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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  Almost a 10 - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Car Girl - June 2 - 10:00 am

  I bought my fully-loaded Limited about 2 weeks ago and generally like it a lot. I am not happy with the gas mileage which is about 28.4 on the highway. I was hoping for at least 30+ mpg. The Aurora Blue is a beautiful color which does not show dirt as did my previous black vehicle. I have some hip and back problems, but this vehicle is very comfortable. This small SUV is large enough for my needs and it is nicely equipped. My husband and I are both tall, and theres plenty of room for us.

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  Best car ever owned. - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Geo - June 2 - 4:26 am

  Most reliable vehicle, more so than the Corolla, Tacoma, Civic parked in the drive. 123,000 miles, never an issue. Picked it over the Camry & Accord because of comfort. Bought in spring of 08, but is an 09 model. Up to 37.5mpg hwy. Will definitely go Hyundai again. As of 10-28-16, the Sonata now has 123,419 miles, and I wont give it up! Runs perfectly on its eight and one half year birthday. A couple of issues: First, the dashboard has too much glare in daylight, making it about impossible to see the speedometer with the sun beaming directly into the cockpit. Second, the dimmer rheostat doesnt dim the dash enough for nighttime driving, and as I work nights, it is a bit bothersome. Third, something new for this updated report - some rust on the drivers door, where the door skin folds over to the lower corner closest to the latch, it is crumbling, so it will be interesting to see how severe it becomes. I do wash and wax the car, regularly and it has not been driven on the salted NY winter roads. The car is now parked at our second home in Florida, so I am hoping the rust will not progress. Ive also oiled that surface hoping to stop the rusting.

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  Great Car - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By afterburner - June 1 - 6:01 pm

  I have a 2007 Sonata GLS, and I am glad I got this car rather than an Accord or Camry. Excellent ride quality, superb stereo, good air conditioning and best of all the SHIFTRONIC transmission which allows me to shift into manual mode whenever I drive. Any day the suspension is better than a camry or accord. Spare parts are cheap and I buy them online. Warranty on the car is best in the industry . Fortunately nothing has gone wrong till date. Since reliability is a problem with older HyundaiÂ’s I run my car on Pennzoil Fully Synthetic Engine oil, with a K&N oil filter and synthetic transmission oil. Resale value is a problem in the car, but I am positive that Hyundai will do well.

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  Yes.....to......Hyundai - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SunnyAz - June 1 - 1:23 pm

  What a great suv, very happy with all the features and Im getting 19.6 mpg in the city, (flat ground) I think the poor mpg from others must be driving up hill to and from work??Great pick up and go, easy to get in and out of, great view out the window and high up to see over trafic, doesnt sway around corners, hugs the road.5 air bags, 4 wheel disk brakes,abs, traction control,tire pressure monitor system,stability control,automatic rear view mirror night diming, stearing wheel controls for sterio and cruise control, the dash layout with the blue lights,18" wheels, ,the warrenty,the new body style looks better than the Lexus.And I tested the Rav4 and the new CR-V..Hyundia beats them all.

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  Great! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By MS.G - June 1 - 3:40 am

  Love this automobile. Looks great, drives, great, great on gas. It is truly a hit with me.

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  Too Bad Hyundai Axed the Entourage - 2008 Hyundai Entourage
  By clex2 - May 31 - 12:54 pm

  So after almost 5 months of ownership, I can say that I am truly impressed with the Entourage. All the forum complaints on the power doors, wheel vibration, battery drain, and gas mileage have not been part of my experience. They van has been flawless since day one, except for a crooked Entourage emblem and broken conversation mirror, both of which were fixed under warranty. If they still made the Entourage, I would be recommending it to everyone. I guess the Kia Sedona is the equivalent, but from what Ive read, the Entourage is a little bit more upscale, although at a slight increase in cost. If you can still find one, I bet you can get a great deal on this great minivan.

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  Best Value compare to Accord or Camry - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Austinboy - May 30 - 6:26 am

  2nd Generation of faithful Honda cars. Took me 2 weeks to decide b/w Accord, Camry, Mazda 6 and Malibu. I compared those cars with the same price model. Hyundai Sonata was not even in my mind. Tested drive all of them. I decided on Accord for their value. Then I tested 2011 Sonata and just change my mind. Wow, I though I tested drive this Sonata before, today I found out this car was more then what I expected driving from the dealer in Dallas to Austin. Everything was nice, nice handling, nice power, nice interior/exterior, love the seats, like the electronic inside.

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  Great Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By AJ - May 30 - 3:50 am

  So far so good, and its seems well worth it. Initially looked at the standard Honda, Toyota Camry, Altima/Maxima, but settled on the Hyundai. Quality seems great so far.

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  Happy - 2008 Hyundai Entourage
  By Mark - May 29 - 8:27 am

  I have taken my van on two long distance trip, I am very satisfied. The comfort and handling is very good. Fun to drive...trip computer rear sensors great features...I wish I would of upgraded to receive the power gate. The back do not always close properly when loaded.

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  XG350L - WOW - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Joe Brackman - May 29 - 2:00 am

  I drove this car for a month as a rental car mostly on interstate highways. The car handles great and is very comfortable. It is a poor mans Lexus. The drive train when in Auto position in fine. I did not feel the transmission hunting. I think this car is an execellent value and thats why I bought one. Nothing else comes close for the price.