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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  Not to shaby - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By JJEvans - November 16 - 2:00 am

  Nice handeling, fun and sporty... looks great. I dont know about long term reliability yet.

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  2003 Hyundai XG350 - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By spurlock - November 16 - 2:00 am

  This is a great luxury car at half the price. I love the style, interior and the drive. I have always bee a Caddy man, but after having some problems with Caddy on their warranty, I sold my deville and bought the 2003 XG 350. I am now the happiest person around... I even got there extended warranty, BUMPER TO BUMPER 10 years or 100,000 miles. Cant beat that deal, and best of all I got 0% financing for 5 years and the car cost me only $20,000.00 NEW.

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  hyundai lover - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By hyundai lover - November 16 - 2:00 am

  great love it great looking grives nice sporty elegant

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  Excellant Small Car for the Money - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By RW Willis - November 16 - 2:00 am

  This car was purchased for my daughter who will be going off to college and for the money was an extremly good value. We looked at the Saturn ION, Ford Focus and Nissan Sentra and based on the overall price and features this car wins hands down.

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  Probably would buy another one. - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By jcscratch - November 16 - 2:00 am

  Paid $13,700 for this car: power everything, moonroof and ABS. Im 63" and find it fairly comfortable to sit in--very good visibility. No trouble to date, at 18,000 miles. Very quiet car. This car blows the Ford Focus away (I got rid of my focus at 36,000 miles because of build quality and it was very uncomfortable). Bottom line: If I had to spend less than $14,000 on another car, I would buy another Elantra. (but see the suggested improvements)

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  Great SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By RW Willis - November 16 - 2:00 am

  This is a GREAT SUV with lots of room and a unbeatable warranty. I had a air conditiong compressor that failed two days after I received the vechile, but this was immediately corrected by the dealer.

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  We Love our Sante Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By sabbybg - November 16 - 2:00 am

  This is my wifes vehicle and her 3rd Hyundai. She reports that this is the best vehicle,meaning safety and fun to drive, than any other we have had. I am so impressed with the Sante Fe, that I will no longer buy my Sable LS and want a Sante Fe as well.And I have never liked SUVs. I have always been a sedan guy.Imagine my surprise.This is a great vehicle and you cannot beat the warranty.As a loyal customer, my wife was actually able to get a 100,000 mile bumper to bumper coverage. Talk about Driving without worries.

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  Money well spent - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By Azawon - November 15 - 4:16 pm

  I was also looking at other cars when I stumbled on the Accent SE. Im so glad I did, because I really couldnt decide between the 10 cars I had on my list. There was always something wrong, or missing. Either the price was too high, or the warranty too short, or I just couldnt fall in love with the cars styling. I had never considered a subcompact, but reluctantly started looking at them. I was intrigued with the Accent SE. It had a lot of nice features, and was sporty to boot. Its so much fun to drive, and has been solid and comfortable. This car gets many looks in traffic, from all angles, by drivers slyly checking it out. It is very sharp in Ebony black, and stands out.

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  So-so car - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Steve - November 15 - 7:00 am

  The ride is smooth and the fuel economy is good. So far it has been very dependable, but I dont like the transmission. At times it should downshift, and it doesnt. Other times, while cruising on the interstate, it will downshift for the slightest incline. I have had this car for a year now, and it is starting to develop rattles in the dashboard. I am struggling with the dealer to fix them. I get the feeling that Hyundai is not built with the attention to detail that other, more expensive cars are. This is the first Hyundai I have owned. I would recommend it to a friend (pros outweigh the cons), but remind them that they are buying a cheap car, and not to get their expectations too high.

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  Love it so far - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By bff1 - November 15 - 2:22 am

  Ive only driven my Santa Fe sport for 2 weeks (500 miles) so far, so Im still in the honeymoon phase and cannot speak for things like reliability. I love it so far. Its very quiet to drive, and the steering wheel gadgets are awesome - bluetooth, radio controls, etc. The styling is great, and the hidden compartments below the rear floor are bigger than any other privacy space in this vehicle class. Power is good. There are a couple of odd shift points, but not issues going up hill or getting on the highway. The proximity key is nice. The whole family thought this was the most comfortable in this class, and also the quietest.