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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  First time Hyundai owner - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By pokermac55 - November 1 - 11:06 am

  I did a lot of research of cars in this price range, and size, and found the sonata to be the best car for the money by far. The interior cluster lighting is easy to read and the sound system is exceptional. The car has a smooth ride and spacious back seat compared to its competition. The warranty is also a plus, in addition to the excellent safety features that are standard. My wife and thoroughly enjoy driving our sonata and would recommend it to anyone. We have driven it over 2500 miles in the 2 months that we own it. Also the fuel economy is better that we thought, as we get about 26 mpg city and 32 hwy.

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  The best buy! - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By hnicoleg - November 1 - 9:34 am

  I just bought my Hyundai, and I have no complaints! Its performance is amazing compared to my old mazda, and you cant beat the price, 12,000. If anyone is looking into the Hyundai Elantra, you should really consider it!

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  Daily Driver - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By Daily Driver - November 1 - 9:17 am

  Just got the car the other day, and its great to drive. Only coast me $25.00 to fill it up. So far getting around 30mpg. Much better deal then Honda or Toyota. Paid $800 under invoice, thanks to TMV on Edmunds.

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  Great car! - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Meghan - November 1 - 6:40 am

  Value! Its inexpensive, yet comes loaded with features. I havent had any problems thus far. I was surprised to have leather seats, an MP3 player, power windows, rear window defroster, etc for the price. The car is one of the more roomy ones for its class. Im a tall and bigger person and although Im not able to spread ou like in a luxury or larger car, Im still comfortable. Trust me, Ive sat in the other cars in the Elantras class and price range and they all seemed to have less room for the front seats. I highly recommend the Elantra. It was my first major purchase (Im a college student), and although I was very scared of the commitment, I didnt have any buyers remorse.

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  Why Buy A Camry when you have Sonata? - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By mike - October 31 - 5:33 pm

  I test drove a Camry, Accord, Nissan 2.5s and Mazda 6, then Sonata last. I am a Toyota guy, or should I say "was". The Sonata was about $4k less at the start, has better quality interior, more HP under the hood, is quieter, and handles better than the Camry. It is not quite as crisp as the other three, but it is a different drive. And it is so quiet inside, nicely designed. So, Toyota, I am now a Hyundai guy.

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  Some features make all the difference. - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By MIke K - October 31 - 1:17 pm

  My wife and i love this car. The lack of road noise is fantastic and ads to the use of the blue tooth phone on board this fun to drive vehicle. The back seats fold down individually permitting you to haul long items while still seating somebody in the back seat. We drove many vehicles before buying this one, and for the money nothing comes close to this car for value. It not only has an Aux port for ipods or other music players, but it also has a USB port for flash drives and other usb devices. The Cabin on this car is very quiet and comfortable.

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  Hard to beat the Hyundai! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mark - October 31 - 10:20 am

  Im a 45 year old "conscientious consumer". I drove the Accord, Camry and the Sonata. They are all great cars. Im convinced if they were to take the labels off the cars you could not tell the difference between them. I opted for the Sonata for two reasons; the warranty and the price. I paid $21,300 for the limited package with mud flaps, moonroof guard, rubber trunk liner and mesh trunk bag. You cant touch a loaded Accord or Camry for that price. Through 5 tanks of gas Ive averaged 27, 27, 28, 27 and 27 MPG per tank. After 2,500 miles Im very satisfied with my purchase and would challenge anyone purchasing a mid-sized sedan to drive the Sonata. It provides the best overall value.

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  Bargain for the money - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By kiwikint - October 30 - 6:03 pm

  We were shopping for a car for under 10K with mileage under 70,000. What was available for that money? PT Cruisers, Ford Focus, Chevy Cavalier. The design, feel and features of this car beat those 3 times over. We only brought it home today but it rides very smooth, handles well and feels solid. That and all the other amenities to boot.

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  noise issue - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By carol - October 30 - 2:48 pm

  I just bought used 2009 Santa Fe pads and rotors replaced by dealer 1 wheel bearing 2 new tires after about a week it is making a clunking noise when braking and still getting the annoying howling noise from back dealer is going to replace the other wheel bearing but the clunking noise is a concern of course they said they didnt hear it any suggestions? I had my car for just over 2 years and the timing chain went still had bad wheel barings ended up junking the car (killed me) I loved my car feel the dealer sold me a car with issues. I still owed on it too... Bought a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. (Not my SUV) but a newer year.

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  Outstanding car - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Carguy - October 29 - 2:37 pm

  Hyundai has done just about everything right on the Genesis. There have been complaints about the ride. I find that tire pressure is the problem (and maybe the Dunlop tire as well). The techs at the dealer or tire store will put the tire pressure up to 35 psi. This will produce a rough ride. If you reduce the pressure to 32-33 psi, the ride will be about like a Mercedes E class. I find this to be about right. 30 psi would be even better but the low tire pressure system will signal low tire pressure if it gets below 30 and you have to run it up to 35 to reset the system and get the low pressure message off. Buy a good tire pressure gage and set the pressure yourself.