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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  cant beat it - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By cc1 - August 3 - 10:00 am

  bang for the buck! other than the fact that it could use 4o more horse power the gt is impossible to beat. (most cars costing 5 grand more could also use more power) leather,all the bells @ wistles, 4 wheel discs,5 door hatch, unbeleivable warranty. im very sattisfied

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  You get what you buy - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By ajnsh - July 30 - 4:55 am

  This car is beautiful on the outside. It will definitely get you noticed on the road.I got it a few weeks ago and was very excited about it. But not even a few days later my car developed turbo waste gate actuator rattle. This was a known problem in previous generation 2.0t and it wasnt redesigned or fixed. Hyundai just said that this is a normal characteristic of this car. If it rattles like a trash can, would it be normal? It sounds like a lose heat shield and you can hear it at acceleration and even at higher rpms. Deal wasnt able to do anything about it, so I am waiting until my next maintenance and see if it goes away. If not I will have them replace the whole waste gate/turbo.

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  Sante Fe Irritation - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By wilfer - July 28 - 6:36 am

  We are not getting near the gas mileage as listed by the manufacturer and find this very disappointing. We are irritated enough about it that we have discussed trading it in to get another (more expensive) vehicle of the same size which gets better mileage. Although I really do not like the exterior design we were pleased with the overall performance, interior looks, and handling. It has lots of pep.

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  Too good to be true? - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By geni1 - July 26 - 2:03 pm

  Im sad to report that Im having the same transmission issues that others seem to be having and that is rough shifting (a definite "THUMP" into gear) from 1-2 when the engines cold. Has happened on rare occasions from 2-3 and 3-4. Shifting is fine when car is warm up. Just had transmission "reset" by dealer for 2nd time yesterday, but it thumped softly this morning. Bought the car in May & dont think this started until the weather turned cold at night in the fall.

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  Disappointed in MPG and temp gauge - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Disappointed SDiegan - July 25 - 5:43 pm

  For the most part I love the looks of the car inside and out. It is fun to drive but is a little rough and noisy. Wish they would have put 17 inch wheels instead of 18 on the Limited. Im still waiting for the good mileage to kick in. Dealer says wait for 5K then it will, geez, really? The best Ive had is 24 on freeway going flat and straight. In hind sight I would have paid a little more for a Honda CR-V.

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  riding an accent - 1998 Hyundai Accent
  By dumzhit - July 25 - 4:37 pm

  This is the second time I have hyundai, and basically they are worth its value, specially this one. still there are some flaws like in every car. I liked it. its not a powerful car, its more like for a smooth ride, going to the shopping center, or somewhere where you will not be in a rush. it does has space in there, I fitted a lot of things by just pulling the back seat down. the lights are good looking. my point is that the car is worth the money I spent.

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  Hyundai Sante Fe Rocks - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By pablito - July 21 - 2:00 am

  Great comfortable fun to drive SUV. Great handling in all weather. Needs better gas mileage. Car has unique distinctive look

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  Great Car for the price - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By nuclearian - July 20 - 10:00 am

  I have had this vehicle since October of last year. I get "double takes" because they either think it is a Jaguar or Mercedes, initially. I have a problem with the blower fan that draws on the engine, and makes a vibrating noise when put on 3rd setting (speed). Other than that, this car is awesome!

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  Only buy one if you have a large dealer that has serviced a hybrid - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By bagman17 - July 18 - 8:07 am

  These cars are so new and different from anything out there I would only buy if my local Dealer sold Premium versions,which means they are a large volume dealer and their service department has seen a hybrid before,because if they havent seen one you will probably know more about than he/she does. I took mine,a Blue Premium to the dealer because we are only getting 27.2 to 33.6 mpg,and yes we are hypermiling.Just because yours is getting 40+ mpg,doesnt mean we just fell off the turnip wagon,feel blessed.And Im talking mpg @ the pump,not what the computer is telling me,color me skeptical.It was also starting up not in EV,but firing the engine,wouldnt go over 20mph in EV,crawling

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  Thought itd get great fuel economy - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ryoung11 - July 18 - 7:21 am

  Dont believe even the revised fuel economy numbers that Hyundai says the 2013 Santa Fe can get. I bought my Santa Fe assuming I would get very near the (at the time) advertised 33MPG highway, god I was wrong. I have owned the vehicle for 1 month today, it is currently in the shop to find out why my mileage is soo terrible (21 MPG) mixed use. Mind you I drive the car very economically to get better mileage. NOW Hyundai says OOPS we goofed, we lied about the numbers, turns out your car is a gas guzzler, here is a $65 visa gift card for your trouble. HA! $65, thanks but no thanks! Also, the dealer checked under the when I got there the car was almost out of coolant after 1100 miles.