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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  Okay - 1995 Hyundai Sonata
  By odis - February 27 - 3:45 am

  The car ran great until 90,000. I had to redo the transmission and airconditioning

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  Great commuter! - 1995 Hyundai Accent
  By Valorie - February 26 - 2:01 pm

  This car has been a great commuter car. great gas mileage, has some pep to it. Fun and dependable little car.

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  So Far, Very Happy - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dixie - February 25 - 7:26 pm

  I purchased the car earlier this month (July, 2008) and Ive been very happy with it. The dealership included a full tank of gas with its delivery. I literally went 10 days in 3/4 of a tank of gas. That totaled about 375 miles. The tank is 16.9 gallons and dare I say one would get 500 miles on a single tank during highway driving. The Sonata is the first Hyundai Ive owned since I bought a Scoupe in 1993 in Southern California. That car had the best paint job Ive ever had in a car. I love the XM Radio in the Sonata. So far, its all good.

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  Good car, only a few issues - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By BlakeJana - February 25 - 5:23 pm

  Overall, I love my Santa Fe. It is a smooth ride since it is on the car body, instead of a truck. I have been in Blazers (which is similar) and it is a horrible ride compared to the Santa Fe. The main issue I have is that sometimes when I am driving, the engine gets bogged down and the car will jerk. It corrects itself, but it is scary when it happens. Besides that, I would recommend this car. I only wish Hyundia made a bigger SUV. i am out of room with my two kids in the back!

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  a little bit of heaven - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By allen - February 25 - 7:33 am

  Although I would like to see the seat coverings more modern looking, the car drives fabulous. Its responsive and handles with ease and surety. It has all the bolts and whistles at a fraction of the costs we pay for Toyota and Honda. After test driving all three I picked the Elantra. It had a better feel than the other two. And you cannot beat the warranty.

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  Want to Love it. - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Brian Allen - February 25 - 1:56 am

  I purchased the Sonata Eco with the tech package. I am a 64" tall and weight around 240. I purchased this car because I felt the vehicle fit me well and was built with quality. I have owned the car for about 6 months and have liked it but not loved it. My main complaint is with the driver seat. I am still not comfortable in the seat, though it is getting better. When I drive it for an extended period (up to a 1/2 hour) I get out with upper back pain. This has been very frustrating. I have loved MPG I am getting with the vehicle. If I have the vehicle in ECO mode and drive conservatively I can get 40 mpg on the freeway. I purchased the vehicle for around 24K the price dropped to around 23K a couple of months after I purchased it.

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  Outstanding Value - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Bill OD. - February 23 - 2:00 am

  This is my first foreign car and so far im very impressed. I researched and test drove a lot of cars before I made this purchase and nothing came close to the XG with the styling, features and options for the price. It is very responsive with respect to handling and has teriffic acceleration.

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  Suspension Noise Trumps Everything Else - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By kurt - February 21 - 8:40 pm

  I bought this car used with 11k miles on it. It has the option premium package with moon roof, automatic lights, trip computer, electric seat. Got a great deal and now I can see why: this car is fine on the highway and if that is all you basically do then fine, buy it. But if most of your driving is in town, on any road less than perfect then forget it. It is one constant busy, bumpy, and thunky ride with every imperfection in the road transmitted through the inferior suspension put into this car. After a week of this nonsense I finally had enough and took it back for another car. Fortunately, the dealer allowed me to trade it without penalty. Be warned, this car is terrible on city streets

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  Couldnt be happier! - 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By suzieq57 - February 21 - 4:26 pm

  Ive had my 2012 Hybrid Sonata (premium trim - the $32,000 vehicle) for 1 month now. Great car. Ive been getting at least 41 mpg average on both mixed city and highway driving. I dont have any problems with breaking or the shifting from electric to gas like Ive seen some reviews here say. Did I say great car? Im so happy that I bought it. I have the metallic blue, premium hybrid. The design outside is to die for - Ive had so many compliments. It is roomy inside and very comfortable. I cant say enough about it. I love the panoramic sunroof, the navigation, the Blue link, and of course the wheels. Very sharp car.

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  Wonder Car - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By mig - February 19 - 8:40 pm

  This car is nice looking, has all features I like, is nice to drive, has 6 cylinders.