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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  This car is amazing - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By nutsaboutcars - November 19 - 11:03 pm

  I just took delivery of my 2010 genesis v8 sedan with tech pkg,,So far I am very impressed with this fine car, I also have a bmw 7 series and this car is just as nice for more than half the price

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  6 Year report - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Kadaro - November 19 - 10:10 pm

  Love the car @ 125K miles. only history to report is Velocity sensor gear failed, P/S pump and lines fail/rust prematurely. Almost impossible to replace P/S pump yourself. Must use hyundai oil filter or you will have engine knock after sitting overnight. Window antenna is garbage on 2004, improved at 2005.

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  good ride - 1994 Hyundai Elantra
  By big john - November 19 - 2:29 pm

  Bought new for wife, never had Major problems and regular maint. Will keep her running. Drove up and down east coast when new. Would do it again if I had to.

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  Still love it - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Anonymous - November 19 - 2:00 am

  Going on 3 years and over 36000 miles with no major problems. Vehicle runs great and loaded with extras that are standard. Read some reviews on this site that complain about the Hyundai but this was our third Hyundai and my wife now has an Elantra which is our fourth. Exceptional value for the money. Car looks good, is comfortable, roomy and reliable. Best vehicle I have ever owned and Im 62 years old and have owned a lot of different vehicles.

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  Honest Facts - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Anonymous - November 19 - 2:00 am

  This is a great car and if you know what you are doing I have gotten as high as 35mpg on the expressway. There are some flaws with the trans, had mine replaced once with no questions asked. Car runs and handles great never a problem with getting me where I need to go. I am from Chicago so weather with the track pack. wheels is an issue. You will need winter wheels. I have over 25k miles on mine and is stil a blast. Many road trips and the comfort and ride is great. Always get a lot of attention in this car, thumbs up or questions at the gas station. Once they get this shifter figured out down the road I would give this a full 10/10.

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  Defective Transmisson - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Anonymous - November 19 - 2:00 am

  Very Comfortable car nice ride on long trips. Developed a transmission problem on occation transmission bangs into 3 gear when driving in town or traffic had to dealer numerous times explain how to duplicate but dealer refuse to give time to test drive for it to occure! Then you get unable to duplicate. Wife refuses to take a new car into the city. This is not the only car this is happening to.

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  Roberts Daily Commuter - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By Robert in Florida - November 18 - 4:59 pm

  I bought my 2010 Elantra GLS on 9 Nov 09. The GLS comes loaded with standard with features others charge for. The Price & Warranty cannot be beat! Love the Fuel Economy and Quite ride. Standard features include: ABS, Power Windows & Door Locks, Keyless Entry w/Security system, Cruise Control, Heated Mirrors, Tilt Wheel, 6 Airbags, Intermittent Wipers, Lighted Vanity Mirrors, Fog Lights, 160W CD Player with built in XM (90 days free), Stereo has IPOD interface and USB & AUX connectors for MP3 playback. IPOD controlled w/ stereo! Huge trunk and cabin space. Fold down seat backs are hard. 32-34 MPG. Paid right at the Customer Cash Adjusted TMV OTD. Only options were Mud Guards & Floor Mats.

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  My first minivan - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Kris - November 18 - 7:23 am

  I have 3 small kids and resisted buying a minivan for years. We drove all vans on the market and found this to be the best value and safest out there. It is solidly built and the styling is unique and still nice to look at. It is easy to move around inside and super comfortable to both ride in and drive. We have driven it 10K miles in 3 months of VT weather and have no complaints. We own a Hyundai Santa Fe and look forward to driving the Entourage in the snow to see how it compares. The Kia Sedona is a near twin, but the Entourage is simply nicer to look at both inside and out.

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  What A Deal!! - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Chris - November 17 - 3:13 am

  How can you beat this suv for the price and the warrenty is untouchable? Drove em all and dollar for dollar this is the top dog by far! Still cant believe it is so much car for so much less.

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  2010 Elantra GLS - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By NJ Commuter - November 16 - 3:52 pm

  I have 375 miles on my new 2010 Elantra GLS. So far, so good. I went to dealer to test drive and ended up purchasing the car. With the $2000 in incentives the dealer offered I walked away paying just under $16,000 for the car which included all taxes, fees and destination charges. My first tank of gas I averaged just under 31mpg in mixed city/highway driving. Car feels solid, has a comfortable driving position and handles well. Its also a good looking car. Car came with 3 months of XM satellite radio included. Back seat is very comfortable for my teenage kids. Im hoping for many years of trouble free operation - only time will tell.