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 Experience - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By From Texas - January 13 - 9:44 pm

  In the short time we have had the car, we are very impressed with the quality, ride, & features. We have the 2010 3.8 with the Technology & Premium Packages. The value for the money can not be equaled. We are looking forward to many years with the car

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  Best car Ive ever owned! - 2009 Hyundai Azera
  By RBuck - January 12 - 1:16 pm

  I spend a lot of time driving since I commute 4 hrs per day. Thus, I have already put 29K miles on this car in only 11 mos. I am 59 and have owned/driven a lot of cars, including some very expensive ones (both foreign & domestic). And this car is, without a doubt, "the best" car I have ever owned. Hyundai is producing some great products at a reasonable price. The closest equivalent car would be a Toyota Avalon but the Azera rides better, is more powerful, quieter, and more responsive in handling. Yet the price of an Azera is thousands less than an Avalon. Great workmanship & reliability: like I said, I have put 29K miles on this car already without any mechanical problems. Great car!

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  Could use improvement - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By nutsaboutcars - January 12 - 10:41 am

  The first hundreds of miles were great like the quiet ride v8 engine and styling

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  Great Car - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Gary - January 11 - 3:19 pm

  Our 04 Elantra was a great car for us. Unfortunately, it just got totaled after an accident. It was very reliable for us and we put minimal money into it outside of maintenance. We would definitely buy another one. It was our first car but will also probably be the best car we ever buy.

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  Great Reliability - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Michael Jordan - January 11 - 2:52 pm

  this has been a great car. very reliable, have not had one mechanical problem with this car. i would buy this car again.

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  Brakes and Tires - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kadaro - January 11 - 8:51 am

  I have 2 of the 2003s for my kids. Both are great and have one major flaw. You cant get the tires off if you get a flat. The steel rims rust to the hubs and needs a large rubber mallet to remove! This happened multiple times on both cars. Also, replacing front brake rotors....I couldnt remove them, and both cars the shop had to use a sledge hammer and bust the rotors off. They seize to the inner hub with rust.

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  Its an alright car - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kevin - January 10 - 10:24 pm

  I bought my Elantra used 1/22/07 with 16,000 on the clock. For the first year of owning car was really nice , but has come down with a plague of problems a clicking when only turning the wheel to the right, a clicking or tapping noise from the engine compartment, and a hesitation problem only when really cold out side till it warms up. Been to the deal for all of these issues more then once and still not fixed. It rather cold in Nj and a week ago the car interior has come down with some creaks and rattles as well. be sides these issues the car does drive and handle well. I may have just got a dud. Gf has an 04 tibby V6 and it has been amazing no issues at all. I would buy a Hyundai again tho

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  it has been a good car - 1998 Hyundai Elantra
  By george - January 10 - 8:22 pm

  this car has gave me better service than the gm s i have owned they r crap this car is cheaper and was more reliable than my saturn and cavalier but dont get the automatic model the trans r crap and if you change the timing belt when you should you will have no problems with the engine the worse design is the front rotors the r a bad design but i updated them to 2000 spindles which spindles r better but all car have so flaws and this one has a lot less than the others have been a mechanic 4 30 years have worked on everything and this is one of the better cars maintenance is the key to a lot of them but transmission problems is a problem with all the automakers right now

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  Incredibly worry-free - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By NoWorriesSonata - January 10 - 11:07 am

  I travel a lot of miles in the city and on the highway between Denver, Albuquerque, and Flagstaff. This vehicle has been completely flawless. I follow all manufacturers recommended maintenance intervals: oil changes, drive belt, timing belt, spark plugs, etc. I will probably never sell this car as I am sure it will give me at least 250,000 good miles before any major repair is needed. Take good care of your Hyundai and it will take better care of you!

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  One of the best used car values around - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By mattba - January 9 - 9:09 pm

  My Elantra is a 5spd model. Excellent power and fuel economy. Very good build quality and very comfortable for the class. This car feels like it will run forever. The only negatives are the ease in which you can dent the body panels and the engine turns a bit to many rpms at highway speeds for my taste. The resale value is poor, which makes it an excellent used car value. I bought mine in Dec. of 08 with 23,000 miles on it for $7.5k Would highly recommend the Elantra