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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  Hyundais New CUV - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Lenny - June 15 - 4:43 pm

  Its a very well put together truck. The designers did a great job with the new 170 hp engine very fuel efficient! The navigation system is touch screen and it also has a back up camera with grid to show if you are too close. I own a 2010 Veracruz and am very impressed with this 2010 Tuscon that I borrow it on a regular basis from my wife(its her car). I have owned many Hyundais with very few dealer issues. After all in the beginning Mitsubishi was Hyundais engine and transmission suppler with many problems ans now Hyundai makes all there own cars with very few problems. I have owned 10 Hyundais and this is the best one ever!

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  Awesome, awesome, awesome! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By telayla - June 15 - 10:06 am

  This is an amazing little car, it is beautiful, sporty and definitely turns heads. It is the kind of car that will get you into trouble, cause it likes to go FAST! The performance is great. By far the most fun car I have ever owned. A couple of things to mention, the voice command leaves something to be desired, it only does what its told if I yell at it in my "mom voice". Be sure to check if your cell phone is on the compatible list, my phone is not compatible and when connected the phone constantly rings (phantom caller). Also have had some issues with the passenger seat clicking into place after someone sits in the back or gets out. There are only two cup holders.

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  Bye-bye Toyota - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By roni - June 15 - 8:56 am

  Ive only had the car for less than 2 weeks and love driving in it. I had a Toyota Camry before and this has everything the Camry had and then some. You get more for your money with this car. The standard features are what make this car so great.

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  Great car! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Amy - June 15 - 4:06 am

  This is definitely a car to have! Very underrated in the public - its wonderful!!!

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  The Tucson is a great buy, but its not perfect. - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By J.D. McKinney - June 14 - 11:02 pm

  Im not going to go into detail about the Tucson because there are a ton of reviews both written and video via YouTube that you can reference. In the past, Ive owned primarily sporty cars so my driving experience is measured against driving those types of vehicles. This is my first CUV and I purchased it because I recently moved to Denver and I needed something to navigate the inclement weather. Overall impressions are that I am very satisfied with my purchase. The ride is comfortable and the handling and acceleration are better than I expected. I really like the perforated cooled seats. I gave a ride to some friends and they were impressed by the leather interior and the panoramic sunroof. The vehicle feels more expensive than it is. In short, you get a lot of value for the purchase price. I havent driven it in the snow, but Im confident the AWD with differential lock will perform well. These are the issues I have with the vehicle. First, the media player doesnt decode mp4 audio tracks. M4A was generally intended as the successor to MP3, which had not been originally designed for audio. This means you have to convert an MP4 files to MP3s, which can be time consuming depending on how many you have in your collection. My second issue is the power lift gate. Its slow and if you deactivate the power lift gate option and choose to open and close it manually, you cant open the lift gate from inside the vehicle. Also, Ive locked the vehicle as I was walking away from the vehicle while the lift gate was descending and it stopped midway. It only happened once, but I feel I have to watch it just to make sure it closes. Finally, the Limited trim comes with push button ignition but there isn’t an option to start the vehicle if the battery in the proximity key dies. Other vehicles Ive driven that have push button ignition have a slot to insert the key and start the engine with the key manually. This seems like a huge oversight, but I’m assuming there’s a warning if the battery in the proximity key is low, but Im planning on keeping a spare battery in the glove box as a precaution.

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  love at first site - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By rebecca - June 14 - 3:00 pm

  It took a few days to get used to the handling but now it is a joy to drive. Love the rear window shade, easy to park, turning radius a surprise, excellent trunk space, great car!

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  NICE CHANGE - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Stephanie - June 14 - 12:43 am

  I used to be a van owner. I was ready for a smaller car. I test drove many cars, and found for what was standard on the sonata, the ride, and price the sonata cant be beat. I remember when Hyundai first came out and they used to be compared to the Yugo. Hyundai corp. has made great strides and changes to the point when I look for cars I will be looking for more Hyundais. And lets not forget about the warranties what a selling point. I intend to keep my Sonata for a while.

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  Hyundai Tucson Rating - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Alan Wade - June 13 - 6:03 pm

  Purchased nearly 3 mos. ago, my wife primarily drives it but we switch off. I think it is fun to drive & has a better ride than expected. More head room than our 2004 Sonata which is also very nice car.

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  look out hyundai is here to stay!!!!!! - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By rkelley - June 13 - 4:20 pm

  this is one fun ride talk about class all are friends cant belive we got this much car and did not have to sell a kid to make it happen.. we where the first in arkansas to buy and boy are we glad the ride is the best handles like no other and the power of the 3.8 is unreal and this thing is so quiet you cant tell its running unless you look at the tac, and i can get in the third row and fit with out getting a neck cramp, room is the key for third row seating and hyundai did it.. this is my third hyundai and the way they are going not my last if they come out with a pick-up truck look out!!!!!!

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  Great SUV - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bronxboomer - June 12 - 6:20 pm

  I love my new 07 Santa Fe handles great. Very smooth ride and enough room inside for me and my family