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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  2011 sonata limited - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Barry - November 26 - 10:00 am

  This is my 2nd Hyundai just traded in my Santa Fe to buy the Sonata.The Santa fe was great for what it is an SUV but it was reliable.The Sonata Ive only owned for 3 weeks & this car is so much fun to drive not only the performance of this 4 cylinder engine but the 6 speed tranny is fabulous.The sound system & all the wonderful extras it has makes it feel like Im driving my 450sl.Smooth ride & handles turns like you wouldnt believe front passenger seat could use the power controls wow.Hyundai you did a great job drives like a sports car.

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  Great Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ron - November 26 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car a few weeks ago with 8 miles on it. I got to say I was skeptical but after owning it I am glad we made this decision. It is a lot of car for the money. The quality is great and the car has a lot of options that are only available in cars costing thousands more. I would recommend this car to everyone. I dont hear any noises some of these people complain about. I think these people are complaining because they want to have the only one of these great cars on the road.

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  No longer a Ford person! - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By jv - November 26 - 5:46 am

  After 22 Fords in last 30 yrs - first non-American car. I love it - take it out for no reason. Just love the way it drives!

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  2006 Hyundai Sonata LX - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By jrp7329 - November 25 - 3:16 pm

  Until I purchased this Sonata, I had never owned a Hyundai ... but you can bet Ill buy another one! This car is truly an excellent value ... reasonable price with solid design and performance. Quick, comfortable and just great to drive ... whats not to like? Top notch build quality with a sophisticated engine ... 28 MPG in all- around driving for me.

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  Nice car overall, but beware of brakes - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By jas - November 25 - 1:07 pm

  After 2.5 years and 33,000 miles, the car has been pretty good overall. Have had some issues such as XM receiver needing replacement because of water damage due to a weld in rear panel failing allowing water to get into XM receiver box located in trunk, brake switch replacement (recall was issued). So far the only major complaint is the pathetic quality of the rear brakes. Have had to service them twice so far, once at 20,00 miles and just the other day at 32,000 miles (not covered, pay out of your own pocket). Its a terrible design that the dealer admitted to, but Hyundai is not willing to do anything about it. So beware, brake issues are coming if you have not all ready experienced it.

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  Satisfied Shopper 2004 elantra & 2007! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kirsten - November 24 - 10:30 pm

  On Oct 10th my fiance and I were in a car accident that totaled our 2004 Hyundai Elantra. Everyone was fine thanks in part to how safe the vehicle itself was! Now on Oct 18th, after looking at many different cars and dealerships, we ended up going back to the guys who sold us the 04 and buying an 07. My first impression of the 07 was how well it handled. Im able to turn corners sharper than before and my acceleration is amazing compared to anything else Ive driven. The trunk space is amazing (though you wouldnt think so from the outside!) The small details are great a purse/trash holder in front is neat!

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  If you have bought it yet PLEASE DONT! Horrible - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Blanca S - November 24 - 6:57 pm

  As of September 25, 2015 I own a 2016 Tucson ECO model. Within one yes ONE week of buying it the gear shifter got stuck,. My car would NOT shift to reverse neutral, Drive etc. After several attempts I got it to go and took it to the dealer. They switched out the shifter for a new one (should have been a red flag at the time that it had to do with the transmission). In Jan 2016, at only 3,000 miles the car started jerking while stopped for over 2 minutes. It was pulling back and forth like if it wanted to continue to go, I took it back to the dealer and they suggested i tried higher grade gas. I tried switching up the gas I used and the problem continued. I took the car is a 3rd time, and this time they claimed it was a computer issue so they reset the computer and I once again drove off, WITH A VEHICLE THAT STILL MALFUNCTIONED. Finally, I took it in a 4th and last time before the determined the issue is the transmission and it needs to be replaced. When have you heard of a NEW vehicle needing a transmission replaced at only 4,000 miles???? Please save yourself the headache and DO NOT buy this Tucson!

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  Looks cute, but its a special needs car - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By asherave - November 24 - 10:30 am

  If I had eschewed the last three repairs (at least $6,000 ago), I could have afforded a more reliable used car by now.

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  FirstImpressions - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By DailyCommuter - November 24 - 9:45 am

  Ive logged over 1200 miles on my new 2010 Elantra GLS within the past 3 weeks of ownership. Gas mileage in combined highway/city driving has averaged a respectable 32mpg. I think I did well on price, just under $16k including all taxes, freight, etc. The car has been solid, ride is quiet (much quieter than I anticipated from an economy car) and controlled. Engine has more than enough power to get you up and into expressway traffic. Car came with 3 months of XM radio included. So far, Im very happy with my purchase.

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  Mz J - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By MZ J - November 24 - 8:50 am

  I love it alot! Good value for the money!