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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  I have one! - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By melody - February 11 - 7:08 pm

  I own one of these cars. although i tinted the windows and put a few small in-expensive little gagets, like seat covers, window stickers, and just kinda tricked it out a little bite, i love driving my car, its great on gas, so i dont have to stop at every station i see. YOOHOO!handles great on wet and snowy roads, thats the front wheel drive doing its thing! although, it gets great gas mileage on the HWY 400+ miles,to A TANK, i can handle the 250-270 miles A TANK In town driving. i love this car. its agreat car for a single person,, or if you dont want to haul all your friends around for free. three friends and yourself, thats plenty in one car, great car overall. I love my car

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  Wow - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
  By jcouture - February 11 - 4:34 am

  I used this car for my 100 mile trip to Boston and surrounding area. Im a lead foot and always beat this poor car every day. Now it has 250,000 miles and it still runs great! I have had allot of transmission problems. Other than that, all its needed is a wheel bearing and an altornator. If you are a courier, buy this car! Its perfect for zipping arround the city, and its more powerfull than I expected.

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  2013 Sonata Bluetooth System - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By lcolby - February 11 - 12:21 am

  do not purchase this vehicle if you want a good working bluetooth system. Upon our third complaint I receive a letter from Hyundai saying, "it is considered normal operation for the incoming call volume to be quieter than the audio level setting and to adjust the volume on certain calls". That nice, except you cannot hear the incoming call. two other comments off their letter: We are sometimes unable to produce an automobile with the features and materials that will satisfy or appeal to all of our customers. If you prefer, you are more than welcome to contact the Highway Safety Association and report the concern to the Consumer Protection Agency.

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  Fun-to-Drive, but low on refinement - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By KB - February 7 - 2:02 pm

  I got a used 01 Elantra which had served me well. Apart from regular maintenance, never had any major issues. Performance wise 0-60 in 8.4 (manual) and ~140 hp (exaggerated or otherwise), this car has got it for traffic light takeoffs & freeway merging. Although gearshift quality is a tad vague at times. Engine is slightly on the rougher side at high revs but has more than enough guts to take on compact crowd. Fuel economy is disappointing as well. In short, its a winner if low cost, reliability, driveablity (MT) is important & fuel economy, interior trim quality & image are not that important

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  nice car - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By myCar - February 4 - 9:51 pm

  Never had a car so easy. Only had to wash and change oil.

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  A lot more than I expected - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By motorman409 - February 2 - 6:03 pm

  I have been a GM guy my whole lfe. My last ride was an 03 Avalanche. Not a very reliable vehicle. I had not expected to buy a Hyundai, however when I saw it, and then drove it, I was sold. I test drove an Acura RDX, a Murano, a Lexus, a Honda, a Torrent, 2 Toyotas. Not one of them fit my most basic needs, room for 4 sets of golf clubs, a good stereo, and a good looking vehicle. All for a reasonable (not cheap) price.The Sante Fe fit the bill. So far (600 miles, 2 weeks) I am still surprised by it. Gas mileage of 22+, and it looks like its only getting better. Hopefully all of the good things I have been reading about Hyundais overall quality improvement will hold true.

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  Solid Vehicle For The Price - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Steve - February 1 - 6:22 pm

  If dont expect too much from an $8000 vehicle, this car will not disappoint. It gets great mileage, and has been 100% dependable.

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  The Sponsored Elantra - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Lance Seidman - January 31 - 7:17 pm

  This car is great, it gets awesome mileage but since I put in a sound system, the mileage is much lower.

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  Invisible Car - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By LisaLuke - January 31 - 1:59 pm

  I love my car, but it seems to be "Invisible" to other drivers. Have been HIT BY OTHER cars 4 times and at least 12 "very near misses" all in broad daylight with lights (including fog) ON! ALL claimed "Never saw my car"! Original cost of car: $19500. Total repairs: $24800. Very expensive to repair!!! My car is black with chrome. I love driving my Sonata and I had planned on keepting it for a long time, but I now plan to get rid of it. Its too dangerous! I would like a new Sonota (white this time), but I HATE the new body style! Ill be looking at other brands... Toyota, maybe.

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  much better than expected - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By silvereagle - January 26 - 6:06 pm

  Just bought my Sonata 5 days ago. traded a 2003 Mazda 6 s. The Sonata has been better than I could have hoped. Nice interior, quiet(except suspension), good stereo and very pleasant road manners. What really has been a surprise is the gas mileage. I used 5.25 gallons for 202 miles. That is better than 38 mpg and it was mixed driving and a new engine. I did have the dealership replace the original oil with synthetic before taking delivery