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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  Amazing Buy!!! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jason - March 1 - 11:19 am

  I purchased my 2003 elantra when it was about 2 years old and had abour 80,000 miles on it. Now, Ive had it for 2 years and am so in love with it. I have put on almost 60,000 miles in 2 years. Ive changed oil, brakes and headlights.... thats it! I think that is great since it is just shy of 140,000 miles. I have two jobs one requires occasional highway miles to be put on the car and the other is delivering pizzas. Yes 60,000 miles with about 2/3 of those as pizza delivery miles. Simply amazing! I was about to make an offer on a 1994 Honda Accord with over 100,000 miles when this fell in my lap for less than $1,000 more than what I was going to offer. My MPG averages City 24 /HWY 32

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  Visiblity, windshield, horn, acceleration - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By linda - March 1 - 10:00 am

  Immediately after the purchase, looking through the windshield was a distorted view, Feeling as if cars were coming into my lane on either side- especially the lower portion has a bad ripple, The dealer is replacing the entire windshield. There must be numerous cars that were produced with the same glass. Also the horn can not be heard in traffic, Also occasionally the acceleration issues. Also, the leather has started to loosen up and buckle on the seats, not a good grade of leather

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  Good Value - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Vince - February 28 - 10:03 pm

  It may not be the best midsize car, but it in the top 5 of the midsize cars and for the price its not bad. Out of 10 I give it a 7.5, lets be for real no car is a 10 humans make them.

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  great little car - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By sam - February 28 - 1:29 pm

  Lots of extra features I did nor expect. Get used to the road noise. Great warranty and they live up to it.

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  SO happy with my purchase! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Alyssa - February 26 - 10:20 pm

  This is the first new car Ive ever bought;I was car shopping for over a year prior. I test drove Civics and Corollas (in my price range) for about two months and something wasnt grabbing me. As soon as I test drove the Elantra, I knew that was my car. The interior is really good looking (get so many compliments, especially at night with the blue lights). I also love all the features (esp. the XM and radio controls on the steering wheel) and the drive is very smooth and secure. The car turns well and I love driving on the highway (quiet, good pickup). NOTE: I got a spoiler and it makes it that much cuter!

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  Very Fast, Quiet Engine, Smooth Ride - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Love it - February 26 - 3:33 am

  This car rides very good, very fast too, got a lot of power. I had a hard time adjusting my foot on the pedal, because it moves very fast. Other than that, the A/C is so powerful, big trunk space and lots of features. But its really a good ride.

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  Vehicle review - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jennifer H. - February 25 - 2:00 am

  I am been really pleased with my vehicle. Excellent warranty and seems to be well made. Standards features are wonderful. A bit of a gas hog. Overall, it is a great car for the money.

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  Good So Far - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Chambers - February 24 - 6:10 pm

  Purchased new in Feb 06. Price was great, dealer was willing to negotiate when we told him we were cross shopping Hondas and Toyotas. Avg MPG 25, which is good for that V6, it moves. Crack in dashboard at 4k, passanger seat replaced due to rattle at 8k, oil leak fixed at 12k...little worried about the quality. Have had more issues than wifes 99 Camry with 170k on it. God Bless the waranty and cross your fingers. This is our first Hyundai purchase and so far would purchase another if the price is right.

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  Great Vehicle, Great Price - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Marc - February 22 - 10:50 pm

  The car rides and handles well. I had one problem with an oil leak the first day. It seems the oil press. sender was loose. Funny click noise from the tranny when going from reverse to drive. Not sure if this is normal. Good gas mileage avg. 27-28mpg with 80% highway driving. I wonder if some of the cars with poor fuel economy have their tires inflated properly. My tires looked flat at the recomended 30 psi. So now I have them set at 36 psi. This gives me a little less rolling resistance, but the ride is a little more harsh. I am a salesman on the road most of the day. It is a nice treat to get into this car knowing the deal on price and what the car offers in comfort and highway ride.

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  Dealers are rip-offs - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By KK - February 21 - 11:45 pm

  Previously, I wrote my review about the transmission braking at 69,000 miles and the dealer said they wont honor the warranty because the transmission wasnt flushed. I went to AAMC for a replacement and paid $2800. I wrote a letter to Hyundai Corp. telling them what happened. I received a call from the corp. office. After I sent all the documentation to prove I still owned the car and the receipt from AAMCO, I received a check for the full amount I paid for the transmission. I found that its not the Hyundai Manufacturer, its the DEALER that rips people off. If you have any problems, go directly to the manufacter not the dealer!