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 value - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jason - January 16 - 10:03 pm

  This seems to be a very solid well built car, so far. The acceleration (3.3 v6, 5 spd auto), while not amazing, is good. The manual mode on the auto is a nice feature. Braking is good, no front end dive, and a very good ABS system. You cant lock these brakes up. The handling is good for a car of this size, even at speed. The ride (with the 17" wheels/Michelin tires)is smooth, even over rough surfaces. There are no squeaks or rattles; fit and finish is just as good as any competitor. Value/dollar ratio is amazing...no other make can touch it. You get tons of features for a very attractive price

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  Fuel Economy not what I expected - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By John - January 16 - 1:13 pm

  Great looking vehicle. Good get up and go. Fuel economy is not what I expected. I am getting 23.1 MPG in town. Took one long trip so far, and did manage to get little over 26 MPG on that trip. That was in the rolling hills of CA. I would question why AC in the glove box. My bigest complaint is the position of the steering wheel post on the lower part of the steering wheel. It is right where you would put your hands. I assume they had to put it there to support the air bag? It is unconfortable to hold the steering wheel on the lower part. Drivers seat could be fore confortable!

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  Never had issue with this car. - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By Moone Primrose - January 15 - 2:03 pm

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  Post test drive review: - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Shark lover... - January 15 - 8:20 am

  Test drove this car this weekend, what a blast! Drove the automatic, they didnt have a manual avail. For the price its a helluva fun little car to drive. That auto shift gimmick is pretty cool too, Im sure I could go through some trannys. Looks far better than the old Shark!!! To the other two posters your both right auto. comes w/ 16s and the manuals come with 17s.

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  Good looking car but it has some problems - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By mcastro2 - January 14 - 3:03 pm

  I recently got my GLS and logged just under 1,000 miles on it. The car looks good inside and out. Its roomier than my old Mitsubishi Galant. But the steering wheel is very stiff. My Galant was much smoother on the handling. Then engine is late coming off the red lights but I cant knock it too much being a 4 cylinder. My Sonata pulls to the right instead of the left and the pull comes and goes. The Bluetooth is great but the voice recognition stinks. I thought it was my accent but I had my daughter test it and it stunk just as much. In the first thousand miles I have not seen better than 29 MPG. Maybe I need to drive some more before it starts to produce.

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  value for the cast, 5 yr warranty - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By bill - January 13 - 10:13 am

  This is a midsize sedan with a lot of bang for the buck, for a 2009 sedan, safety features were standard, ESC, ABS, Anti skid included, all hwalpful and 6 airbags which were often optional on others that only included 4 at the time. The stereo radio included sirrius free for 1 year, six great speakers, and controls for bass/treble/fader/side, andone more I forget at thistime, but the sound is crisp,esp with sirrius and cds , and wavs. I always feel safe with the safety featurs included. After 6 1/2 yrs ofownership I now have several things to have looked at, the up/down button for the driv window/ the tps light/ and possible brake inspection. The dealer in New Castle DE is great but after moving south 50 miles, the dealer in DOVER DE I would NOT recomend at all ! They often ignore you in service desk area, and act as if you are bothering them !

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  Love it!!! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jules2853 - January 12 - 10:00 am

  My Santa Fe just had its first birthday and is still going strong! I love how it looks and how it drives. This vehicle can sure hug the road and handles really well. Plenty of room for the grandchildren and everything else, for that matter. A quiet comfortable ride.

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  Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By lewie - January 12 - 10:00 am

  the only complaint I have is that I made a mistake and bought a 4 cylinder which isnt strong enough when the air conditioner is running.

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  I love my Santa Fe! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Catherine14 - January 12 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle rides like a car. I have a 6 cylinder GLS model. Since I have needed to take two long distance trips, I have had the opportunity to experience a smooth ride at 45 miles an hour, and at interstate speeds as well. This car rides as smoothly at 45 as it does at 70.

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  Perfect for a mom who doesnt want a van - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mice0010 - January 11 - 12:06 am

  I absolutely love this car. It is huge! I can fit both kids in the back in car seats and have someone sit comfortably in between them. The trunk is unreal. The first 500 miles we got about 25 mpg, but after that it was like a light switch and now we are getting closer to 40. It handles well and Ive had 3 people mistake it for a Lexus. We live on 1 income and this car satisfies our need for a low payment and the fact that we like all the options on the car. I highly recommend the black one! When we were at the dealership purchasing the car they didnt have enough for the people who wanted to buy one. Also, the seats in the SE are super easy to keep clean.