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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  Skids Review - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By Kent Skidmore - August 25 - 10:39 am

  My wife and I loved this car and would have purchased the 2016 model but the exterior/interior color selections did not meet our requirement. We wanted a red or white exterior with a black leather interior. These combinations are not available. The only color interior available is light beige or light grey. Both show dirt too easily. The same held true for the KIA Optima. We ended up buying a Subaru Outback; Pearl white with black leather. We love it.

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  2007 Hyundai Tucson - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jerry L. Frank - August 24 - 5:26 am

  The styling is excellent. The body has no rattles and sounds solid closing the doors. It could have a little more power but is acceptable.

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  Good Daily Driver - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By rsm535 - August 21 - 5:07 pm

  Daily driver and use to deliver pizza. Mileage in city without air running is about 27mpg, with air running is about 25mpg. Definatly less than advertised but cant complain with gas prices. Interior quality is average. The seatbelt receiver cover came apart a month or so after purchase, epoxy to the rescue. Lights went out behind the A/C in the dash and behind the automatic transmission panel but no big deal. The driver seat is starting to wear on the door side, but I get in and out of my car several hundred times a week so I have accelerated wear. A little low on power with the air on but overall it is a good, safe, economical little car.

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  NEEDS MOORE ROOM - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By TREM71 - August 21 - 10:00 am

  needs moore room in side and they all should come with the same features the lx has

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  Great with a few issues - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ricknplano - August 20 - 6:30 am

  Have about 600 miles on my 2.7 GLS automatic. Love the styling, smooth and quiet engine and transmission, adequate power. Got 24 mpg on first tank and 21 mpg on second with gentle driving mixed city/highway. happy with purchase overall - best SUV in the class and price.

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  Bang for Your Buck - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By cj8drummer - August 18 - 11:53 pm

  Very happy with vehicle overall. I think Hyundai is offering a lot of upscale features for a reasonable price. I have three kids that are hard on a car. The leather is definitely a winner and the interior feels nice. I opted to pass on the third row which at times Im sure Ill miss but I really didnt want to give up the storage space that you lose when adding the third row.

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  New GT Lover - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By MaryAnn - August 18 - 3:27 pm

  I purchased my Elantra GT in April 2006 after having to give up a 96 Grand Am. It was a difficult choice but one Im glad I made. This is my first brand new car. Ive had no major difficulities with the car a few cosmetic situations that the dealer took care of right away. Im pleased so far with the way the car handles, the gas mileage and the over all ability of the engine there is a slight difference going from a V6 to a 4 cylinder. I did purchase the upgrade for the ABS/traction control but havent had circumstances to use it yet. With winter approaching, Im sure I will. I think it is a good quaity car for the money.

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  Overall...A Good Value - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Austin - August 17 - 6:27 pm

  This Hyundai feels strong driving around town but handling is on the soft side. Ride quality is good for an economy car and relatively quiet until you rev past 3000 rpm. Downside, does not get good fuel economy with automatic and shifts are slower than other cars.

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  tuscon review - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Brown Robert A - August 17 - 5:33 am

  Nice suv FOR SMALL PEOPLE(short) easy access in vehicle for tall folks plenty of headroom.Nice ride, good sounding stereo,Drivers seat could go back a little further.Like the fact of all the options in base vehicle.

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  2006 Sonata LX 3.3I - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By richard tompkins - August 16 - 2:06 am

  I have owned in the past two Hyundai vehicles.The last was a 2004 350XG which was purchased new and was traded with 82000 original miles of which I put on this vehicle due to my being retired and traveling cross country a lot.I traded the XG for a 2006 Sonata LX 3.3 in Jan 2006 and 15000 miles later the engine light after three shop visits has come on again for the forth time and again Ill be on my way to the shop.Ive made all of my maint.visits and have been very satisfied with the service dept.where I purchased the vehicle.Hopefully I can get this problem cleared up.For the record ..Im a Hyundai fan. R.Tompkins