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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  Great Car for the money - 1999 Hyundai Accent
  By Hector - September 25 - 3:24 am

  I bought this car on Dec 2006. It only has 9300 miles on it because its a rebuilt car and was sitting on the dealer for more than 5 years. So I bought it, set everything back up and put it back on the road. It had only 2749 mi when I bought it. I live in Las Vegas and took a three-week trip to visit my friends in Guadalajara, Mexico (three-day drive) in this amazing car and cant complain about anything. My girlfriend, two friends and I were on the car down to Mexico, the AC was on the whole trip and the car was just amazing, just did oil change down in Guadalajara. The best thing was cruising at 80mph on the highway with the car fully loaded.

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  2006 Sonata, a NEW Hyundai - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By dogstar - September 23 - 1:23 pm

  I had been in the market for a new car for sometime, and after driving most competitors, I tried the Sonata and fell in love, in so many ways I knew it was the car for me. The car itself is beautiful, a great exterior design and the interior is no slouch either with sweeping lines and a graceful center stack. The seats could use a bit more bolstering though. Everything works perfectly, as one hopes in a new car, but I foresee the quality holding up well. Maintenance is easily done, with long intervals due to advanced design. I love driving the car, its fast and easy to drive with elan. The transmission shifts slowly from 1st to 2nd, but it DOES improve in time.

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  One of the best - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Stan Boxer - September 22 - 10:00 am

  This is the best Sedan I have ever owned.

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  Nervous to Estatic - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Chris F - September 20 - 10:00 am

  I just bought my Santa Fe with the idea of going cross country with it. I drove the Santa Fe 3100 mile through the heat, rain, mountains and sitting in traffic. I have heard alot of people complain about the horse power. The Santa Fe performed well in passing and merging and when I needed her to get up a hill she took it with out a problem. Who needs a racing SUV anyway? Overall I highly recommend this vehicle to anyone whether you are cost conscience or not. We now have 5,200 miles and she still runs like a dream. I hope she stays that way but if she doesnt there is the warranty.

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  Great Value - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By DOC55 - September 20 - 10:00 am

  Ive put 10k miles in a little less than 6 months, took a trip to Tennessee and it behaved great handles very good, very confortable, size is misleading lots of room inside. I love it.

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  First 25k - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Pidman - September 20 - 10:00 am

  I love my GLS. There is nothing fancy about it, but it gets me where I want to go. Isnt this the same response that many people give for Hondas and Toyotas? Had to replace the A/C fan almost immediately because of factory installation, but otherwise perfect.

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  M.P.G. Disaster - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By mister bob - September 20 - 3:03 am

  I have my new Azera about 5 weeks now. Im retired so I dont do alot of driving. Its a good thing beacuse so far the gas mileage is horrible. On my second fill-up I put 19.6 gals. in the tank after going 271 miles. You do the math. I hope after the break in period my mileage will get better. I traded in a Cadil. Deville that got better MPG than that. Otherwise the car delivers all that was advertised so far.Would have traded sun shade for tilting down mirrors. They spoiled me.

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  Electrical problems - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Mark, CO - September 18 - 1:36 pm

  My wife and I bought a new Veracruz 6 weeks ago. Our main reason for purchasing the Veracruz is its safety features. Our main concern is that this vehicle has now been back to the dealership twice with electrical problems. On both occasions the vehicle would not start - the dealership seems to think it is just the battery (despite the battery checking out OK). The electrical equipment is also behaving very oddly. Clearly there is a major electrical problem with this vehicle which makes us concerned about the many electrical and safety features on this vehicle. Our advice - wait before buying this vehicle. We either have a lemon or Hyundai has a major electrical issue to resolve.

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  RLKemp - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Robert L. kemp - September 17 - 3:40 am

  Front Seats could be softer as Ive compared same to leather seating in other makes. The exterior and interior are exceptionally beautiful. The vehicle is a pleasure to drive but havent been able to experience highway driving to ck. the so-called 30 miles per gallon. Would like Hyundai to make a recall to soften seats. The styling is eye popping overall.

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  pretty good start - 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By tdinsight - September 16 - 4:58 am

  Bought this car about 3 months ago after test driving vs Optima and Camry hybrids. The assembly and ride are very nice with pleanty of room for me at 63" and a very usable rear seat. There are complaints about the car being jerky of the line. Only happened once to me merging into traffic while turning and ICE kicked in chirping a tire. Brakes are a little nonlinear but never felt unable to stop smoothly or agressively if needed. Open road fuel efficiency is very good with electric mode frequently running half a mile or so on the freeway. Traffic mpg not so great especially in 20-40 mph range. I average about 36 mpg but can be significantly less. More like 44 on a couple trips.