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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  Excellent car for the money - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By charnold01 - March 17 - 2:00 am

  Much better than a saturn or even a ford. Car is laid out conservativly in the interior but has standard Leather Seats. Get it for the seats if nothing else. Thay make a big diffrence in the hot spring and summer

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  THe best by far - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By gallopian - March 17 - 2:00 am

  I am so happy with this vehicle, its incredible. I recommend it to anyone, you cannot come close to it as far as price for what you get !!!!!!!!

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  Great Little Care - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By az45 - March 17 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my 2003 Elantra GLS to use as a second car to take me to and from work. However, I like driving it so much that I find myself choosing it over my 2003 Camry XLE. The Elantra is a well thought out car with a lot of pep and spirit. I do have some complaints however. Only the driver can lock all the power doors. The front passenger can control only their door. The trunk hood is too low. When loading and unloading I constantly bang my head on the latch that protrudes from the inside of the trunk. Overall, it is still a great little car.

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  big car and economial to drive - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pau - March 16 - 8:26 pm

  I have put over 11,000 miles on my new Sonata. I have not had any problems. If i say at or below 75 on the freeway, i can put over 500 miles on a tank of gas. It cruises at or above 80 easily and quietly though the gas milage drops to around 28 to 29. what more can you ask. roomy, quite, great gas milage for a full size car and a long warrenty so i dont have to worry about fixing anything unil i am ready to trade it in in about 4 to 5 years.

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  My second Hyundai Santa Fe - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By T. Thompson - March 16 - 6:06 pm

  OK, needless to say this is a great car. I purchased a 2007 SF Limited, my daughter liked it so well, I sold it to her then purchased a 2008 SF limited for myself. I really prefer the 2007 over my 2008 mainly because of the limited color choices, the 07 had gray leather interior, I detest black leather interior but the only choice other than the ugly beige. I like everything about the car other than that, its great. Yea I would probably trade for a 2009 if I could get the color scheme I wanted but once again, nothing but black so will not be trading again til the choices are better. OK, its a woman thing

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  Hyundai Accent 1997 GT - 1997 Hyundai Accent
  By James from Boston - March 15 - 3:16 pm

  This is my third Accent(first was a 1997 hatch GS with 54,000 miles on it and no issues which later involved in an accident and totaled, second Accent owned a Hatch L purchased in 1999 with 40,000 miles on it...NO PROBLEMS AT ALL....still have it with 96,000mi), since then I have purchased a 1997 Accent GT. I owned a Grand Am in 86 & 92(when they redesigned it), and both cars had issues starting in the winter BRAND NEW...NEVER BUY ONE AGAIN.

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  New Sonata - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sark - March 15 - 11:13 am

  Went from a 2001 accord to the 2007 Sonata primarily because of cost. Was very pleasantly surprise with the Sonatas performance together with the added features the Accord doesnt offer. Todate I couldnt be more pleased. Given the cost of the Accord and Camry they are both overrated compared to the Sonata.

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  EXCELLENT - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By CLAW - March 13 - 2:03 pm

  Car is well made, looks great and drives extremely well. Hyundai has come along way. I drove many new cars while shopping for a new vehicle, nothing compared to the Sonata. Great car....

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  A solid little car - 1996 Hyundai Accent
  By Toro - March 13 - 10:26 am

  Love my Hyundai. Bought this car from the dealer with 7K miles on it and havent had any major problems. drivers side window mechanisim broke 33 bucks to fix, less than an oil change. Also broke a bolt in the front pass suspension $8 dollar fix. Though its light in the horsepower still a fun little car to drive.

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  Definately Better Than Accord or Camry - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jim Smith - March 13 - 9:53 am

  I previously owned Accord and Camry V6. This time, I hesitated to buy a Hyundai because of the past Excel reputation. But now I am very pleased with my purchase. I believe Hyundai has improved tremendously. The engine of 4-cylinder Sonata is quieter than Accord and even Camry V6. It has a lot more room inside of car and trunk than both Accord and Camry. Also, both Accord and Camry offer 3 years or 30,000 miles warranty (which is basically non existent warranty) because problems start occuring after 30,000 miles. Above all, I like basic safety features Sonata comes with. I highly recommend Sonata above Accord and Camry as a preowner of all three vehicles.