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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  Blush still on the rose - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By RuralOwner - May 17 - 11:47 am

  Im still trying to settle in. As a Dodge Ram driver who can no longer afford the gas to commute that way, the Elantra seems a bit on the low side with no place to put my jutting elbows. But the engine is responsive enough and doesnt intrude overmuch in the cabin. Pros: the controls are intelligently layed out and work well, the ride is less harsh than most small cars, and the heater/AC take very little time to get up to speed. Cons: Im having a hard time finding a comfortable seat position, though Im sure Ill eventually get there and and intermittant rattle in the dash is distracting.

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  low expence car great warrenty - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Tim - May 15 - 1:59 pm

  The Car has had a few small problems, Nothing to do wih the engin or any of the mecanics just pieces of the interior comming off,Hyundai fixes with no problems. The car needs more HP badly its very slow off the start and passing Well dont try unless you have a lot of room to get by, its only got a 138 HP engin I believe adding about 40 more HPs would help emensly not to mention it would make it a lot more fun to drive But if youre looking for a good transport vehical its great for that I have the Hatch and with the back seat down you can put a lot of stuff in this little car Ive had it 5 months now and just went in for its 7,500 mile service no big problems as of yet

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  Great Car for the Money - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By bobs66440 - May 14 - 8:51 am

  I have about 8500 miles on my Sonata and I am very happy with it so far. My previous car was a 2007 Infiniti G35X Sedan, so I was expecting a somewhat mundane driving experience, but happily, I was wrong. Its definitely no Infiniti, but a great car nonetheless. The fuel mileage is as advertised. It runs great and has an amazing amount of power for a four cylinder. It has a very comfortable interior/driving position for me and I am very fussy about that. I especially like the light steering, bluetooth, Homelink, satellite radio, comfy seats and the intuitive and easy to understand controls. It is simply a lot of car for a relatively small price.

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  08 Tiburon GT Limited - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By bigboyzclub - May 13 - 2:26 pm

  I got this car new from carmax, it was a gift for my soon to be wife, i didnt even know carmax sold new cars, great bang for the buck. at first she said HYUNDAI!!! what but with in a few weeks she started loving it whats not to love leather seats v-6 engine alloy rims, navigation, sun roof, etc. We loved this car unfortunately had to give it to my mom in a trade since we had a baby and there isnt much room for a baby seat. I would recommend this car to anyone and say look beyond the badge on the hood, hyundai makes capable cars for a lot less then most. Take a look do some research and see dollar for dollar they make great sense, trust me im a business man and i always look 4 a value!!!

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  Great car with some hesitation - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By rla444 - May 11 - 10:21 pm

  Ive owned this car since July 2011 and have over 64000 miles on it. My mileage has varied from a 35MPG low to an amazing 56 MPG for a 15 mile trip. Average MPG for the life of the car until I changed tires this month was an actual 38 MPG. The car MPGgauge reads falsely high. My driving is 90% highway, though this is my daily driver. Like others, I had a check engine light issue when I first bought it and was reimbursed for my time and trouble by Hyundai. The mileage is very dependent on style of driving, speed (the slower the better). I really like the regular transmission over a CVT like the Honda Civic Hybrid I owned.

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  My second Tiburon - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Willa Fuller - May 11 - 7:20 pm

  Before this I owned a 2001 Tiburon and I put 133,000 miles in 4.5 years. I had one repair or the timing belt at 125,000 miles. This one of course is new, but I am loving the ride and some improvements and extras on the base model. I was disappointed that Cruise Control is not base in this model but it has keyless entry and an alarm and a couple of other nice things that the other one didnt have. Also the interior of the 2001 was jazzier.. but overall I love it!

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  Great Little Rig, but Thirsty! - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Sari - May 7 - 11:23 pm

  I have to admit, the Tuscon was my 2nd choice. I wanted a Rav4 Limited, but the Toyota dealer lost the sale. The Tuscon has actually turned out to be better in all aspects, except fuel efficiency. Its comfortable, sure-footed in all terrain/weather, and a pleasure to drive. The only things I could wish were better are the gas mileage - Im averaging 17.5 in town and about 21 on highway trips - and the durability of the plastic interior surfaces. I traded a 10 year old Mazda 626 for this and even after all that time, you really couldnt see a lot of surface mars on the interior/trunk plastics. It seems the Tuscons scratch easily. That said, I really do like my little black beauty!

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  Not a bad little car... - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By John - May 5 - 7:58 pm

  ... and, much to my surprise, they backed the warranty to the max! AND the RoadsideAssistance was very, very well done. With these warranties, I have recommended these cars to friends and family. Great little cars, practical as all hell and solidly reliable.

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  VW diesel alternative choice - 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By KC - May 2 - 8:05 pm

  great alternative to VW diesel buyback.

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  Its Cheap and It Runs... - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By House - May 2 - 12:10 am

  I bought this car in August 2005 with only 40K miles. Ive had it for 6 months now with no problems whatsoever. So far, its been good, cheap, reliable transportation. Not sporty, not luxurious, and I wouldnt enjoy it on a long trip, but for my 10 mile daily commute -- it fits the bill.