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:

• 

  great ride - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By matters - October 26 - 5:53 am

  great vehicle nice features good power

• 

  Best value/most luxury for my $$ - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Lee - October 25 - 10:03 am

  This is the 3rd Hyundai that I have purchased. My first was a 2003 Santa Fe, 3.5L, which I loved so much that I purchased a 2003 Elantra for my mother. She feels that the Elantra is the best car she has ever owned! I traded my Santa Fe when I decided to purchase a more fuel efficient vehicle because of the amount of driving that I do. I had only stopped into the Hyundai dealership to look at the new Azera model that had just become available.....and the rest is history. It only took me a test drive and I was hooked. The luxury that Azera Limited offers is far greater that the price paid. Did I mention that I LOVE this car?????????!!!

• 

  Saved my life - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Zapataro - October 25 - 8:04 am

  A car company is at its best when it has something to prove. Mercedes with the w126, VW with the Phaeton and Hyundai with its Genesis. Hyundai wanted to show the world that it could make a car every bit as good as the Germans and mostly they succeeded. I looked at comparable 5 series and E class automobiles, their quality, options and reliability records and could not see the value in the Germans higher prices, besides the badge. A friend, who is a BMW diehard, had to admit that my Genny was every bit as fast as his 5 series, had a nicer interior and a stereo that blew his out of the water. Its not perfect by any means though. Not as polished as the Germans. The ride wasnt quite sorted, and the traction control was absolutely terrible. Even when the traction control was "turned off" it was still far to intrusive, cutting in at very inopportune times. In the year I owned it I had no troubles with it. I would have kept it for much longer had I not been T-boned by a full size van running a red light at 50mph! What I can say about that is I was able to walk away from the accident with only bumps and bruises.

• 

  Buy it. - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Campbell - October 24 - 11:13 am

  Looked at all mid sized before buying. Best deal for the money. Best quality over all.

• 

  Tiburon Love - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By sctvorp - October 24 - 10:00 am

  After having my Tib for about 3 months now, all I can say is wow. Everyday I look forward to driving it around. This is the best looking car on the road, bar none. I turn heads all the time, its a great feeling. The V6 engine responds very well to bolt-on mods, lots of aftermarket tuner parts available.

• 

  Korean Surprise - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Mycatlola - October 24 - 10:00 am

  I looked at all cars in this price range and Honda, Nissan, and any American car could not come close. I know it is new but with a 100,000 mile warranty I am not worried. I have owned this for almost three months and stopped by the dealership to just say hello and tell them how much I enjoy the car, and tell the service department that there is nothing out of order.

• 

  My Review - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Coryk14 - October 24 - 10:00 am

  Good experience so far

• 

  Just bought the Sonata - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By ZenStyle - October 24 - 10:00 am

  At first I wasnt sure if I wanted to go from a truck to a 4 door sedan but after test driving the Sonata, I realized rather quickly how incredible these cars are. I have a 2.7 engine so it gives the get up and go that Im used to. Handles very well and gives the feeling that the driver is in control. I also would like to add that Ive been driving trucks for years and swore that I would never drive another car again, partly for safety and partly because of the way a truck handles, but looks like that has now changed and I couldnt be happier.

• 

  Great car - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ed Stevens - October 24 - 10:00 am

  This has been a great car. Put a lot of miles and no problems. bumper to umper warranty has bee excellent and the Dealer is great

• 

  It rattles, but its pretty - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Donnamo - October 24 - 10:00 am

  I had trouble with the cruise control when I first bought this car. Had to press HARD on the brakes, and it still rolled into traffic from a stop. After having it towed to the dealership twice, they fixed the problem. The dealership is unable/unwilling to fix the rattle in the passenger door.