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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  Hyundai Sonata 3.3L V6 review - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By John - November 30 - 9:47 pm

  I Love my car but my problems with it is the bulbs on the rear and head lights and fog lights go out every 2months or so and the vinyl shades want stay up they keep falling down, I think Im going to buy me a Nissan Altima 3.5 SE next time because Hyundai is not a great product to buy when it comes to havent it long term. So Nissan here I come

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  Love this car!! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Michael B - November 30 - 5:20 pm

  Coming off of a 4-year lease of a Saturn Ion, I was diligent about test driving many different cars (e.g., Maxima, Altima, CC, TSX, etc). For me it came down to the 2010 Acura TSX Tech and the 2011 Sonata Limited (w/ Navigation). For the value I could not beat the Sonata. The look and feel of the two cars were comparable, however I liked the few extra touches on the Sonata (like the push button ignition) and of course the price. Overall, I could not be more pleased with my purchase.

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  Wish I could afford another - 2008 Hyundai Entourage
  By Oilmover - November 30 - 1:52 pm

  After 5 months of exhausting research, shopping and driving them all, I was convinced the Entourage was the best. Now after 8 months of owning the van I wish I could afford a 2nd one. Its very quick, quiet and comfortable. MPG avg 18-19 around town and 22-24 hwy. An all around excellent vehicle that I feel very safe putting my family in. Check out the crash photos on the NHTSA site. Impressive. Even though I chose the Hyundai, Im glad Kia\Hyundai settled on one van. I dont believe re-badging the same vehicle makes sense. My 2nd one will have to be a loaded-up Sedona EX.

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  GREAT CAR, except breaks - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dave NY - November 30 - 11:49 am

  My first brand new car purchase. I have loved the car for 5.5 years, longest I have owned a car by 200%. Only prob has been breaks...needed new rotors all around after 20k. Needed more work another 15k into it. Tires replaced at about 35k. I dont drive the car aggressively. Everything else was amazing. Trading it in, got $5k for it. Not bad, I paid $14,600 with sunroof 5.5 years ago.

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  Elantra Number Two - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By jlflemmons - November 30 - 5:03 am

  This is the second Elantra I have owned. I have had only one very minor warranty repair, a defective wiper blade. With the automatic, the power is only adequate to good with regard to off the line acceleration, but the vehicle can run all day on the interstate without any tiresome engine noise. The previous Elantra (an 02) had a 5spd and was much sportier to drive. Both were tight and squeak and rattle free. The GT definitely has the better suspension for handling with only a slightly firmer ride.

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  Great Car with a little bit of speed - 2016 Hyundai Veloster
  By Jim - November 29 - 9:18 pm

  This car was the perfect split of economical and fun to rive.

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  Economical Unique Hot hatch! - 2014 Hyundai Veloster
  By hero253 - November 29 - 2:59 pm

  I bought my veloster turbo a couple of months ago and thought it was time for a review. I have never been disappointed in this car and I love the way it drives. I average about 34mpg combined! And I still have enough power to accelerate and pass when I need to. The sound system is pretty good especially on xm radio. There is plenty of trunk space, especially with the back seats down. Everyone looks at my car as I roll by and I have not seen another veloster turbo in nor cal since I have bought it. I love that this car is really uncommon. From a stop, the car will pull you back into the seat as you race the engine! If youre looking for an economical car with some power, this is it!

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  Excellent Quality! - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Sabrina - November 29 - 2:43 pm

  I went to the dealership to buy a 2003 traded in Santa Fe. I walked out with a 2009 Santa Fe. Best choice i ever made. I have had my car almost a week now and love this SUV. The most comfortable ride i have ever been in. Johnson Hyundai made my buying experience so comfortable that i would not hesitate to go back and buy from them again. They truly mean what they say and stick to it. I would rate the Santa Fe and Johnson Hyundai of Cary, NC above 10 any day of the week. Thanks for everything!

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  1st time Hyundai buyer - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Warren Gappa - November 29 - 1:30 am

  Hyundai low cost, great styling, and high quality ratings are unbeatable.

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  Mediocre Hyundai Accent - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By Andie - November 28 - 12:01 pm

  I bought this car used from Enterprise Car Sales. It is a 2006 Accent GLS with about 45,000 miles on it when I bought it. It still had some of the 60k warranty left, which turns out I really needed! The car was fine for about a month, then a sensor went bad. Took the car to the dealership and they fixed it, it was covered under warranty, I was only disappointed that I was not provided with a rental car. Now I am at 54,000 miles, purchased that car 5 months ago, and an engine coil went bad. Took it in to the dealership, and turns out the warranty doesnt cover new spark plugs or a "decarbon" which I was told i needed, so this little car is starting to cost me quite a bit of money in repairs.