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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  New Hyundai - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Bruce Munn - April 19 - 10:00 am

  Good looing little car. Fun to drive and I am getting 30 mpg overall.

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  What a bang for the buck! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By troy Clark - April 19 - 10:00 am

  This car is by far a great deal for the Dollars. We have a 1994 Hyundai that has ad no troubles at all in 10 years! So, we are back to try this one out!

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  great car for the money - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By ccatt - April 19 - 10:00 am

  just a great car overall

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  GT Great Secret - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By kbocke - April 19 - 10:00 am

  Went in only to look, left with GT after comparing to Honda and Toyota. Lots of bang for the buck. 14,500 miles so far and not a problem. If this reliability keeps up Hyundais market share will explode. Had I known I would enjoy the GT so much I would have looked harder for the moonroof, traction control, ABS model GT. Already commited to another Hyundai, either Santa Fe or trade in for new GT. Extremely satisfied. My favorite new car in 20 years.

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  Pleasing - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Pimpsterrific - April 19 - 10:00 am

  The Sante Fe drives just like a car. I can manuever it like I did with my previous compact car. I was surprised at the fact that i didnt have to "adjust" to driving a larger vehicle.

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  Has anyone gone in snad? Help! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By karenh - April 19 - 10:00 am

  Overall, I think my new car is great. I have 2500 miles and all is well. been through a few snowstorms and the car handled great. One problem: One reason that I purchased a 4wd vehicle was because I live on Cape Cod, MA in the summer. The dealership told me that I should have no trouble going on Cape beaches with the 4wd system. I took it out today and I did not feel comfortable at all. I felt that I was going to get stuck the entire time. I didnt get stuck, however, is this how 4wd is supposed to feel? The engine also smellled funny when I got back on hard pavement, like it had been working too hard.

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  Hyundai santa fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Santa fe driver - April 19 - 10:00 am

  Santa fe for v6 and size of SUV has great response timing and pickup. Very reliable on open road and quick response to in city driving. Fun to drive and reliable. on top of all that, affordable!

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  easy choice - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By jonk - April 19 - 8:43 am

  i needed to make a quick decision on a car and after testing the mazda 6 and ford fusion - this was hands down a no brainer decision to pick. It drives really well and love all the features, great pickup and smooth drive. xm radio, heated seats, sun roof ... what more do i need

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  Best Buy - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By al - April 18 - 8:03 pm

  Only have 800 miles on "her" but they have all been fun miles. Very impressed with the performance and handling. This is the first non-GM car Ive owned..."why did I wait so long"

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  Dont buy this car - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tonya - April 18 - 4:40 pm

  My husband and I bought the 2008 Hyundai in September. We put 10,000 down on it. Well, It has had nothing but problems. The transmission slips, there is a rattling noise coming from the engine, the wheel alignment does not stay in place, gas mileage sucked, and when the kids hooked up there dvd systems or game systems in the back it would cause a frying sound thru the speakers. We traded it in today and lost almost 18,000 on it. We lost all of our investment and only had it 6 months. We bought this 2008 as a demo with low miles. I will never look at or consider buying another one.