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:

• 

  4Great car for the $$$ - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dlegend - May 26 - 1:03 pm

  Pretty good vehicle. We are happy with the design and appearance so far. Still breaking it in, so cant give you an estimate on the gas mileage that is valid, nor how it agrees with the manufacturer, but so far, city driving has given us 18-20 mpg. The car has plenty of power, if you feel you need more, then you should get a V-8 or a sports car......this car is plenty good and gives power when needed, and decent fuel consumption. Third row seat is no good for anyone taller than 5 10" - unless you are driving a basketball team, someone will be shorter, and those people can survive on even longer trips. I am 6 4" and the first 2 rows have plenty of room. The panoramic roof is awesome!

• 

  Surprisingly happy - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By russ - May 26 - 10:00 am

  If you had told me three months ago that Id buy a Hyundai, Id have told you that you were nuts! After researching reviews and pricing I got my wife one and it (so far) has been a very pleasant surprise. We got all the goodies on it for a very fair price and the warranty cant be beat. Ive gotten compliments on it from cowboys to Grannies. Were getting about 21.5 mpg which is what we thought wed get city/highway.

• 

  Elantra GLS - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By JP_ - May 26 - 10:00 am

  Never thought that I would own a Hyundai. I went to test drive the car because of the warranty. I was impressed. This is nothing like Hyundais of old. The interior is well laid out and comfortable. Even for a 60 300 pounder like me. The exterior is not hard to look at. Performance is good for a 4 banger, and the transmission is silky smooth. The car also comes fully loaded for under 13 grand.

• 

  Unbeatable Value - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By chillyb - May 25 - 11:13 pm

  I purchased my 2001 1/2 Elantra GT in June of 2001. I now have almost 10k miles on the odometer. I am very pleased with the performace of my GT. I have had no problems with the car and it has been a pleasure to drive. The most impressive thing about the car is the tremendous value it offers. A similarly equipped vehicle in a Honda, Toyota, or Mazda would costs thousands more. With the GT, you can have all of the bells and whistles without feeling guilty for what you paid for them.

• 

  LOVE EVERYTHING BUT GAS MILEAGE - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MAX RODDEY - May 23 - 10:00 am

  MY SECOND HYUNDAI FIRST AN ELANTRA..THIS SANTA FE IS A GREAT RIDING CAR..WISH I HAD BETTER GAS MILEAGE..GOT TO GET USED TO 4 CYL ON SUCH A LARGE LOAD THOUGH..FINE ONCE YOU GET UP TO FREEWAY SPEED..BUT DANGEROUS ON ACCESS UNLESS YOU REALLY FLOOR IT..BUT ALL IN ALL i LIKE IT A LOT..

• 

  2005 Elantra GT - Ottawa, Canada - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Eric - May 21 - 1:13 pm

  After 3 months of highway driving, there was a very noticeable vibration in the steering wheel at speeds greater than 100 Km/hr. The rack & pinion was replaced free of charge, but I was charged for an alignment. Two weeks later, the vibration was back. This time I was charged for a wheel re-balancing. The CD player was repaired three times in a year. The tires were bald after 40,000 Km. There is excessive brake and wind noise. The drivers front headlight bulb has been repalced twice in 40,000 km (I seldom drive at night, so only the running lights are on).

• 

  Great car at a good price - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mario Augusto - May 20 - 1:00 pm

  I highly recomend this car. The design turns heads, the interior is spacious and comfortable, the ride is smooth and responsive. The sunroof and mproved radio option is worth the money. I traded a 2003 Snata, which was a very good car but underpowered. Miles per gallon are short of advertised. I live in Florida and the airconditioner is very important, this car has cold air even in 95 degree weather.

• 

  great auto - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By ariola - May 20 - 10:43 am

  good handling,& comfort,winter & summer

• 

  My GT - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Clyde Vandivort - May 19 - 4:00 pm

  I have mostly enjoyed my Elantra GT (we have another GT, and 03 model). I live in the mountains of West Virginia, and do a lot of driving due to working 45 miles away. My GT is fun to drive on the twisty roads, and returns excellent gas mileage. The stereo works great and keeps me entertained enroute. My only complaint is that I have some vibration on braking, due to warped brake rotors. I am surprised at this, with only 12,000+ miles.

• 

  2002 SantaFe review - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jinhan - May 19 - 2:00 am

  Wheel Alignment issue at initial purchase and some vibration noise after 5000 miles. Besides those issues, its fun to drive