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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  Not a car for colder climates - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By MMRick726 - December 13 - 8:57 am

  I bought this car new in Sept. 2006. I wish I would have known how badly it drives in slippery and snowy weather and I have the manual transmission!! The windshield washer fluid pump freezes in weather below 32 degrees and it makes it impossible to clean your windshield when something should splash on it. Above 32 degrees, it works perfectly. Go figure.

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  First 500 miles - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By scotts758 - December 12 - 8:03 pm

  This is the second Hyundai I have owned. The first one I drove 130,000 and turned it over to my Son. The car still runs very well. I had a Honda Pilot SUV before and liked it better but its a lot more pricy then the Santa Fe so you have your trade offs. I bought this vehicle on the last day of the month and actually walked out of the dealership because they wouldnt meet my price. Three hours later they called me and agreed to sell me the Santa Fe for what I wanted. Always buy at the end of the month. You will get what you want or the dealership just couldnt do the deal.

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  You get what you pay for - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Matt - December 8 - 2:45 am

  Not a bad car, but could use some work. The older it gets, the more cheap it feels. There are a lot of squeaks and rattles on the interior. Road noise is overwhelming, and makes it difficult to have a conversation. Simple parts are expensive and hard to find. Fuel economy is not as good as it should be for such slow acceleration. The paint is of poor quality, and easily scratches and chips. Leather interior feels and looks like vynil. Sun visor mirror covers broke without being touched, and drivers side visor will not adjust without making a horrible sound and feeling like it is going to break.

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  Very Satisfied - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Christian - December 7 - 8:00 pm

  Love it. Super reliable, especially coming from a Ford. Gets tons of looks from people. Looks more expensive than it really is. Biggest complaint? Fixed mast antenna. Should be integrated into rear window.

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  noisey? no power, guzzler - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By julie crowley - December 5 - 2:00 pm

  i love my santa fe, believe it or not from the title. But it has no acceleration to speak of and is very noisey. It drinks petrol and costs me a fortune to keep. although it got me through 2foot flood water with no problems at all recently.

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  Reliable as any! - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Aaron - December 5 - 1:14 pm

  I drive my car about 15,000 miles each year and currently have over 70,000 miles on it. I have done nothing but regular maintenance to it (oil, tires, replaced headlamp, etc.) and its been a great runner and a comfortable ride as a daily driver.

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  Love it - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pat - December 4 - 4:23 am

  I did the research. My Sonata is everything and more that I expected. Very nicely engineered. The body is beautifule and it is quiet and solid. My only digs are the front seats could be a little better and my MPG (90% city) is only at 23. I highly recommend this car. I paid only $18,100 and I got the 4 wheel disc brakes, the auto and the fog lamps!

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  Accent Rising - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By dchrist - December 3 - 9:49 am

  Great little commuter. My wife loves the way it handles!! Only problems: no cruise, needs more power.

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  almost completely happy.. - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By bryzbryz - December 2 - 2:00 am

  40k on gls. been all over U.S. 5spd fun, but handles like a big fat kid juking on a layup. couple of problems - headlights go out often. the HVAC began blowing defrost regardless of controls. took it in and dealer replaced a "module" under wrnty, but charged me $35 to reset check engine light (seems that i left the gas cap loose, which caused light to come on). light doesnt go off for 70 starts, so owner thinks bad problem, take car to dealership for what they think will be a routine wrnty check. meanwhile, the dealer gets $35 bucks. seems shady. shouldve bought used nissan or honda.

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  04 Accent review - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Cyril - December 1 - 7:30 pm

  Too small. Interior is cramped. Ignition key is hard to insert. Engine is great on performance for its size but is too noisy. It can handle interstate speeds without any problem. 4 speed auto transmission performs very well. Handles great and is easy to manuver. Steering is very precise.