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, pleasure to drive and look at!!! - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By C130 - March 11 - 10:00 am

  I tried several of the competitors vehicles, then we saw a Santa Fe on the highway. We road-tested it and bought one. The stylish looks are far superior to others in same class. The vehicle is comfortable, quiet and powerful enough to be a pleasure to drive. The Santa Fe handles well and offers plenty of room for back seat passengers. Lots of space in cargo compartment with easy access through hatch or door.

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  Pleasure to drive - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jerry Caporaso - March 11 - 10:00 am

  Very smooth comfortable ride. Distinctive styling. Very thoughtful design from the cup holders to the sunglass case. Great warrenty with freindly service department.

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  User Friendly Car - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By MKY - March 11 - 10:00 am

  We bought the Elantra to replace a Nissan Maxima station wagon. Our other car is a 1991 Toyota CamryLE (V6). The Camry has been a very good car, costing about $21,000 when it was new. The Camry is a hard act to follow, but despite its lower price, the Elantra has proven itself to be fine car. It has a solid feel and is fun to drive.

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  assessment - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Don Kim - March 11 - 10:00 am

  this car is excellent compared to its price

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  Good car, bad tires - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By snowman888 - March 11 - 1:26 am

  Nice car in general. Not sure why they decided to make such low profile tires standard equipement on the SE and Turbo. Totally impractical for most people. Perhaps in Korea they devote resources maintaining their roads. Here in New England, the smallest of potholes will cause a flat, of which I experienced two in the first week. I have since "upgraded" to the base 16" wheels. Significant improvement in ride and durability. Also agree that the steering sometimes feels that it wants to pull to the left. Not always, and mostly in the left lane when the road slopes away from the center. Prefer the feel of traditional hydraulic power steering. Otherwise nice car and good value.

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  Happy so far - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By Lou - March 10 - 11:56 pm

  1800 miles in 6 weeks. 4 things I would like to see:softer ride,less road noise especially on uneven roads,softer(more cushiony) leather seats & folding side view mirrors. Controls easy to work. Navigation system easier than Toyota. Priced right. It looks like a winner.

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  Sonata issue with IPOD player - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pat - March 10 - 6:00 pm

  Overall the car seems to be an excellent value. My only concern and something Hyundai doesnt seem to be able to resolve is the IPOD port. I have connected 3 different IPODs in and none worked. The only music that played was some MP3 songs no Itunes. I went to my local dealer who couldnt resole the issue I contacted Hyundai directly and the response I got was to go to another dealer to have them look at it, even though that dealer is over 50 miles away. So still no answer to why the IPOD port doesnt work.

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  Deam-Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Patrick - March 10 - 4:36 pm

  Excellent quality. Ingeniously built: Smooth, Quiet performance. Feels incredibly solid like a Lexus or BMW. Everything is included so theres no desire for options. Fully-loaded the LX was a steal - and i paid below the MSRP. Hyundai must have done their market research. Because this is the perfect car.

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  Still love my Sonata - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By paul145 - March 10 - 1:34 am

  My Sonata Limited V6 has more than 30K and I love it - I have had literally zero problems with it. I commute 30 miles each way through rainy and sometimes icy Pacific Northwest mountain passes and it is a champ. Great acceleration when I need it, excellent mpg (30 mpg highway), handles very well and it can comfortably seat four large adults. My wife and I took it on a 1,000-mile trip down Highway 1 in Washington and Oregon and it was a fun drive.

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  More for your money - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Smooth_Ny - March 9 - 10:53 pm

  Im in love with my new 2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited Platinum Edition. The value I got for this car is amazing. I paid 23.3 including taxes and fees. I was in the market for a Toyota Camry, but I saved about 5000 going with the Hyundai. Toyota wouldnt offer much on my trade in, Hyundai did. And I got a V6 in addition to leather heated seats, and a great warranty for the same price as the Camry SE with the sunroof spoiler package(that was my first choice).