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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  StefsYellow Car - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Stefaniem82 - March 14 - 4:10 am

  I LOVE IT!!! FUN TO DRIVE LOVE THE LOOK BEST CAR OUT THERE RIGHT NOW!

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  100,000 miles and no issues - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By digitaljedi - March 13 - 2:08 pm

  I couldnt be happier with my Santa Fe. Ive had to replace a headlight bulb and the tires but the rest has just been maintainence. I just switched it over to synthetic oil and had the transmission flushed and the thing is riding smoother than I can remember in quite a while. The factory cd deck died on me but that just gave me an excuse to by a nicer one. All in all, Im very pleased.

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  The jerky ride - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By David B. Bell - March 13 - 1:56 pm

  I have had my car back to the dealer, but, the dual clutch issues of jerky ride is normal. I have been driving for sixty years and have owned 25 cars including VW, Datsun, Pontiac, Buick, Chevy, Honda and 5 Hyundai. With the exception of the 2016 Tucson Limited 1.6T, all the other transmission were smooth....not this one and the dealer said it is the design of the transmission. Hyundai Of American is looking into the issue. More to come....

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  Amazing new look! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Karla J - March 12 - 1:56 pm

  Im in love with this car. Lots of compartment storage. I just got this car last week and I already received so many compliments on how great this car looks like interior & exterior. The seats are comfy!

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  my first hyundai - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By usmc4ever - March 12 - 7:16 am

  This is my first time owning a Sonata by Hyundai, Ive owned a lot of cars over the years, and I have to say that this car rides smoother than any 4 cyl Ive ever owned, the ride is smooth pick- up is great the trunk is very large. the styling is great ive added the all weather floor mats and the full bra, and the window vent covers it all looks great on the polar white. the fuel mileage is great for this size of car 26 in the city so far and havent taken it on the highway yet. XM is great love the 6 speakers and sound. Saved thousands of dollars compared to the Honda and Toyotas.

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  Great Deal for Fun wheels - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By flavtech - March 12 - 2:00 am

  I have had my Elantra GT for 1 month and about 2000 miles now and can say it has beem a great experience so far. It is stylish has adequate performance (although a closer ratio gearbox and a bit more clutch feel would be welcome) and is pretty comfortable on a long trip. It could also use a bit sportier sounding exhaust system in as the engine is almost too quiet. Overall though it reminds me of the original Volkswagen GTI with an extra set of doors.

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  Loving It! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Kalahoolagirl - March 12 - 2:00 am

  I have had the vehicle for over a week now: it drives great and the comfort is awesome. Moving form a Kia Sportage to the Santa Fe is liking moving up to a luzury car. I purchased a fully loaded vehicle - encluding the entertainament pkg -for only a few thousand more than my Sportage. The road side service and warranty pkg was not to bad either. This vehicle was worth the shopping around I did. Great product for a great price.

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  I love my Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By DML54 - March 12 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my SantaFe for 8 weeks now and I am so pleased. It is my first 4x4, but it has all the comforts of a luxury vehicle. It has also already helped my get to my job at the hospital during 2 snowstorms.I just pulled out of my parking space in 13 inches of snow. I am very impressed with the traction control. I feel very safe.

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  The Sonata Limited wins! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By FirstHyundai - March 12 - 1:03 am

  We went to World Car Hyundai/Nissan. We test drove a base Sonata with an option package and we werent totally adverse to the experience, but we didnt like the interior fabric, the paint color, or the cheapo wheels. The dealer was running a sale this particular day, it was also coincidentally the end of the month and it turns out thats a very good time to buy a new car. I found a silver blue metallic Sonata Limited with the four cylinder and they had a sale price on it of $21,699. Wow, I thought. This is a nice car. In conjunction with $2,000 customer cash from Hyundai, we paid $2,225 less than invoice. Good negotiators might still beat that price.

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  best buy - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By bill moore - March 11 - 5:56 pm

  after owning 4 different brands of mini vans, i have finally climbed to the top of the class. This van is smooth, powerfull, and very quiet. gas mileage is only at 19 but it started out at 17mpg.this car runs so sweet that i have put 1600 plus miles on it in the first 2 weeks of ownership. i have not even thought about driving my miata since i brought it home. I LIKE IT........