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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  New Car - 2016 Hyundai Azera
  By Matt Schock - September 21 - 2:00 pm

  Traded in 2013 Santa Fe Sport base model. Wanted something nice but also with a little more power. Drove the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger and the Impala. The Azera beats them all on value. You get a fully loaded car for the same price as their base models. I love this car and recommend to anyone looking for a full size sedan that is also a luxury sedan

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  hoping hyundai is worth it - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By bill43 - September 21 - 10:00 am

  I have owned two camrys, the last one for eight years but had a lot of electrical problems with it for the past three years. I needed a new car but I had to buy a more affordable sedan with a v6, I was surprised to see the great styling inside and out of the 2002 sonada,even more impressed with the v-6 shiftronic ona car under $20000, placement of controls and large stereo buttons. My beef,and Im sure many others was the usual b/s games the sales people play. Id rather they go to a no hassle policy like some dealers and post a realistic price on the windshield instead of having to play a game with the sales creeps.

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  Another Sleeper from Hyundai!!!! - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Russ - September 20 - 3:26 pm

  This is my third Hyundai, and our most impressive Hyundai so far. The perfect little Euro-Style hauler for my wife and I, with just enough room for our dog in the back. I love the way it drives and handles, and for the price I dont think youll find a more feature packed ride. AC, Power Windows and Doors, ESC, Traction Control, ABS, Tire Pressure Monitor, XM Radio, MP3/IPOD plug-in on a base model GLS? It even tells me the outside temperature! Try getting that in any other vehicle! I used Edmunds.com TMV and competing dealership quotes to purchase for $1900 UNDER the invoice price. Best car buying experience of my life. Thanks Edmunds!

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  Fun to Drive - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Michael Miller - September 20 - 12:43 pm

  I have never had so much fun driving this car. The response and the way the car handles is excellent and I continue to be surpriseed at what this car can do

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  The Best small SUV - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By George - September 20 - 12:40 pm

  This is one of the best vehicle that I have ever driven. It has a quick response and a great fuel mileage.The design is very artistic. Plenty of room inside. I like the manual transmission mode combined with the traditional auto shift. My salesperson was excellent and I would buy this crossover again. The interior is of a luxury kind since I bought the gls extra pkg. Have on fear this vehicle has it over the Mmurano or the Toyota kind.

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  Wolf in sheeps clothing - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By spc4artillery - September 20 - 7:18 am

  Purchased the car for about $12k with 32k miles beginning January of 11. Had the car for about 5k miles now and its been a great car. Only major complaints with the car is the clutch rattle, which Im told is normal. Rattle happens at idle in neutral with the clutch engaged. Other than that, the stereo is kinda hinky. A loud pop and it will quit. Turn the radio off and it will work properly. Car has plenty of low end grunt, handles on rails, and feels like a more expensive car than it is. Overall, Im happy with my purchase and would recommend it to someone else.

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  Surprised - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By Riveria owner - September 20 - 2:00 am

  I feel like I found out some secret, a car of this quality and luxury for that price. Sticker was 27k, I paid 23.2k. It has everything. Nice ride, great stereo system, good quality leather, nice european interior styling, a very smooth car to drive. So quiet. Everyone is shocked to find out its a Hyundai. Must be a stigma to that name. If your thinking about one, go for it, you will be glad you did.

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  Impressive - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By tobsterocks - September 20 - 2:00 am

  Lets not go overboard here and rate this car a 10, anyone who does has no idea how to even spell the word "car". I should probably state that I havent bought this car or even seen it in person, but I know a lot about cars in general. Here we go. Hyundai has improved this car greatly, straying from their previous design (horrible if you ask me) and going more for a cleaner shape. They packed this car with power and went all out on options too, a nice bonus. Unfortunately it is a Hyundai and they do not have quality quite down yet. Re-sale is also going to be disapointing.

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  Very comfort ride but poor gas consumption - 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By gleung81 - September 19 - 10:38 pm

  I was attracted by the high tech package and the exterior design. Very well designed on the looking. But absolutely disappointed with the MPG. I knew the MPG will be off a bit from the sticker, but didnt expect THAT MUCH of a difference. Sticker states 5.2L/100km combined, I am getting 7.1 - 7.3L/100km. This is no where near to the sticker MPG. I am a gentle driver, so its not my driving style issue. Acceleration response time is slow, need to give an extra 1 - 2 second when making a left. I wasnt aware of this when I had my test drive, start to realize as I drive it daily. Not sure if this is common for all hybrid. Alignment is starting to pull to the left after 2 weeks.

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  Best Car I Ever Had in 28 Years Driving - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By satisfied - September 19 - 9:53 am

  Ive been driving for 28 years and this is the best car I ever owned. It seats 4 comfortably and I can haul a lot of stuff when I put the seats down. Fuel mileage is excellent for a car with this much storage. After reading about terrible problems in the automatic gear shift from 1st to 2nd, I made sure to check this out repeatedly during the test drive. 10 months later, I have zero problems with that or anything else. I got all the upgrades except for the navigation system and the roof rack. Im thinking of getting one for my wife and get the $3,500 govt "CARS" plan since the MPG difference qualifies. Unless you get a rare lemon, this is really a great crossover.