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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  Love it - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Algernon - August 28 - 2:00 am

  Very happy w/ my Santa Fe. Bought it to drive in the mountains of Colorado. Little under powered climbing the hills, but the gas mileage makes up for it. Back seat is huge...fits three grown adults easily. We camp a lot & love it with all the room inside. Bought the roof rack for the top, but would now rahter have a Yakima or thule because they hold greater amounts of weight. Current rack only holds up to 75 lbs.

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  An In Demand Vehicle - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ron - August 28 - 1:26 am

  Thus far 24 hours in this car drives great. Handling is great, an adjustment for me as it is very responsive compared to my Dodge Neon I traded in. Interior is beautiful especially when night driving as it just lights up. The on board MPG indicator is a nice feature, I find myself challenging myself to increase my Avg. MPG to get the bar up to 50MPG. Brakes are very responsive almost too much. Definitely takes an adjustment. GLS had everything I needed, IPOD cable, bluetooth, speaker system for phone and multiple cup holders. Also IF you are tall you will fit into this car, I am 62" and fit in the front easily with headroom.

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  Love my Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By cherylhillw - August 28 - 12:13 am

  I love my Santa Fe. I have a bad back so I traded in my Tiburon for the Santa Fe and what a joy. All the horse power needed when needed. Awsome gas milage around town and on trips to Maine on highway. The back seat fits two good sized adults comfortably, with lots of leg room . I am 58" tall and have no problem ridingf in the back seat and it is really comfortable. The only negative is my fiance` is 63" and he has a bit of trouble with head room that is the only problem we have had . In my eyes this is a best buy all the way cant go wrong!!!

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  I love our hyundai - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By john - August 27 - 11:56 pm

  We love our Hyundai. It is not quite as frugal on gas as my Chevy cavalier was but much more comfortable to drive and a lot more power and luxery inside. Rented one to drive from Dallas, tx to ca on vacation and was so impressed with it we went out and bought one the same month we got back. For the money it is a great buy. We love the built in XM radio and 6 disc cd player. So far no complaints with it. But have several with dealer.

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  great truck - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By girlfrn - August 27 - 5:06 pm

  i recently got rid of a 2003 ford focus zx3 for this truck. i loved my car but i love this truck even better. the warranty is great and i love the truck. the look, the feel and the way it drives.

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  First week of owning new Genesis - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By jw - August 26 - 5:16 pm

  Having owned virtually every German and Japanese make on the market, I decided in todays economy, practicality should win out over creature comforts and German engineering. After owning a Genesis 3.8 for just one week, I am convinced that while my decision was certainly practical, I will not lose out on creature comforts, performance or quality. This car is an absolute winner and every time I get into it, I smile knowing that it will cost me less than half the cost of my E320 over the life of the car and I can honestly say that it has better features, comfort, style and performance. This car is a winner and if Hyundai can get the suspension right, they will really be on to something big.

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  BEST value !! - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Romer - August 25 - 5:16 pm

  My nephew was first looking at a used Honda Civic. After I told him he could get a fully loaded Elantra GLS with traction control and ABS for $13,352 (w/ a $1250 mfr. rebate), we took one out for a test drive with 4 adults and AC running. It had a great take off with 4 adults in and the AC running. The 10 year power terrain warranty is better than what Honda, Toyota or Nissan offers. Gas mileage is in the upper 2os for city and mid 30s for highway. The fit and finish is really good and the ride is comfortable. There is --NO WAY-- you can find a better package for this kind of money. Out the door ( with tax and everything included ), it was $14.8K.

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  Bought First Hyundai in US. Hyundais Ever Since - 2013 Hyundai Azera
  By Jim Stevens - August 25 - 8:51 am

  I and my family have owned Hyundais for over 29 years. Thats right "FOR OVER 29 YEARS. Hyundai entered the U.S. market in 1986 with the introduction of its subcompact Excel. Our family has bought and enjoyed every Hyundai we have purchased since that time. We have owned over 8 Hyundais since their conception in the United States. Long story short, ALL have performed exceptionally well with minimal and or no repair required. They have improved exceptionally over the years and in my opinion, Hyundai is one of the best keep secrets in the automotive industry and one of the best vehicles on the road today. All of us are committed to Hyundai and will but nothing else. As far as my current vehicle, the 2013 Azera, FANTASTIC . Friends of ours have had their Chevy s and Fords in the shop multiple times for repairs. Not our Hyundais.

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  I love this little car - 2013 Hyundai Veloster
  By builderjoy - August 24 - 1:46 pm

  I have looked at these for a while and driven several different types of cars, but this little guy is super, my grandbaby has his own back door, the airbags are superior. The value was great and I love it!!!!!

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  Car pulls to the left and Rough change from gas to hybrid - 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By alejandromg85 - August 24 - 5:22 am

  I bought a 2012 Sonata hybrid 3 months ago. I loved the car as soon as I saw it. When I started driving it there were no problems at all. After 1 month the car started being pulled to the left. Dealer said nothing wrong with it. Now when driving in hybrid mode the car has a vibration and shakes hard when change to gas. Dealer said nothing wrong with it. I dont really like the car with that problems. The price was 30.000 dollars and they were supposed to fix the problem. Im gonna keep it cause is my first new car and I dont have any other option since Hyundai was the only dealer that gave me a 0.9% rate to own it. Interior and comfort is 10/10. Design is 10/10.