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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  They have came a long way - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mike Moczulski - November 5 - 11:56 pm

  I love the car it has allot of space and power with all the controls and the 6 disc in dash cd player is good i owned a 2002 and the car has done a complete 360 turn they will be the next big thing.

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  WOW!!! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By newguy - November 5 - 12:26 pm

  This is the first Hyundai product That Ive purchased. I am very impressed overall with this car. The power of the 4cyl is more than sufficient to get on the freeway here in Houston,TX and the cruise at 70mph+. The interior is very well appointed,I recommend the upgrade to power drivers seat and the sunroof!The wheel mounted audio controls are a must! Very nice to drive and handles like a much heavier car, not much road bump transmission!! The exterior is a bit plain,but still nice. I would say that for the money you cant beat this car. It replaced a Chevy HHR, the back seat is large enough to fit my daughter, who is 58"! Not bad for a car that gets 28 mpg even in heavy traffic!

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  Santa Fe Experience - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By csluvsb - November 5 - 2:36 am

  I purchased this vehicle because I loved the way it looked and drove and especially the comfort I felt sitting behind the wheel. I had no reluctance because I had purchased other new styles of vehicles that were new to the auto market in the 70s and although I had bad luck with them I felt like I was doing the right thing in purchasing this Santa Fe as my first New Vehicle since 1976. I had in the past 23 years since I traded my last vehicle I bought brand new in 1976 purchased used vehicles because I figured they had all the bad things happened to them already if they had new car flaws. After driving the Santa Fe for 10 weeks, I think I made a Good choice.

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  excellent!!!!!!! - 2016 Hyundai Equus
  By dave - November 5 - 2:02 am

  Upgraded from a sonata turbo I Ive never looked back. Handles vey well and the ride is oh so smooth!!! steering can be a bit better, wish gas mileage was better as well, but I guess I should expect that having a v8. I also wish their was an awd option, but thats me just nit-picking. What are you waiting for, go buy one already!!!!!!!

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  Great Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By charles - November 4 - 3:26 pm

  Bought this as a replacement for a older bonneville. Although it looks smaller, the overall size is only an inch or so different. Car has great pickup and the handling is excellent.

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  So far, so GREAT! Really happy with it. - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Chadly - November 4 - 2:20 pm

  I researched a new midsize sedan for about 10 months, and kept coming back to the Sonata. It hurt me not to buy American, but this car just had everything I wanted - for a price no one could compete with. After (only) two and half months, its been exactly as advertised: Very nice interior; very good fuel economy (32 highway); handles well, and equally (if not more)important, impressed my snooty Infinity/BMW/Acura desiring wife!! Oh, and a note to those who complain about the doors automatically unlocking when you put the car in park... The owners manual says, in BOLD "This feature can be adjusted by your authorized Hyundai dealer". Read the manual!

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  The little Jag - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By lkletter - November 3 - 10:00 am

  I have not had my car for very long, but it is definately a great car for the money. I only keep cars for as long as the warranty, so hopefully with a great 5 year 60000 warranty I will keep this car for a while. A bit disappointed in the gas mileage it gets. Everyone says it looks like a Jaguar. At least it does not cost like one.

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  A Great Car - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Gkelt - November 3 - 10:00 am

  This is my first foreign car and I am very impressed. This car has so many extra features that you would expect in much more expensive cars. It rides and drives great.

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  Fuel-efficient and Nicely designed - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Paul Arrow - November 3 - 2:43 am

  Very good. Almost same quality as Honda Civic but lower price. Happy to have bought this car

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  sonata gl 2.4 automatic - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By steve copland - November 3 - 12:20 am

  we traded our honda civic in and for the money we found the sonata could not be beat you get such a strong warranty; plus the added convenience of a 5 year unlimited milage roadside asst. 5 year 60k bumper to bumper, 10 year, 100k.great ride ,plenty of power great safety features all for under 20k. what a deal!!!!!!!!!!