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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  Love this car -- - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By lakings173 - July 28 - 7:46 pm

  If youre considering buying this car... BUY IT. You will love it. Im not just another driver, either. I know cars and test drove 15 before I picked this one. The only thing youll hate - the door/seatbelt chime. I live in Los Angeles and average 22 mpg on streets, 31 on open highways.

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  Fast, Fun to drive coupe at a budget price - 2011 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By po_an - July 28 - 6:55 pm

  I love my gen coupe - its fast, its sexy. Not the best looking from the front, but the shape rocks and the rear is superb. Turns more heads than any other car under 50k The 3.8 GT and track features are more than those found on the base models of cars upwards of 30k.. Superb value at its price the rear seat has great legroom, although headroom is limited. Short people and kids will fit in comfortably

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  Super Buy for the Money - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By soccerbear - July 28 - 1:10 pm

  Bought the Venetian red limited (only option was tan leather interior) and have 600+ miles on it...love the look and the overall solid feel of the car. Did a mountain of research (Altima, Fusion, Malibu, Taurus, Accord, Passant, and Camry) but only test drove this and a Malibu...no comparison overall...the styling and all the standard features (great buy) for the price got me. Long bumper to bumper warranty was also a big factor. Voice rec system and I are at odds sometimes but overall a very nice feature that gives you options when you are driving at a high rate of speed and want to dabble with the nav or phone. Have no negative comments of note! I look forward to driving it everyday.

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  Super value - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By fallball - July 28 - 11:36 am

  Purchased a limited 2011 Sonata one month ago after viewing several new cars at the auto show. We have not regretted our purchase one bit. We looked at the Acura TL and TSX but got so much more car for the $$ with the Sonata. Great new design, drives great and gets super mileage on REGULAR gas not the premium gas Acura or Lexus require.

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  Strong, reliable and durable - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Buzzy - July 28 - 10:00 am

  Bought it at the end of the 06 model year and loved it from day one. Its now the end of 10 and it hasnt hiccuped once. Still performs like the first day. Very powerful and quick V-6. The mileage reflects the extra horses, but the performance is stellar. The only issue with the 06 is the ESC computer and braking when its in the manual shift position. It will go into ABS mode even when panic braking on perfectly dry ground and will scare the carp out of you. In standard drive mode it works perfect. All in all its great, though and my next one will be another Hyundai.

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  The 2007 Hundai Sonata. - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Eva Kay - July 27 - 11:26 pm

  I have nothing but praise for this car. Despite it being a 2.4L, it drives close to a V6 with great pickup and acceleration which is great with todays gas prices. It is well built, comfortable, looks good and has many interior features for which one usually has to pay extra. Also important to me is good peripheral vision and the roominess it provides which is one of the biggest reasons I traded in my 2004 Honda Accord coupe with only 9K. I am very glad I did. That is one sweet driving car!!!

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  Beware!! - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Gleda - July 26 - 6:56 am

  This car is an owners nightmare. Yes, its fun to drive, but so far, the compressor, engine, and stick shift has blown , all under 30k miles. I have never recieved such horrible service than at ALL of the hyundai dealreships ive been to. All this, and Ive already has a LEMON tiburon before the one Icurrently own. I brought the dealership to court and they gave me another peice of crap in return. Ill never buy a hyundai again. Whats the chance that you get 2 BAD cars of the same make/model from 2 different states? Slim. I doubt its a coincidence.

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  Loved my 09 Genesis - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Deidre Dunbar - July 25 - 3:40 pm

  I drove a Mercedes E320 prior to buying my Genesis. I had less maintenance issues, and interior cosmetic damages in the Genesis than I did with the Mercedes. My next car will be the Genesis G80 Sport!!

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  Hyundai XG350L - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Judy - July 25 - 1:30 pm

  Excellent ride, stereo system, and all over performance

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  Chronic Engine Seizures - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Alex Kennedy - July 24 - 8:53 pm

  All you need to type into Google is 2011 or 2012 Hyundai Sonata engine seizure and see all the complaints and class action lawsuits! DO NOT BUY THIS CAR or you will be sorry.