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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  Not a bad car at all! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jourdanrose - October 16 - 10:00 am

  The pick up on highways is awful! City driving is just fine. My very tall children fit quite nicely in the back seat and the drivers seat is spacious and comfortable. I have the v6 model and the gas milage is average. I also purchased the full 10/100,000 warranty and for a single mom it gives me peace of mind.

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  Few Faults With This One - 2009 Hyundai Azera
  By Lawton R. - October 15 - 2:35 pm

  Ive had the car 5 months, put over 5,000 miles on it, and have found two faults. Sunlight falls on the navigation/audio screen with near blinding effect, and substantial road noise occurs at interstate speeds. Thats it. I enjoy driving the car so much that I usually regret reaching my destination. Initially the ride was hard but the cause was simply over inflated tires. Unexpectedly at 5K miles I have had a significant uptick in mileage and now get well over EPA average. I am so "sold" on Hyundai now that I expect to move up to the very quiet Genesis with my next purchase.

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  "econobox" - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By gk fs - October 14 - 3:51 pm

  Had the car since 10/03. It has 75k on it now and while its not a fantastic car, it performs ok. Just ok. When it was new, it was very peppy. Now its sluggish and, while it will jump when needed, its not something I try to do often. Handles on a dime to be sure but braking feels mushy even on new brakes. Im on my 3rd tranny. What started as a ticking became gears getting stuck and grinding. 2 door handles broke. Engine loudly taps when cold but goes away. Tape deck broke. Battery brackets snapped. Rigged a way to hold it. Trunk space is ok if the item is wide but not deep or tall. At 61 its a cozy ride. Knee is either on cupholder or autostick. Bumps od switch... Yet to leave me stranded

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  Best in Class and Price - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dracula - October 14 - 10:00 am

  After 4 years of searching and researching options, I finally decided on the Hyundai. I recently took it for a short vacation trip to Helen, Ga, which is in the mountains and I was certainly glad I bought the 6 cylinder. I never had a power issue climbing the medium grade hills in that area. I got exceptional gas mileage; at least the advertised mileage but then I was not in a hurry to get there and did the posted speed limits and didnt gun it at lights or stop signs to get "of the line". It was very quiet and comfortable. The XM radio was nice, however, it did cut out along the shaded tree roads. The accelerator takes a little time to get use to. It does seem to jump a little.

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  First impressions - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Adamant - October 14 - 10:00 am

  Ive had my 2011 Sonata SE for just a few weeks now so this is just a preliminary note. Car is BEAUTIFUL -- iridescent silver blue pearl is simply awesome. What wasnt awesome was getting 20 mpg (mostly highway) from my first tankful.

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  The Azera-Look out Infinity and Lexus - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Brad Hart - October 14 - 5:53 am

  I have 1500 miles on my Azera LE with the Ultimate package. The car is extremely quite even at speeds of 80 MPH. Smooth ride, tight handling, excellent acceleration,great sterio, refined interior design, flawless paint job and loads of space in the cabin and the trunk. Around town mileage 22, highway 25. Needs better front seat bolsters for curves. You cant beat the value of this car no matter what the Manufacturer or model.

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  Great Car - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By ibnagy99 - October 13 - 2:26 pm

  After owning a BMW that was expensive to upkeep, buying this car was great. I love the gas mileage and it is fun to drive. The sound system rocks!

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  safety hazard - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By roger khan - October 13 - 11:24 am

  I bought used, while driving I would smell gas, so I popped the hood on inspection I saw that the fuel line that run to the fuel rail was leaking gas, I went to the junk yard to get one but the car I inspected had the same problem. I then had to pay $110 for a new line which is a foot long, the pully separated, paint fades on the hood, trunk and roof and front Windows are broken also inside the trunk were the spare tire goes is all roten out. Just like all the people who has had problem with this car I Wonder how do these cars past inspection. I called hyundia and informed of the problem "I am just glad the car did not blow up on me"so to all those who is thinking buying a Hyundai dont.

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  Great Style and Value but.... - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Hillmc - October 13 - 10:20 am

  The car is awesome for the price.. its not as quiet as some say, seems to have less sound deadening material than the previous model..too much tire noise. XM radio should be ditched in favor of Sirius. I didst want to spend another 40K on my next car with how much I drive (25-30k)annually. This cars style, warranty, room and fuel economy won my over. The Engine does have some decent power. Most of my commute is up and down a 20 mile stretch of highway that encompasses a 2000ft change in elevation..even on the grade I still get 31mpg.. my last car got 18 so I am loving this more than anything else right now.

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  Thought it was a good buy... think again. - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By jostintson3 - October 13 - 3:57 am

  I thought I was getting a great deal on my 2012 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T Limited that I purchased in late November. During the past few months the car has had numerous problems, complete lemon. Has issues accelerating, leaks when it rains, gauges randomly shut off while I am driving, and it pulls to the left so horribly by arm begins to hurt after my 20 minute drive to work. Ive brought it to Hyundai regarding the issues, and they fixed none of them. Blamed me for them all. Horrible customer service. I will never buy a Hyundai product again.