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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  Zippy little ride - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Mrs.Alvarado - May 14 - 10:04 pm

  This is a fun little car to drive that is most comfortable for smaller people. My husband, who is 61" and 240 lbs. does NOT enjoy this car, and would be hard to fit in the back seat. Also, you can not get a large stroller in the trunk, nor can you get a rear-facing car seat in the back without pushing the seat all the way to the front. With that being said, its got fantastic MPG, great looks, my children and I love to be in it and it was a great price!

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  So far - So good - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Jeff - May 11 - 3:32 pm

  I have had my Accent Hatchback for one week so far. Do not like the plastic doors. Too easy to scratch. What were they thinking?? Radio only partially worked, dealer had to order me another one, no biggie. Fuel economy on the second tank of gas not living up to its hype. I will give it a month and see what happens. If my Hyundai does not impress me in the first year, I will not buy another one. Too much to choose from that are just like it.

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  Was Sonota Hype more than their Quality - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By SONOTTTTTA - May 7 - 6:50 pm

  Have two 06 & 07 nice cars but less than expectations my 07 is in the shop because of rear noise like swishing of gas, was told that this seems to be a random ongoing problem with Sonotas, have loaner now while the beat goes on with the rear noise. Owned Hondas, Toyotas, now Hyundais. Hyundais overall quality has me questioning did I fall for hype or is it truly a quality vehicle time will tell my 2007 has 1800 miles on it swish knock, swish knock,swish knock,swish knock the beat goes on.........Ps Prior to the 07 Sonota I had a 06 Tucson I traded with 1800 miles it was in the shop for grinding warped rotors all these little things have me questioning quailty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  STAY AWAY !!!!! - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Colleen - May 7 - 1:03 pm

  I purchased my car brand new from the dealer in aug 2000. Everything was great I loved the car until it was about 4 yrs old. (I still have to this day) since then I have had 3 transmissions replaced, many tail light wires and brackets (they keep blowing all the time sometimes even 15 min after replacing) speed sensor went on it. The check engine light kept coming on after countless times, the dealer couldnt even fix it but my boyfriend actually fixed it in under 10 min. The very next time it was in the shop the dealer ripped my o2 sensor wires out and my car has been horrible since (they still deny they did it too) horrible service from dealer would never buy a Hyundai again stay far away!

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  Tucson 2005 - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Neptune - May 6 - 8:30 am

  The Tucson drives nicely with good handling charistics.

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  Value - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Rix - May 5 - 10:00 am

  Features a-plenty for a car in this price range. If the Sonata is an "entry-level" midsize - this is the "exit-level" midsize. I hope this holds up as well as my Sonata did.

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  I miss my santa fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By johnpa2006 - May 3 - 9:30 pm

  Built solid, I loved my Santa Fe. engine purred like a kitten from mile zero all the way up to 142000 miles when I traded it in. Bought in 2004, traded in 2008 I still regret trading it in to this day. So many practical use reasons to own a Santa Fe.

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  You can do a lot with a little! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Creative Kid - May 3 - 1:09 pm

  With gas going up on top of having to maintain a C55AMG, I said, "phooey" on cars and got something practical. Practical, yes, but quite the fun "be boppin around ride". My benz has a power sunroof, so does my new Elantra, My benz has heated seats, so does my new Elantra, My benz has leather interior, so does my new Elantra, My benz is roomy enough for 5 people, so is my Elantra. My benz gets 19mpg, my Elantra gets almost 40 on the freeway. Hmmm, somebody do the math here but, a $200/mo. car payment, with lower maintenance costs (if any) and gas mileage a tree hugger would love, what would be the only thing missing except the "keeping up with the Jones" mentality. This is value!

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  Pleasantly Surprised - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Thomas Lindsey - April 29 - 2:43 pm

  I bought this vehicle in 2001 just a couple months after the release. Today, I have 89,000 miles on it and I have been pleased with its performance over the last 7 years. Ive been to the dealer for only a few minor problems, the last and biggest was the power steering pump which was covered under my extended warranty. Ive been pleased by the total package; AWD, comfort, reliability, performance, etc. I know this car doesnt do any one thing extremely well, but it does everything pretty darn well. Its well-rounded and solid. My only real complaint has been the paint. I feel like the color coat is about 1mm thick. Its fading, scratches MUCH too easily, and no clear coat of which to speak.

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  The more I drive it, the more I love my Veloster - 2015 Hyundai Veloster
  By Edward Wronsky - April 29 - 11:19 am

  I would advise a potential buyer of a Veloster to lower your expectations and appreciate the car for what it is, not dwell on what it is not. My car has all the bells and whistles of my 2012 Optima in a smaller package. It is comfortable, easy to maneuver, convenient for schlepping, and great looking. Someone wiser than I once said its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. My only reservation is the iPod shuffle performance. It must be reset about once a month, and likes to default to "reading" about once a week. Other than that, I am delighted with my purchase.