceptable for my everyday driving needs. I have owned an accord and still own a camry, both are good cars but this is the first hyundai I ever considered buying and so far I think its worth it. I would recommend this car to others.

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  Beware the lemon - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Dustin Ezell - June 2 - 6:53 pm

  Lightly driven and well-maintained, this car has been in the shop for major mechanical problems four times. At around 4000 miles, the entire CAM had to be replaced. The car was then returned to the shop only a few dayas later because of a major oil leak caused by a faulty gasket. This car has been a nightmare! The wrecker that picked it up on its first trip to the shop that he has picked up many XG350s. Looks like Hyundai threw up an airball when they made this one! Stay away!!!

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  Lovin It! - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By NewSantaFeOwner - June 2 - 6:20 am

  Just bought my new Santa Fe after months of searching. I have been a faithful Dodge owner for decades, but decided to try the foreign route. So far Ive not been disappointed! This is a great car though much bigger than my 2007 Dodge Caliber that I traded in! Very comfortable ride and features. I did give up great MPGs (from 32 in Caliber to 22 on Santa Fe), but this is AWD and much roomier for my growing family! Great power on the V6 and quiet ride. This so far is a great car.

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  Try It Youll Like It - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Gray panther - June 1 - 11:16 pm

  After retiring I decided to get a car with many amenities, good performance, attractive and lower cost. I selected the Hyundai XG350L and I am most satisfied. After driving a Japanese luxury car for 10 years, I was very reluctant. Certainly there are some trade offs but nothing like I was led to believe or expected. I am now traveling with the savings.