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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  good buy - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By mariogp - May 20 - 9:16 am

  So far this car has been performing as expected. Im geting around 33-34 mpg city/hwy mix driving. Im having a hard time finding a comfortable sitting position, sometimes it feels lke the back of the seet is poking my ribs. the rear window view is not so good. there is a blind spot on drivers side mirrior. The car drives very soft, the stearing took me some time to get used to but its ok.

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  Great SUV..Until over 90K miles - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Melony - May 19 - 1:20 pm

  I really enjoyed this vehicle, and hoped it would last a lot longer; I certainly wasnt ready to see it go. I had one of the 89 Hyundais, standard transmission, and the trans went out at 60K, so I knew it was short lived...I only had it in the shop a few times, and at 97k miles, the check engine light came on again, and I had a gut feeling it was bad. I didnt take it to repair, I drove straight to the nearest dealer and traded in (not another Hyundai). The dealer called the next day wanting to know what the trick was to starting it. Evidently they couldnt start it (I hadnt had that problem) when they went to wholesale it. Long story short, BAD NEWS, the engine evidently bit the dust

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  standard stuff - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By scott - May 16 - 9:36 pm

  The Santa Fe was my 1st new purchase and very happy with it. At my age I wanted something sporty and nice looking. I love my new Sonata, has everything I liked and was able to custom it for me, such as sharp chrome rims and a spoiler, and it gets lots of looks. The comfort is as good as the santa fe but the mileage is even better. but once again theres no lighting for the door lock buttons.

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  Honda Vs Hyndai - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Eric in a minvan - May 16 - 8:38 pm

  After much inner debate and multiple test drives of both vehicles I choose the Hyundai Entourage Limited over the Honda Odyssey EX. The bottom line reasons are because the Entourage was $5,000 cheaper and had more equipment and a better warranty. Which is the better minivan? I would say that the Honda has a more refined engine, drive train than the Hyundai. I just could not get over the price difference. I received $2500 back plus an additional $1500 off because the dealer had the car since last August. My report card grads are the follwing: Honda gets an A while the Hyndai gets an B+. When you factor in price the Hyndai moves up to an A minus and the Honda still gets an A

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  Great Price Value - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Ed - May 16 - 7:10 am

  Have owned 5 Toyotas and 2 Hondas, Hyundai beats both on price for features. Several consumer publications state the reliability is on par to Toyota and Honda. Replaced an 02 Corolla with 157,000 miles with Elantra Touring. Potential buyers should note the Touring is based on a Hyundai i30 sold in Germany, not the Elantra sedan sold in US. The ride is firmer and the steering tighter. The Touring feels more like a Civic than a Corolla. Got a great deal and service from Hyundai of St. Augustine, FL. No typical car dealer tactics.

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  cant touch the deal - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By m & m - May 16 - 2:00 am

  Does everything I ask it to and at that kind of money, Honda, Toyota, Mazda, none can touch it. Gets me from here to there (commutes over 120 miles) with no fuss and easily cruises at high speeds. Big back seat fits car poolers and more than enough power to pass.

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  Great Vehicle for a Small Family - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Devnath Vasudevan - May 15 - 7:39 pm

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  Questions - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Disappointed - May 15 - 7:33 pm

  Bought the car in jan. 2007, it has 1.500 kms, and I am wondering if the car has front suspension at all... Very noisy in irregular road, the front tren and the direction are causing knockings I am not very happy with...feels like driving a 100.000 kms used car. Further, the audio is poor and in the highway very noisy ( wind )

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  A very pleasant surprise - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By guybrarian - May 15 - 5:00 pm

  Were a small family of 3 and we decided to upgrade from a subcompact after the arrival of #3. After 1 year of research - I was looking for more space and more safety - I stumbled upon this gem. There is more than enough space for road tripping and the cabin is quiet and well designed. I enjoy not seeing the car everywhere...In the past 4 weeks Ive seen only 2!

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  Good LIttle car - 1996 Hyundai Accent
  By tzz50 - May 15 - 2:48 pm

  Just got the a few weeks ago but no big mess ups yet but it has the capability to be a good street racer.