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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  Great Car, Excellent Value - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Warren - June 21 - 10:00 am

  Paid $10,745 out-the-door for a base model w/ A/T and mud guards. No problems in 15,400-miles. Get 32-MPG with my approx. 80% highway commute. Impressive number of standard features and nice interior (power w/l/m, adjustable drivers seat, plenty of storage compartments, padded armrests, hooks on the floor mats, map lights, overhead storage compartment for glasses, vanity mirrors on both sun visors, retractable cup holder for rear seat). Very good build quality. Nice styling. Powerful engine. Very good ride (easy to handle, easy to modulate brakes, soaks up bumps well, little engine and road noise intrudes cabin). Great car, excellent value.

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  Amazing, Great drivers car - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By tiblover123 - June 21 - 1:39 am

  Fun to drive, even with a 2.0 4 cylinder it has quite a bit of power compared to some other 4 cylinders. gets going quick, and looks great. when im stopped at a red light i can see people driving by in mustangs and camaros looking at it. a little hard on pot holes, but on smooth road its like a dream.

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  Quality, Reliability and Comfort - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Michael H. - June 19 - 5:57 pm

  I bought this car the day after it arrived in Sacramento. 8 yrs later, the only problem was a sun visor. 71,000 miles without a hitch. Driven short distances in town and long trips to Louisiana. Air conditioning has never been touched and works great today. Leather interior is still great. Never a problem with belts or handles and the exterior paint(Champagne) is still shining as the day I bought it. Acceleration has improved with age. The sun roof works perfect as does the cruise control, lights, radio, cd changer, and Sirius radio. I recently put new Bridgestone Potenzas and brake pads. The tires I had removed showed absolutely no suspension or alignment problems. The rotors did not need attention either. Nothing on the car has given any problem except the one sun visor I replaced for 36 bucks. The remote trunk release, the steering wheel controls an the remote fobs all continue to work flawlessly. This has been a value that I will not part with as I intend to buy another Hyundai soon to replace my Van.

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  well designed hybrid that is fun to drive - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By r_l_r - June 19 - 3:56 pm

  I am pleased with my Hyundai Sonata hybrid. The car rides well. The suspension absorbs bumps and yet holds the road. The car has good accelerating and excellent dry and wet braking. I did not notice any tendency to pull to either side while driving or braking. Fuel efficiency has been over 40 mpg in city and over 45 on the highway. The controls are arranged logically and within easy reach. Most of the important controls are on or near the steering wheel. The standard version comes with most of the features one needs (I added heated front seats). I particularly like the bluetooth feature which enables full hands free phone use.

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  OK CAR - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By OK CAR - June 19 - 9:00 am

  I have read some of the other reviews and I agree with some of them. The Tib is not a very sound car, I mean you can hear alot of outside noise when you have two people in the car you have to turn up the radio to hear it at all over the outside noise and normal conversation. I have also had tires replaced and they sell for $200 each. I am now on my third set of headlights and taillights. The paint is less than desired. I had bird droppings on the car and in less than a day it took off the clear coat. The car co. wanted to charge me $2000 to paint. I dont know if I would buy another one especially from this Dealership. Service people are not very nice and it takes 3 hr to change oil.

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  More then you expect and pay for. - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By victory11 - June 19 - 5:43 am

  Owned gls with pop package for six months now. Fantastic car in this segment. Perfect performance everytime. Remote start installed and have had 0 problems. No adjustments, no glitches. Tire noise on rough roads gets a bit noisy, but mainly due to low resistance tires enhancing road noise. Smooth road....like butta! Suspension smooth and controlled, but not floaty. No rattles, squeeks, noises..(except loose objects in top of console will rattle.). Placed liner in and rattling stopped. Many dress up options on ebay, including chrome wheel skins for only 69.00 set of four. Car looks expensive, but doesnt give buyers remorse. Tons of room, seats comfortable. MPG 23/35 avg with eco.

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  Safety & Value with good looks to boot!! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Rich H. - June 18 - 1:30 pm

  The new Sonata represents a quantum leap forward for Hyundai. Contemporary, competitive design, good looks, safety features galore, considerate little touches, plenty of room (more than Accord or Camry), good fuel economy and great pricing. I like it! Looking forward to Hyundais next round of product releases.

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  Worth a Test Drive!!! - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By askme81 - June 18 - 10:00 am

  I Love my new car, i was going to get a Kia but i decided that the Elantra was the same price with way more options. I like the way it drives...a lot better than the Kia also. The test drive will say it all so i recommend you take one! :)

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  Just one day in and I love it. - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ro11tyd - June 18 - 1:53 am

  Left from home convinced we were coming home in a Murano. We spent 2 hours at the Nissan dealership only to find that we would only be able to get a stripped down Murano in our price range. We went two miles down the road and stopped to drive a Santa Fe. I just couldnt believe how much SUV we got for the money. Bigger, more features, cheaper, and better safety rating than the Murano. Love putting my wife and 2 year old son in such a safe reliable vehicle. If safety is a priority, then you have to give this thing a look. Save the money, get the features. My step-mother turned us on to the Santa Fe when she traded in her Navigator for a 2009. She likes it better than her $50,000.

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  Love Hyundai - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Brian - June 17 - 11:03 pm

  This is my second Sonata and third Hyundai. I liked my 06 Sonata but traded up for a a 10 Tucson. The ride quality of the 06 Sonata waso much better than the 10 Tucson. Im a 38 year old male and decided I needed a vehicle with better ride quality, but I never expected the 15 Sonata to ride as well as it does. I love this vehicle. My ex had a 12 bmw 328 xi and I can only feel the difference of steering in drive/ride quality from his Beemer to my 15 Sonata Limited. Hyundai has really leaped forward! Very impressed!