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--Not Great Car for the Money - 2009 Hyundai Azera
  By rthiess - April 7 - 9:36 am

  Having come from a heavy Lincoln Town Car with a 205HP engine, I can say that I would be happy with the 233HP engine. With the 263HP engine, its a rocket. The drive-ability is amazing. Its very sure footed, even in the rain. Its not unusual for me to drive over 500 miles in a day. This car is comfortable on those long hauls. With slightly more than 20K miles on the car, nothing - nothing - has gone wrong!

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  Love it! - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By HappyJackie - April 5 - 11:01 pm

  This was my first car, and I love it! It came with tinted windows, a sunroof, and leather seats. It is black, and very sleek looking. It looks like it costs way more than it actually is. Great gas mileage. My friends are jealous that I have such a great car. Very reliable. I also love the fact that if I leave my keys in the ignition, and I open the door and try to lock it, it automatically unlocks itself so that I never leave my keys in the car. Overall a very nice car for a very nice price.

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  a - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By shean - April 5 - 10:00 am

  it a very good car. and a lot of car for the money

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  performs well in snow - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By chad50 - April 5 - 10:00 am

  this vehicle has really earned my respect since ive owned my santa fe,ive not had one problem with it.at first i was kind of skepticle has to if i made the right discision to purchase a hyundai due to hyundais past history of reliability,but i must say im very much impressed. not only do i know i made the write discision,im glad i did as well.

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  my review - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By millermd - April 5 - 10:00 am

  Driver sea should be electric adjustable and be able to move back more than it can

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  Fantastic Ride!!! - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Lisa - April 4 - 5:10 pm

  Great job Hyundai! Love the handling of the Veracruz. Quiet ride.

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  GLS v6 (Canadian) - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By DPB - April 4 - 8:06 am

  I owned an 18-yrs old Taurus that Id had for the last ten years. I decided to by a new car since I wanted something with a warranty. Hyundais warranty is included in the price and its 5-yrs bumper to bumper, well almost..! I always had Fords or British Leyland cars. Before buying the Sonata I looked at the v6 versions of the Fusion, G6, Mazda-6 and the Altima. The last two were too expensive. When comparing the Fusion & G6 the Sonata out paced them in all areas. I got a great deal at the dealership whos knowledge of this product was excellent. I have done 13,500km without any issues. Those journeys from Calgary to Edmonton are less tiring now & more comfortable. Excellent car.

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  Great SUV - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By REL - April 3 - 2:26 pm

  The Veracruz is a very quiet smooth riding suv with very good quality, it has many extra features for the money. The only problem I have with the Veracruz is the gas mileage, it is less than I expected.

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  QuickSilver Luxury - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ralph T. - April 2 - 4:53 pm

  This is my third Elantra and it is by far the best. It is loaded with features and it has been turning heads wherever I go. Thats pretty cool when you turn heads in a car that cost less than 20K. The only option I did not get was leather, but the cloth seats warm up quickly on these cool northeast mornings. Next week I am taking it on a trip and I cant wait to see how comfortable it is on the long trip.

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  Limited AWD - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Pabs54321 - March 31 - 9:10 pm

  We bought the Santa Fe so that we could transport our newborn grand daughter. My wife had a Mustang convertible and it was impossible to place the child in the car seat. We looked at quite a few SUVs and chose the Santa Fe. I never thought Id enjoy driving an SUV but I do enjoy the Santa Fe. My only complaint is the gas mileage, it is almost as bad as my V-8 powered truck which is also a 4X4.