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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  Comfy but not practical - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By nomer - February 21 - 8:23 pm

  Bought this 10 months ago and am looking to trade it in even though I know I will take a loss. has tons of cargo space and leg room, but the motor works too hard. Doesnt feel like it shifts properly. Not very darty--takes a long time to accelerate. Gas mileage for me has been consistently at 18 miles and less. I have never gotten even 19 mile per gallon as stated. 14 gallon tank is small--feels like I am always at the gas station. radio and amenities are positioned well for a comfy ride. Great heat and A?C but is hard to hear radio over it--not strong speakers

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  Hyundai Santa Fe 3.5 L GLS AWD - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Dave - February 21 - 9:16 am

  This has been a good vehicle since buying used. Great interior layout and features for the price. Gas consumption and braking could be better. No problems so far. Would recommend this vehicle to anyone wanting a good comfortable SUV.

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  Shark attack - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By John - February 19 - 4:06 pm

  I just bought my Tiburon SE one week ago. The prices that they are selling these things for is crazy, mine is a brand new 2008 SE with 22 miles on it when I drove it off the lot, all for only $16,000. I sold my 2008 Accent SE and bought the Tiburon. It has a sports tuned suspension which makes it very stiff but handles well, interior is very nice with leather and cloth, nice dash layout, but the car does sit very low and so will you when driven. The exterior is outstanding, looks great, nice lines, dule exhaust, projector head lights, 17" wheels, and it all comes with the best warranty in the business, mine has the remaining 4 years which is still better than GM or Ford.

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  New car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Brent Jeffries - February 18 - 12:30 pm

  We love our car.I rented a 06 on vacation and we had to get one. we own a 05 elantra but after driving the 06 sonta we had to trade it in for one. The room and v6 power was so much better. The fuel economy was not that much different. Thank you.

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  Best Buy - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By chazjr - February 17 - 10:00 am

  Best Buy in price range. Best warranty in Price range. How can you lose?

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  Excellent little car for money - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Rick Kanehl - February 15 - 3:21 pm

  I drive about 75 miles per day to work and love my accent. My only trouble is that the transmission went out at 80k.

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  Surprised!! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Sky - February 12 - 5:43 pm

  Got Limited Today and so impressed. 3.8L powerful engine enough for sports car like driving. Wood trim interior feels like 50k luxury car. Can beat tons of standard feature with this price. Totally surprised Hyundai can build this quality cars. Satisfied

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  Nice surprise - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jacukel - February 10 - 10:16 am

  Never owned a Korean vehicle before— had the same skepticism others have. Was given one at a car rental place in Phoenix this spring. I was incredibly surprised by how solid the vehicle was, the performance and the nice little extras throughout the car. Shopped Jeep, Ford and Chevy before going with the Santa Fe— the dealer also bent over backward to make me a deal. I love the stereo, the seats (even without power adjustment), car really zips around— and like I said, nice little extras (cargo net, full-size spare, cargo cover, child seat anchors, 3 DC outlets, traction control). Negatives? Funky exterior styling, a lot of lean in hard turns. Beyond that, not much.

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  Excellent Value, Excellent Features - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Seon - February 8 - 3:03 pm

  Driving has been great. Vehicle has enough power to handle all tasks. Handles smoothly and is comfortable at the wheel.

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  What a Car! - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By cpiad - February 7 - 3:23 am

  Read earlier review on fit of exterior panels needing improvement ... not my car or any of the others I saw in the dealership ... this little SUV beat any Mercedes I have ever owned ... and Ive owned a few. It feels rock solid .. and the doors ... they close with a solid thunk you only find in top dollar European cars. Everything works! Radio is very nice ... I live in FL and the A/C ... cold as the artic. Most solid car I have ever owned ... safest car on the road. Great internet deal! I paid $1500 below the "TMV" price for the 2.7L V6. Really recommend this little puppy ... feels like a big car on the road. Best driveaway feel of any car I have bought!