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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  A real pleaser !! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By cnauta70 - September 24 - 6:00 pm

  By far the best bang-for-the-buck out there today across any platform. Get the 2.0T as it will be more customizable and tweekable for performance as more and more comes out for it. If you dont want to tweak performance, then get the 3.8. This is one smooth, quiet and confident car when accelerating, braking or turning. As far as looks go, there is none better in this class. I get looks and double-takes at every stop light. I even heard a biker say "Look that is one of those new Genesis cars..wow I heard they sell for $ 60,000.00 !! :) Lol....little did he know that I only paid $ 29,000 Canadian for it.

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  Hyundai Replaced the Bad One - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By esperandrich - September 24 - 5:33 pm

  See my previous reviews. Hyundai replaced the car that pulled to the left with a new car which has no problems. Actually I had to find the replacement but Hyundai was cooperative and I am very happy now. I cant go into details because of the agreement I signed but Hyundai was very good about it and I would buy another one.

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  Road Trip Test - 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By lakeside4 - September 24 - 7:22 am

  On a follow up to my first review, I thought I would tell you about our recent road trip. My wife and I just completed a 4,000.8 mile trip up to Vancouver Island, BC and back to central Nebraska. Our Santa Fe performed flawlessly all the way. We drove 69 hours and 17 minutes. Beautiful scenery and a great auto. Never once did either of us get tired butt, not once did we have any issues with our Santa Fe. We spent 11 days out, 10 nights. We stopped in Billings, MT at the brand new dealer facility for a quick oil change. Super comfortable ride and drive all the way up and back. We averaged 24.6 MPG driving 3-7 MPH over posted limit, with quite a few miles logged with 80 MPH limit.

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  My Sonata-one problem - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dave - September 24 - 2:53 am

  Love the car. It is fantastic except for one thing. THe leather seats which look great are killing my back Make sure you have a good back for them.

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  GREAT SUV - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By wardIV - September 23 - 10:36 pm

  This S U V is great on gas!!! We traded a Toyota FourRunner for a Tucson and we are delighted to save so much money on gas.I also se it necessary to mention the nice ride the Tucson provides.I never thought I would own a Hyundai but i am pleased to say that this Tucson is the best all round purchase my mother and i have ever made.Where in the world are you going to find a 60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty?!?!?! I rate everything about this SUV a 9.5 .

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  pleased so far - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By steve - September 23 - 9:33 pm

  I checked several vehicles in this category and the limited Veracruz was the best for the money. Looks good,rides smooth is comfortable for my larger family. I was a bit disappointed in the dealer service when the oil cap was left off and in Phoenix. They made me drive to another dealer since they wouldnt give me a oil cap. Have called the orignial dealer for an oil change, (said it was free) and have had no call responses. I hope the durability of the car is better than the dealer service so far. Highway miles are so far averaging 22-23 and not close to the 26 advertised. I am not pleased by the drop I see in the resale value to date.

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  THAT is a Hyundai? - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Native Texan - September 23 - 8:00 pm

  Great looking, fun to drive and dripping with technology. I am 67" and fit comfortably in this vehicle. My vehicle is pearl back with tan leather interior and is a head turner. I cant tell you how many times I get asked "what is that?" - of course once they are told it is the standard response - THAT is a Hyundai. If you are in the market for luxury sedan, you owe it to yourself to test drive the Genesis.

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  bump, bump, bang, bang - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By lenstang - September 23 - 3:00 am

  I did my homework when it came to buying this car.I read reviews on line and in magazines. I asked owners about their cars. I compared prices. I thought I did a good job. I test drove a couple of Sonatas also. So I should have been happy with the car. However I didnt get to test drive the cars over bumpy roads. This car makes the worst noise over bumps I have ever heard. Every wheel on this car just bangs over almost every bump I hit. I did have the dealer check out the car. They said there wasnt anything wrong. I took one of the service guys out for a ride. I really couldnt demonstrate the noise. The roads in the area are smooth. I would not recommend buying a Sonata.

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  A keeper - 2013 Hyundai Veloster
  By Lisa Baillargeon - September 23 - 12:37 am

  We bought our Veloster in protest against the high cost of fuel. This little gem can go more than twice as far as our previous car on a smaller tank at 3 hours a day in both bumper to bumper and open road traffic. Love the design and low rider feel of the car as a driver especially, but our 2 preteen kids complain about the back seat being cramped and boring, and lack of plugins and lighting for their various electronics. A bit slow on the take off, and a bit of a sticky 1st gear that needs extra push on the clutch, but each car has their own personality. Could use a device holder and an under seat storage compartment in the front. Love the sporty look and feel without the high cost.

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  Exactly What I Wanted - First Review - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By Kyle - September 22 - 10:30 pm

  I am writing this review after having the Sonata for one week, I will add another review at a later date. I got a steal on this car - ended up getting it for $4000 under MSRP. I upgraded from a 2002 Sentra, and have been very surprised by how nice this car feels. I feel safer while driving it, and it performs well. I am happy with the 4 cyl., esp. when considering the savings on gas. The interior is nicely laid-out - not cheap like other base models. It is well put-together and feels solid. It drives as good as a Camry or Accord, but costs THOUSANDS less. Decent enough dealer experience as well - they let us barter and we got more for our trad-in because of it.