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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  Tiburon SE - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Scott - December 21 - 12:30 am

  This is one very solidly built vehicle. You can feel it in the doors, hatchback and hood. It handles very well for a car this heavy. There is pronounced torque steer when turning under a heavy throttle, but if you know its going to happen its very easy to correct for. Good power and torque. Very fun to drive. The six speed manual is definately the way to go. Huge track bars front and rear allow aggressive cornering without body roll. Quality Kenwood sound system driving six speakers. Radio quality hampered a bit by the in glass antennae. Overall, one great sporty coupe!

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  Follow up to 8/10 review - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dave - December 21 - 12:02 am

  This is a followup, I have had the car for 4 months and am very pleased with it. I have been getting anywhere from 35 - 38 mph in mixed driving. The brakes are excellent, the a/c cools the car down quickly and the heater warms it up just as quick. Again, I do not know why anyone would buy a Civic after owning this car. It is bigger, base models come with more, is much quicker, and costs anywhere from 2k to 4k less.

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  A really nice little car - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Harrumpf - December 19 - 12:32 pm

  When the gas crunch hit, I decided to sell my Subaru (great car...bad city MPG) and purchase a small economy car. While focused on Civics and Corollas initially because of their stellar reputations, no dealers were willing to discount anything. So, I took my open mind to the local Hyundai store and drove the Elantra. I was immediately impressed with the car. Then I started to read up on it. Consumer Reports rated it HIGHER than the Civic and Corolla....as a matter of fact it rated it #1 in class. I bought an SE for $16,100....a full $2,200 bucks less than the best price I could get on a Civic EX. I have already put 12,000 carefree miles on it and would recommend it highly!

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  Bought Used--Lovin it! - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Cruzin - December 19 - 11:46 am

  This is my first SUV & I am in love with it! Buying this car used was well worth it b/c I was able to afford the Limited edition with leather seats & ALL the bells & whistles I could imagine. I feel like Im driving a luxury vehicle! The car drives SO smoothly and it is SO quiet. Stereo sounds great! I read EVERY review on this website before my purchase and I think I made a great choice! I looked at the Honda CR-V as well but the interior honestly looked a little dated after seeing the Veracruz Limited Ed. I NEVER thought I would own a Hyundai-but I agree with another review, that this SUV is a hidden gem! I feel proud and smart that I got a "luxury" car for a great price!

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  Great Choice For A Family Vehicle - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tom - December 17 - 9:30 am

  We traded in a Dodge Grand Caravan for the Santa Fe and so far its been a great family vehicle. The kids really appreciate the pillar mounted air vents in the back. I had the dealer change the computer options to automatically lock all the doors at the lowest speed setting (this option is not enabled by default and is a free service). Mostly in-town driving at about 18 MPG and 1 highway trip at about 26MPG. Our tires we also over- inflated by about 10 pounds. Lowering to the recommended pressure helped improve the ride. Interior is well crafted and quite with the blue lights adding a cool accent for night driving. Very happy with this purchase so far!

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  A Perfect 10 - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Gotta Sonata - December 17 - 3:30 am

  This car kicks! Its fast, its sexy, its reliable (with a 10 year warranty, it kind of has to be), and its a good value. We love its looks, and refinement.

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  Great Value - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By JSD - December 16 - 5:23 pm

  Like many other posters, for a long time I wouldnt even have considered owning a Hyundai. However, my fiance has had two and had great experiences with both, so I gave them a shot. This car is wonderful. Not only does it perform as well as the big competitors from Honda and Toyota, but it does so at a much lower price. This car has been everything I expected and more. Hyundai cannot be beat for reliability, quality, and value.

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  Perfect Car for 16-Yr-Old Sons 1st Car - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By thewalker - December 15 - 4:46 pm

  Purchased it for 16-year-old sons birthday (1st car-Dec.7 05) and we love it. We did not get the V6 because I dont want something that would be too much of a hot rod for a young driver. We find that it has PLENTY of pep for take off and city driving, as well as highway. Ive read reviews that say its underpowered, but we beg to differ. Perhaps compared to a turbo or sports car with a larger engine, but I drive a Jetta turbo and I still find this car to be outstanding. Its solid, beautiful and has the best warranty you can find anywhere. In fact, weve already decided to buy another one next year, so we will be repeat buyers when the 07 comes out.

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  What a Joy! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By CARL755 - December 15 - 10:00 am

  After 7500 miles this car continues to bring me pleasure. All the room I need and a great drivers view. 3.5L gives me all the power I need and the shiftronic trans. is fun to use. Have yet to find a quality flaw.

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  Brand New, But Love it So Far - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By hoser - December 15 - 10:00 am

  We bought the LX Santa Fe this week after much study. We opted for it over the Honda CR-V. We also own a Landcruiser. The tires grip the road as well as the Toyota Landcruiser. The view out the front is outstanding. The room is adequate. Im 511" and have no sense of crowding. Legroom up front is adequate, too. The radio while decent sounds a bit tinny. A subwoofer would help this. So far no problem with the CD changer. Acceleration is good. We opted for the larger 3.5 V6 after reading the reviews here and test driving the 2.7. On the hilly drive home from the dealer, I didnt notice any acceleration problems up or down the hills.