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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  The little car that could - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Gearcat - June 18 - 5:30 pm

  I really like most everything about this car except for the low quality, hard plastic door panels which scratch so easily. The car handles and steers with great precision. Fuel mileage is not quite what is stated on the sticker. I average 28-30. I doubt Ill ever see 38 on the highway. The car is no dragster but its right in the pack with the other subcompacts. Its more fun to drive a slow car quickly than a fast car slowly anyway! Its very fun to drive and the speakers sound awesome with my new aftermarket HD stereo. I love the THUNK of the doors when they are shut. they sound like a luxury car. I dont find the car to be overly noisy at highway speeds. Its typical of the class.

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  half and half - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By rendawn - June 18 - 4:04 pm

  I love the drive of the Elantra and so far the mileage is great. Be careful when washing the car you dont want to apply too much pressure or you will dent your car. The interior is extremely comfortable but I have to go to the service dept this week to get the seat belt adjusting piece fixed,its stuck and the sunglass holder is broken and Ive never even used it. I have made more trips back to the dealer than Ive ever had to with a car. I previously owned a Tucson and I never had a single problem so I thought I would get the same quality with the Elantra. I hope nothing else breaks. Its fun to drive, handles nice but the cheap parts are cheap...I still prefer it over a Toyota or Honda

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  Love it, but... - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Brett VanBenschoten - June 15 - 10:55 am

  The automatic shift from depressing the gas pedal to accelerating is frighteningly, dangerously slow.

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  My XG350L - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By Pete Carlson - June 14 - 2:00 am

  Interior is Excellent. Rides like floating on a cloud. Have had in the ship twice for defects in mfg. Shorts in the wiring for A/C and sunroof

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  Alot of fun for the buck!!! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By yakkman - June 13 - 4:36 am

  I think the tiburon is a great buy for the money.It handles GREAT,has good power,and looks really good.I have owned my Tiburon for a little over a year and would buy another one in a heartbeat.I havent had any problems w/ it since I bought it.Horsepower is good (not great)but compared to other cars in its class,check out their price!With a few extras,this car would keep up and you still would have spent less and have a reliable,sporty vehicle.

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  Compare to more expensive cars - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Rocket Ron - June 12 - 10:30 pm

  Ive had this care for about 1500 miles and generally am very happy with it. Im excited to get in it in the morning and drive it. I have the top of the line model so I think you have to compare this car to the Lexus NX and Audi Q3. Both are 10K more than the Tucson. This car has all the luxury features that the others have. I now understand the future of driver less cars with all the sensor the Tucson has. It really does make you a safer driver. Although I love driving the car, I do have one concern. The turbo lag from a stand still is very noticeable. Sometime the car just does not respond for a few seconds. Im learning to compensate so I think it will get better, but that is one benefit of a larger engine. All in all I would definitely recommend this car.

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  Good all around car - 1997 Hyundai Elantra
  By Nathan Toke - June 12 - 5:07 pm

  I bought this as my first car in graduate school and it has served me well for three years and 20k miles. It has been reliable and easy to drive. The interior is really crappy as was the case with 1990s hyundais... many plastic parts are wearing down on the interior. The window motors start to die at 80k. Some of this could be enhanced because of sitting so long in the desert (phoenix) sun. The outside of the car is nice (although the paint has worn on the grill and the hub caps look pretty poor these days. The visibility in this car is supreme! which makes this car fun and easy to drive. It is better to drive on the highway at speeds between 60-75(33mpg) than the city (21mpg).

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  Affordable, Fun, & Smooth - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By CW - June 12 - 10:43 am

  The Tiburon GT, at minimum, is adequate in every area. Its ride is smooth and nimble. The experts claim that the handling is "numb", but I have found it to be the best handling car that I have ever driven.(That includes Acura TL, Acura CL, Honda Civic, Ford Taurus SHO, and Ford Mustang) The brakes are extremely responsive and took some getting use to. The engine is a little weak, considering it is a V6 with 172 HP, but it will give enough pep for realistic driving. I have been extremely pleased with the gas mileage. Critics, and Hyundai themselves have posted 17/23 MPG, while I have been consistently getting 25-27 MPG when driving conservative. Overall, I am satisfied with my purchase.

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  car of the furture - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By mailman1 - June 8 - 10:00 am

  Want a excellent car; that will superize you. Check out what Hyundai has to offer. This car really puts the american car industries to shame. I believe that we have to either keep up with the forign auto industries or be left out; in the pasture to wither away.

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  Never Buy A Hyundai - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By rdw59 - June 6 - 8:43 pm

  My wife needed a car for her business with space. Read all the reviews and comparisons. Purchased the Elantra Touring. Radio never worked right, but would not act up at the dealership. Then the ignition switch started locking up (will not turn) no problems with the keys.My wife would not drive because she didnt want to be stranded. Dropped the vehicle off @ dealership, said 2 weeks for ignition switch. We have been waiting 4 weeks. They do not stock parts in the US for this car. Waiting for the part from Korea. Can you believe this? Cant wait to get this fixed so I can get rid of this thing. I have had to rent a car, no help from the dealership or from Hyundai.