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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  wow! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By chunks - June 16 - 10:00 am

  this car has great speed and its comfortable...i love the car and i would suggest everyone to look up on it

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  Tiburon 03 - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By PrasadMJR - June 16 - 10:00 am

  I just love this car

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  My first Hyundai - A Great Automobile. - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By dlp6 - June 16 - 1:26 am

  Car handles well in all weather conditions. Comfortable to drive. Good visibility. Lots of room when rear seats folded down. Car has good balance, low tire wear. I have 128,000 km on rear tires and dont have to change them yet. Front tires changed at 115,000 km. No problems from new - One warranty issue to have transmission re-programmed - solved rough shifting that had developed. Quiet on both city roads and highway. Dash is great, easy to read, and controls very accessible. Almost feels like a full size car inside. Have purchased 2013 Sonata GLS and have kept 2010 as a second car. Very reliable.

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  Test Drove and Loved! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By bsavoie93 - June 15 - 8:03 am

  I went and test drove this car today. Immediately when I sat in it, it was incredibly comfortable. Im 64" and there is more than enough room and the seats are perfect. It took no time at all for me to find a comfortable driving position unlike most other cars Ive driven or drive where it takes several times of driving to get comfortable. The acceleration with the 2.0 Turbo is fantastic, I barely tapped the gas and I was at 80. It rode so well down the road. The car also has a strong and solid feel. Now since Ive only test drove it and dont own one YET Im not sure how reliability is. Im sure its fine since all the other reviews havent said anything too bad, but only time will tell.

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  Great SUV for the investment - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By senni - June 14 - 9:36 pm

  I purchased my Tuscon in Jan 2010. I looked at and test drove a Rogue, Rav-4, and Matrix. I wasnt thinking about a Tuscon until I saw one in the showroom. After test driving one I was sold. It had more features than the other models I looked at and cost less! It has ample storage for my needs, has AWD for the rain and snow, and looks great. It even had better gas mileage, which for me is very important since I commute everyday. In the winter my average was around 22-23 real world miles but now that its warmer my average has been 24-25 MPG. On a recent 5 hour trip I averaged 30 MPG! Id like to note that the AWD is 4WD on demand and rides well in bad weather. Id recommend to anyone.

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  Loving my Elantra - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By LAL - June 14 - 5:07 pm

  This car has been awesome!. I got this used with 8k miles for less than $10K and now it has almost 100k miles. Never had a mechanical problem. Performance and pickup is the best in his class. I love the handling, the exterior design and interior space. Could have more interior features. I went to the dealer this weekend to have a full checkup (just in case I want to sell it) and they found nothing at all. So Im thinking on keeping it for another 3 or 4 years, it depreciates too much (because the brand and not the quality), now is worth around 3K.

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  So far so good - 2008 Hyundai Entourage
  By So far so good - June 11 - 11:45 pm

  Bought this vehicle three weeks ago at an awesome price since they are discontinuing it. Couldnt beat the price and all the features we got. Been very happy with it so far seeing as how I didnt want another minivan.

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  Love the silver fox sonata!!!!!! - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By BROCK - June 11 - 4:21 pm

  Its good. Scratch that its AMAZING!!

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  very refined suv - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By les - June 11 - 11:50 am

  a much better design then the earlier years and one of the best looking suvs on the market today.

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  No Longer A Hoopty - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Txborn50 - June 11 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle is a wonderful ride. Stylish.I am proud to be a Hyundia owner with extra money in MY pocket.