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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  Worth Driving - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By BCAVY - May 22 - 2:00 am

  Do not give up on trying to get at dealer invoice everyone. I actually paid $400 below dealer invoice and also had a wonderful experience at my dealership. I researched over 6 months on my next vehicle and also drove over 30 different SUVs "I love cars" and be far the Hyundai at this price range was the best! The only other driving SUV that I liked was the Trailblazer. Good look with your efforts and remember that it is worth the drive to go test drive a Sante Fe

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  Odys Review - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Odyman - May 22 - 2:00 am

  You have got to try this vehicle. If you are looking for a sport car with these options, and pay under $20,000, YOU GOT TO TRY THIS VEHICLE!!

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  Unsafe, good for a new driver - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By CaF - May 22 - 2:00 am

  Well they always say " you get what you pay for ". In the 2002 Hyundai Accent I bought it was great for me considering I am a new driver. For a person who has never driven a car before, this one is great. If you are a mid aged person who has came from a volvo or mercedes, or even a nice honda like the accord or cr-v, then this isnt the car for you. This is a car for the low income, always satisfied conser who is jst looking for a car to get him/her from point "A" to point "B" with no pains. Also, by buying this car did I mention you can actually breathe and drive wth no worries? Hyundai has the best warrenty.

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  A little gem. - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Randy Wobser - May 22 - 2:00 am

  Hyundai has come a great distance since the Excel arrived in the 80s. This car does not rattle. The fit and finish is on par with Honda, the styling is above average. The interior is well-appointed. (the leather was a nice feature.) The car is very fun to drive. You really need to drive it to appreciate it. This car is an intelligent and as impressive a design as the first Saab 900.

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  Best Small SUV of 2005 - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By EDSI - May 21 - 11:36 pm

  After exploring other SUVÂ’s and test- driving the Honda Element and Ford Escape, the Tucson GLS (4X4) ended up coming home with me. I was almost sold immediately with all the standard options the Tucson comes with. The Interior is very ergonomically self- explanatory. The Audio System is capable of playing Regular CDÂ’s and CD/MP3 disks and comes with a cassette deck. Though cassette tapes are hardly used anymore, it comes in handy for connecting my iPod with a cassette adaptor. The exterior is very stylish and sporty. Though the Tucson wonÂ’t win any drag races, itÂ’s traction and stability was very good on the first 4X4 test to upstate snowy New York.

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  Sonata is Value - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By GoldenO - May 21 - 4:53 pm

  The first things that jumped out to me on my new 2008 Sonata was the construction of the vehicle. Everything was tight and in place. Quietness was second. It is quiet, smooth and responsive. Last but not least is that it is bringing me 30-32MPG and is fun to drive. Not bad for a car that had a 3K rebate and has a 5 yr bumper to bumper warranty and has all the safety features out there!That folks is value!

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  Nightmare - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Ms Piggy - May 21 - 1:06 pm

  I have brought four different made of Hyundai vehicles since 2000. The last one is a Tucson which gives me the most headache. After it has been used for 16 months, the battery suddenly drained out and couldnt recharge after stayed in garage for 5 days. No interior nor exterior light were turned on. It happened in Jan, May and Sept 2009. I informed Hyundai USA customer service in May and they promised to "do something" if it happened again. Then, when the issue resurfaced in Sept, I called them. They either gave me the run around or simply not return my calls even I have case number. I wrote them email and no reply. What a service! It will be my last Hyundai vehicle(period).

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  My second Hyundai. - 1995 Hyundai Accent
  By Disco7 - May 18 - 2:00 am

  This was my second Hyundai and im now on my third. I loved this car. I dont know why peeps bash Hyundais, but i love them. I bought this car at 60000 miles and drove it till 130000 and sold it and bought another. Only thing that went bad was the tranny at 80000 miles due to previous owner negligence. Solid car.

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  OUTSTANDING - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By KPORTER - May 18 - 2:00 am

  What can I say....drives and looks great, I give it a 9 in comfort. Hallmark Hyundai is a great dealership and Skeeter (our salesman) was a pleasure to work with...A fantastic product at a killer price. We test drove 5 other cars, that were 2-3 grand more than the Sonata and wanted the Sonata, HANDS DOWN...

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  xg350 - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Tommy1258 - May 18 - 2:00 am

  Great Car lots of features, outstanding warrantee although never used yet. The things a lexus wo/ the high price