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:

• 

  quality car that is fun to drive - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By notavan - April 16 - 5:08 pm

  Love, love, love this car. Shopped Infiniti, Acura and Lexus and chose Genesis b/c I preferred the way it drove and the quality interior -- not b/c of price. Super powerful, smooth shifting, butter-soft leather, fun touch screen nav/radio. It is so much fun to drive. Great acceleration, braking. Lots of compliments from strangers on looks. Couldnt be more thrilled with purchase.

• 

  Genesis = smarter every day - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By projos - April 16 - 4:45 pm

  Thoroughly enjoy driving the Genesis every time I get behind the wheel. Nice performing engine very well coordinated with the smooth-shifting transmission. Terrific balance of handling and ride. Extraordinary value as compared to the prestige brands. Have owned all the other guys and drove there latest offerings. Genesis is a supremely sophisticated car for a lot less money. Love the car, love the multitude of "what kind of car is that?" questions, love the compliments. A truly rewarding driving experience and I feel smarter every day...

• 

  Not Satisfied - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By ShaSha - April 15 - 10:27 am

  I purchased my car with 7 miles on it, I now have 85k and for the first 4 years was happy with it. Lately, I had to replace the transmission, rotors & brakes, battery , lights, radiator, alternator, and a few other things. This with making all scheduled maintenance appointments. This car is only good when its new, once you pass the four year mark, be ready to put some dough into it! Im getting rid of mine, never to buy another one!

• 

  My Cute Little Hatchback - 2010 Hyundai Accent
  By tess - April 13 - 9:09 pm

  Love at first sight. In fact my husband asked me to go see the car personally and see how I feel about. Love the color "Ice Blue" No radio when we purchased it, but have it installed. Anyway, try one and see it for yourself......Just get the one that has a radio already built in. Its quite lonely driving when their is none. but all in all its beautiful little car.

• 

  Fantastic luxury sedan at a bargain - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By Tennessee Phil - April 12 - 9:30 pm

  The Genesis is an incredible vehicle. It exudes luxury, has unbelievable power, and the interior is attractive and comfortable. The 4.6 V8 engine is incredibly powerful and smooth. Cruising at 75 MPH barely touches its potential. The adaptive (radar) cruise control works extremely well. I use it in stop- and-go traffic on 2-lane roads going into work. Navigation and voice control systems work well. Visual display is large and easy to see. Backup camera is great. My iPhone pairs with system using Bluetooth. This is an incredible car priced about $25k less then comparable cars like BMW 550i. Dont buy a luxury sedan until youve driven a Genesis.

• 

  my first genesis - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By gusirani - April 11 - 1:39 pm

  i switched from a 5 series bmw, mainly because the 2011 5 will not come out till june, i am very glad i made this decision for the genesis, i read all the reviews and after test driving it fell in love, its not a bmw but its better then a lexus, all the luxury and options for about 20k less. i have had it only for 4 days now and am loving it, the electronics are so easy to use, its a great change from the stupid i-drive from bmw.

• 

  Best of the Best - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By Richard - April 10 - 8:34 pm

  For the past six month I have been searching for an affordable sports,luxury car.I have been on the internet many nights comparing vehicles that matches my needs.The problem is they all starts at around $50,000 with few bells and whistle.The truth of the matter is a friend told me about Genesis made by Hyundai.I kind of laugh and said Hyundai only make small cheap cars.To make a long story short,we went to a Hyundai dealership in Miami and test drove both 6cylinder and the 8cylinder.I was so impressed with the 4.6V-8 with the tech.package.The dealership did not have one in stock.I waited 6 weeks for the arrival of my new car.The sales people treated me like family. Excellent purchase.

• 

  Sunroof on 2008 Sonata - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mark - April 9 - 8:26 am

  Purchased my 2008 Sonata GLS new in March, 2008. Since Day 1 there has been a rattle in the slider of the sunroof. Dealership 1 had car for one week in July,2008 to fix problem.... still rattled. Took it back, was ignored! Took vehicle to Dealership 2 and they got permission to re-do the sunroof this past January. They found clips were missing in sunroof. Problem still exists! Am now awaiting the same Dist. Mgr. who saw car in June of 2008. After taking car to three dealers like Hyundai asked, I am fed up with all the time spent taking car to dealers. Poor communications between dealerships and Hyundai. Will not recommend Hyundai ever to anyone!

• 

  Great car, poor paint. - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By woodnknoll - April 8 - 8:11 pm

  I bought this car new and have been thrilled with it. Its very reliable, quiet and roomy. Its just a bonus that its cheaper than the competition. After two and a half years though a little problem has come up- the paint is peeling off in sheets! Since it now has over 36000 miles there is no more paint warranty so Im pretty much stuck. It will be a great rolling ad to poor paint adhesion on a Hyundai. This may not be true of other colors or ages, but it sure is on my silver-blue Sonata. If I was Hyundai I sure would want to get these fixed before someone saw it, but thats not the case.

• 

  A little above average with few flaws - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By g-dang - April 8 - 7:57 am

  I bought my 4 door Hyundai almost two years ago. And for the money I paid, I was a good deal. Ive already taken my Hyundai cross country from Nevada to Texas and the mileage was averaged out around 30 to 33 miles a gallon. The ac is cold, and I love the XM radio. The interior is a little plain jane, but I actually wanted it like that. Roll up windows are the best. Power windows always one way or another will find a way to cost you money. This car would have gotten a 9 or 10 from me in reliability if it werent for the battery dying on me 3 times within the first year. It was no big problem and all it needed was a jump, but that still made me sort of question its reliability.