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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  Watch Out - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By kwiff1939 - March 6 - 3:28 am

  quality of leather poor, color off on driver seat back within three months. replacement has same problem. dealership will not replace again. driver door weather seal poor. wore away within few months. replaced one time only. replacement worn out as well. same problem existed on 2002 elantra. replaced three times before trading car in.too many ordinary wear and tear answers. headlight and battery replaced under warranty. hyundai usa will not help. states that the district manager has last say. gas milage poor compared to other similar makes.

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  problems with throttle sensor - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By liza - March 5 - 11:10 pm

  I have had the car for approx 3 years now. At about the 42,000 mile mark the car developed a problem. While driving the car the rpm suddenly started revving up and dropping back down. The car lunges forward on its own, then jerks backward. It lunges back and forth as you drive. Wasnt able to make it home. Had the car towed. Dealer said it was the throttle sensor. Fixed it. The car worked for 3 months then developed the same problem. Had it towed again. Same problem. This happened again 3 months later. Im actually starting to fear driving this car. If Im on the highway when this happens I could get killed. Im considering getting rid of the car and getting something else.

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  Steering Problems! Think before you buy. - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By acrossley - March 5 - 3:43 pm

  Overall, this car is not worth buying. Plagued with rattles and wind noise right off the lot, and more importantly, the steering. The Sonatas steering is entirely too sensitive and requires constant correction on the highway. Dont let the dealer tell you its because it has electric power steering, this is not why something is wrong with the steering. Go drive another car with electric power steering and you will find it to be worlds more comfortable to control than the Sonata. My arm is literally tired from keeping it in a straight line. If you go on a test drive, try staying in the middle of your lane; it is impossible. This steering problem is a safety issue.

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  2005 Elantra - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rob - March 4 - 4:10 pm

  I compared & test drove many many vehicles including the Kia Spectra before purchasing the Elantra. For a communter car, the overall quality, reliability and pricing made this a no brainer. The only complaint I have is the gas mileage during local/city driving. I get great mileage on the highway but the city/local mileage seems to suffer severely. But I guess I should not complain too much because the gas mileage is way better than my Chevy Suburban. I did not get the $300 CD Player option, instead purchased an Alpine/Kenwood system & installed it myself for the same price. Overall I think this is an excellent value when everything is factored in.

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  Buy It!!! - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By see - March 3 - 10:00 am

  This has been a wonderful vehicle. Weve owned it for since 3/02 and it already has 30k miles. Its been a comfortable and fun ride on 2 different road trips.

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  Great sports coupe - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By JKR - March 3 - 10:00 am

  The 6 speed manual V6 GT version is fun to drive and though its a little lacking in the power department there is still enough power and great torque. Seats are comfortable as well. Good styling, very good price and awesome warranty. Overall great buy.

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  GLS after 6 months - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By legomom - March 3 - 10:00 am

  After 6k running ok. Nice exterior - gets lots of looks and washes up nicely, especially bumpers. Initial acceleration is a little hesitant. Seats are somewhat hard and flat. Front interior is small for 6 ft. tall people. Back trunk has lots of room and easy access.

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  Good Deal - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Hyundai Buyer - March 3 - 10:00 am

  What looks like a full size SUV with interior room to match for a very low price. Well thought out features. With the extended warranty, reliability is a non-issue.

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  Decent but leaves a lot to be desired - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Martin - March 3 - 2:13 am

  Overall, a good value for the money compared with other SUVs in this class.However...at 4000 km there was an oil leak which took 3 trips to the dealership and was finally fixes with silocone sealant.During the winter,the windshield washer fluid reservoir broke and had to be replaced.Windshield is surprisingly fragile - accidentally dropped the wiper arm when replacing the wipers and the windshield cracked all the way to the top.I also have a 2005 Chevy Malibu and the Santa Fe is missing a lot of the nice add-ons.It even doesnt have auto on headlights (come on, I get leather seats and not this!).I have had less problems with my Chevy (and previous one) in 5 years than with the Santa Fe in 1.

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  Good Value - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By HunnyCar - March 1 - 5:55 pm

  Fun to drive, especially for a wagon. Handling is zippy and predictable, The 2-liter V6 is smooth and predictable. Reliability has been good at 49,000 miles, but the radio gave out early.