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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  Very pleased. - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By John - September 25 - 8:36 am

  This is the most pleasing car I have owned. Contrary to some others I find the ride to be pleaingly firm without that floating feeling. Performance is excellent, however unless its needed a feather foot on the gas pedal will keep the car up with traffic and yield a satisfying gas consumption. I achieved 27 mpg with about 60/40 highway/suburban driving. May drop when I exceed 60 mph after the break- in period. Fits and finish are excellent.

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  good job - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By marcus - September 25 - 6:13 am

  this one of the best suvs i have ever owned. i would definetly recommend it to all my friends.

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  Great car, I would buy it again. - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By heffelz8 - September 24 - 5:47 pm

  My wife and I bought this as our very first new car together. We bought the AWD as we live in Michigan and winters can be a bit hectic sometimes. In town we average around 22 mpg. Not bad, but highway is anywhere from 26-34 mpg, depending on how heavy your foot is. When we cruise at 55-65 mph is where we really get between 32-34 mpg. Other than that, it relatively good in the snow and there is plenty of fold down cargo space. If you utilize the trunk, you may be disappointed as there is not much trunk space. Overall its a great car, 13k on it and not a problem. Ill wait till it hits 60,000 before writing another review.

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  Great and Reliable - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By crkeeler - September 24 - 11:42 am

  I purchased my Elantra brand new in February of 2001. It has proven to be the most reliable car ive ever owned. I have not had any major repairs and it runs great. I recommend this as a used car option even over 100,000 miles. Great and affordable for a high school or college student.

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  love / hate relationship - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By tonysi - September 23 - 6:59 pm

  My first non honda product in many years. Love the features, performance, mileage and style. What i hate are the problems, waste gate issue after 1000 miles, spider webs in the turbo, waste gate reprogram again and finally at 50k the engine light on again and a fuel pump replacement. While all were under warranty there were no loaner cars offered by my dealer. Its like my Corvette, great car when its running right !

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  Great Car - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Miltiades - September 23 - 10:00 am

  This is the funnest car I have ever owned. It is reliable and it looks great. I get compliments all the time on it. I simply cannot stop driving it. Hyundai is a true contender now. Dont pass up a chance to drive one of these.

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  bank holding title - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jonathan Murphy - September 23 - 10:00 am

  I am very happy with this vehicle makes me feel secure while driving in this crazy highways which I do quite often I thank my children for having bought this vehicle for last years mothers day quite a present I would say keep the good work Hyundai

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  good car - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By stampbear - September 23 - 10:00 am

  This has been a great car looks like a lexus, drives like a lexus, but doesnt have the price of the lexux

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  100% Satisfaction Guaranteed !! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Steve From Maine - September 23 - 10:00 am

  We test-drove the Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty, and Hyundai Santa Fe. We purchased the FRONT wheel drive Santa Fe, specifically to tow behind our motorhome, because we found out that you cant tow the 4-wheel drive Santa Fe unless all 4 wheels are off the ground (since it is actually an ALL- wheel-drive vehicle). What can I say about this great vehicle! Very well built, excellent exterior styling, user-friendly interior with comfortable seats, great rear seat legroom, ample storage space, smooth quiet ride, glides over the bad roads in Maine like they were newly paved, awesome Monsoon stereo system, excellent climate control, and of course the 10 yr/100,

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  YAY - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MeInGA - September 23 - 10:00 am

  GREAT CAR! BUY ONE OR TWO FOR THE PRICE!!!