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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  Could not be Happier - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By lasagapunk - January 24 - 5:46 am

  I bought my Elantra as my second Hyundai. I love the ride, the radio, and the price. I got all the extras, except ABS, for under $15,000. This is the first time that I walk out to my car on way to work and think, "I love my car."

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  Driving 2005 Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Sam Joo - January 23 - 1:30 am

  I have been driving 2005 Tucson GL for 2 and a half years now, and it has been great experience! Just a regular oil changes and brake pads after 40,000, but I think its becasue of hilly areas that were in. We (my wife and I) drove it around quite a bit, to Chicago to Virginia, and its really fun to drive both city and highway. Its still quiet, and has lots of room. I was so please with lots of space (both rear seats and a passenger side seat can be completely folded) when I moved after the purchase. Mine is a front wheel drive, but it was quite fun to drive on snowy roads, especially electric stability system was great when I drove the hilly drive ways.

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  Hyundai customer for life. - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Velantra - January 22 - 4:20 pm

  I traded my 02 Elantra GLS for an 05 Elantra GT 5dr. The GT rides a whole lot better because of the sport tuned suspension. Quality inside and out is excellent. I put 57,000 miles on my 02 Elantra without any problems and I expect the same for my 05. I love the style of the 05 GT 5dr. If your in the market, you really need to take a look at the Elantra and test drive one. Youll see the difference and also see how much money youll be saving compared to the competition.

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  A LOT of Car for the Money - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By Drew2931 - January 22 - 6:43 am

  I have 20,000 miles on my 2008 azera limited. This is a lot of car for the money! It is quiet, smooth, comfortable and with great performance from the 3.8l v-6. It has been perfectly reliable. There are no rattles or squeaks anywhere and it feels like it will stay that way forever. My children love the back seat - comfortable seats with lots of room. The truck is huge! All of the controls are logically laid out and I did not have to go to school to figure everything out. I Cruise at 72 - 78 on the interstate and the car is stable, quiet, great visibility all around and I average 25 - 26 mpg at this speed. I love the styling, it is understated, but classic.

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  Hyundai has proven itself reliable - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By JordanG - January 21 - 1:17 pm

  My cars coming up on 100,000 miles and nothing at all has acted older than brand new. With the 5 speed manual transmission, it feels quicker than most other cars in its class, probably because it weighs in at only slightly over a ton. Ive driven a lot of cars with manual transmission, including a Honda Civic with 30,000 miles, and I can safely say this car has the smoothest and easiest shifter Ive ever used, even at 100,000 miles. The fuel economy is right around that Civic/Corolla 30 mpg range. Overall, its a very basic, no frills, reliable car, and its hardly left a dent in my pocket at all.

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  hyundai xg-350 best bang for your buck - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By wood1126 - January 21 - 2:00 am

  I was socked at how far hyundai has come in terms of reliability! My wife uses the car mostly and i try and steal it from here when i can (I have company car)and that warranty 5yrs. 60,000 mi with roadside service and not on problem yet! thats why they can give the warranty!

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  Awesome Value - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SBL - January 21 - 2:00 am

  I am a self employed contractor who has to repair trucks and heavy equiptment for a living. I had previously owned a 1990 Sonata and did all the maintenance and repairs by myself. What amazed me was the quality and design of every part that I worked on that car over the five years that I owned it. After driving the car from 70k to 200,000 miles , I sold it running as good as the day I bought it, and bought the Santa Fe. Let me tell you , the Santa Fe is an awesome vehicle. I have put 15,000 miles on it in 5 months with zero problems.

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  fantastic - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By mystormy - January 21 - 2:00 am

  very comfertible and drive very very nice. both my wife and i love it and the price was great.

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  Hyundai Sante Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tina Hazen - January 21 - 2:00 am

  This is the second Sante Fe I have owned. My daughter was hit broadside with my first one. She was not injured at all, but the car was totaled. It spun twice, but never tipped over. A safe little SUV, I feel. I never had any problems with that vehichle or the new one that I replaced it with. The service on these cars is amazing. I cant say enought about the dealership! What a value for the consumer. My new Sante Fe even has side airbags now! I am very happy with this vehichle.

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  Best vehicle yet - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By cah54 - January 21 - 2:00 am

  Its comfortable, rides like a car, gets great mileage. Its a good looking SUV