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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  Second best car Ive owned . Feels luxury ! - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Edvark - March 27 - 2:52 am

  Very comfortable and smooth car styled for the older , upper middle-class . Often mistaken for a Lincoln of similar vintage , very classy . Great safety features and amazing warranty . Only car I enjoyed better was a Lotus Europa during my wasted youth .

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  My 2001 Hyundai Elantra GT - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rebecca - March 26 - 1:03 pm

  I have owned this car since 2002, with 4000 miles on it, this car has been reliable and fun to drive, great for a 17 year old or an adult, and comes fully loaded I would definatly reccomend this car to others that are looking, and GREAT on gas, as I drive all day for my business.

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  Fun car - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By ed - March 23 - 1:42 pm

  For how cheap this car is, it is the best ever, i get ok gas mileage about 26-27, but i drive fast. i get 28-30 when i drive sane, and freeway for trips i get 35, once in the mountains driving around 45mph i got around 42. this car can go fast i drove it thru the desert going to tuscon with no one around on the freeway and i was going 110 and it still got good mileage like 33. i love driving this car. this car is off the ground more than most sedans today so i can drive over normal things without worrying

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  One fun little sporty econo-car - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By crzydmnd - March 22 - 4:23 pm

  To me, this car is the best combination of having good gas mileage (Im averaging around 33 MPG currently, mix of city and hwy) and good looks. Im partial to hatchbacks and this one is a looker. The interior quality is nice, nicer than the Mk4 VW Golf I owned in the past. The Dual Clutch transmission takes some getting used to (when you let off the brake, the clutch engages and car starts rolling, just like if you had a manual and put it into 1st gear). I like not having a "slush box" between the engine and wheels. Some people have complained about the lack of power. Sure, in 1st and 2nd gears it is fairly gutless, but once you get to 3rd it can really accelerate due to the low weight

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  Noisy Front Strut - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By earllex - March 19 - 11:00 pm

  My vehicle has a noisy right front strut, that is quite noticeable on bumps and rough roads. 2 attempts by dealer to correct has failed. Attempting arbitration to resolve issue.

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  Transmission Trouble - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Craig Christiansen - March 19 - 12:50 pm

  We purchased the 2007 Veracruz and actually loved it for a while. After 10,000 miles, the transmission starts to have some serious problems. When traveling at 45-50 mph, the transmission automatically drops into a low gear, where it becomes noisy and starts rumbling and vibrating. We took the vehicle in for service on 4 occasions. The service dept would not even admit a problem until a corporate technician verified it. Even then, they said that there was nothing they could do to fix it. The reviews comparing it to a Lexus might apply when brand new, but not with 10k miles on it. We tested 3 other Veracruz models at the dealer, but the same problem was present in each (to different degrees).

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  Good car could of been great - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By GregNice23 - March 18 - 11:23 pm

  I love the interior and exterior styling of the car. I wish the cars rear did not look too much like the 05 Accords, it needs its own identity. The front seats are very uncomfortable. The seat belt warning light does not turn off if you are not wearing one. The suspension is horrible, you feel every bump. It is not as silky smooth like an Accord or Camry. The steering wheel radio buttons serve no purpose, all they change is the volume and not your presets or cd track. It needs break away mirrors. This is a nice car but if they fix all my complaints this car beats an Accord and Toyota hands down, but it doesnt and this is why Hyundai will never beat a Honda or Toyota. It will always be # 3

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  A contender - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Anders - March 17 - 11:00 am

  I have the 2008 base model. I am very impressed by how good the car is, both in performance, comfort and design. It is very competitive with the 2005 Honda Pilot I also have. In exterior design and ride it is even better. My only peeve is the audio quality, which lacks resolution and "life" compared to may other OEM systems.

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  Not bad - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rob - March 13 - 4:23 am

  Had car for over 3 years, and with a lot of interstate driving around Chicago, I am on my 4th front windshield. My front fog lights have burned out twice, replaced 1 headlight, and on my second set of tires already. Gas mileage isnt bad. Definitely better than my wifes Lexus. Added aftermarket Sirius(hate XM) and aftermarket in dash GPS/DVD. Other than usual maintenance, it gets the job done. It isnt flashy, and of course you see them everywhere now, so thats good I guess. Front of car is making sounds now, coworker said it may be struts?

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  Decent Daily Driver - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Blue-GK - March 12 - 8:06 pm

  I bought my Tiburon to serve as a daily commuter. The performance isnt overwhelming, but the V6 offers the torque delivery that makes the car feel much more relaxed on the freeway, and more responsive at the lights. The styling may make it look a lot more potent than it is, however, as its not a fast car by any means. Notably, the rearward visibility in this car is low. It can be quite difficult to back out of spaces simply because you have to take a leap of faith to do it. Overall, Im not disappointed. I test drove an automatic, which was incredibly slow. The manual was the better choice, in my opinion. Ive had a few issues with it, but nothing excessive for a 6- year old car.