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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  Elantra Touring - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Pauley - October 19 - 7:06 am

  I drove Automatic version of Elantra Touring and felt its slugglish climbing steep hills near Ski lift areas, so naturally I chose manual transmission when I purchased the vehicle. And.. Voila! Its surprisingly fun to drive. No problems at all climbing steadily at AVG of 29.8MPG up and around Mt. Baldy and Big Bear ski resort in So Cal. with 2 adults and 3 teenagers in the car and snowboard gears on the roof. The fuel consumption on HWY is very good at 35.4 MPG. I use this car for commuting to L.A. now. The car is a turnheaded one too since there is only small numbers in So. Cal. I ve got compliments from strangers often at the parking lots. Inside is so quiet, only heard when over 4rpm.

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  Vinces & Enids thoughts - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By doktorknown - October 18 - 2:00 am

  Great road feel. very comfortable seats, feels like a much bigger car. Fast and handles well at all speeds. Fairly quiet and has nice features.

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  Comments - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By 747pilot - October 18 - 2:00 am

  Fine car, can use a stiffer torsion bar (anti sway) in the back. I would like to see average economy, and instant economy on the display instead of the non-sense distance driven and time driven since the last refill.

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  Fun to drive - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By cloud - October 17 - 11:10 pm

  Picked this car up during snow storm. Performed very well. Enjoying it very much. Family of five fits comfortably.

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  At this Price--Whats Not to Like - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Bob Rivers - October 17 - 2:40 am

  I have owned sports cars since I was 16, now 62, and this is one is rated as one of the best bangs for the buck. There are faster, slicker cars but at what price. If you are looking for a well built, comfortable, fun to drive sports car that wont break the bank then you must look at this car. Even us baby boomers can have fun with this car.

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  Its been Great - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Brian3 - October 16 - 10:00 am

  This was my second new car purchase and I had been researching the Elantra for a while. I was really impressed with the standard features, reviews by other owners and the price. It has been reliable with no real problems. The only complaints I have are the drivers seat doesnt adjust very well. It seems to move with me like it is not latching very well. I havent had a chance to take back for a check-up on that. My other is just about the dealership. Their selling practices are a little "high pressure". Other than that, I am very pleased with my Hyundai Elantra.

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  hottest deal in town - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By chipper - October 16 - 10:00 am

  this is my first new car.it handles very tight in cornering and speed pickup is adequate.it feels great to have such a fine machine under my control.my wife says it adds character to our lives.for the money you cant beat it. we will definitely check out next years hyundais.

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  a lot of car for the money - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By julianef - October 16 - 10:00 am

  Comfortable for a medium built person, remarkably quiet within 60mph, has all basic stuff: AC, CD, power windows and mirrors, interior trim is well done. Took it on a 1600miles ride, performed well, 36mpg, however, becomes unstable and noisy at speeds above 65-70mph. The 1.6l engine manual provides good acceleration, one has no problems at all merging onto highway, around 30- 32mpg in suburban comuting. It does not excel in any regard, but everything is done right, one can not expect more from this type of entry level car. If the reliability improves for the new 2001-2002 model it is definitely a better choice than a 3-4y old Civic or Corolla.

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  So far so Good - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Shan Sig - October 16 - 10:00 am

  When I first saw the Elantra GT on the lot I was shocked that Hyundai had actually put some effort into styling. The GT looks European and the suspension backs up its image. The GT handles superbly for a car of its price and the engine is smooth and powerful, especially on the freeway. One test drive and this car will blow the others in its class out of the water.

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  Mostly great - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MC - October 15 - 5:20 pm

  This is a great car for the money. I am having some type of down shifting problem with the car. When the car is cold and is first starting out down the road it seems to not want to down shift, and then it suddenly makes a loud noise then jumps forward and down shifts. When I brought it to the dealership, they were not able to duplicate the problem so they erased the computer to see if that would fix it. Interestingly enough, there was a customer ahead of me that owned a 2009 Sonata that described the same problem. Apparently, there is a technical service bulletin for that model to make the repair. Hopefully, if this becomes a problem for Santa Fe they will come up with a repair.