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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  Excellent SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By David Byerly - September 23 - 10:00 am

  The Santa Fe is well worth the money. We have had it over a year and it is the best vehicle I have ever owned!! Hyundai really have their act together!!

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  BEST EVER - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SARA - September 23 - 10:00 am

  IVE OWNED 10 CARS IN MY 10 YRS OF DRIVEING.... NEVER HAVE I ENJOYED A CAR SO MUCH.... SO MUCH SO WE GOT A SECOND ONE.

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  2009 pearl white gls - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By steve - September 23 - 7:03 am

  I bought this car for the value,roominess,and style, We have a family of five 3 teen boys 6ft3 280 pnds,6ft2 215,and youngest 510 170. wife 5ft9 140, Me 61 320. We all fit with comfort I really like the new design of the seats they are made for taller people with lots of leg and shoulder room. Easy to drive.

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  2007 Santa Fe - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tgrfan - September 23 - 4:10 am

  Overall, I absolutely love the Santa Fe. I bought one in the Powder White Pearl color, which I think is very sharp. Love the handling, the pick-up, and its very comfortable to drive. Tons of room in the back. The only problem I have is with the outside temperature guage. Due to its location, the only accurate reading is when the vehicle is stationary. Once moving, the reading either drops by 10+ degrees, or just goes blank.

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  My "new" old ride - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Melanie Altmeyer - September 23 - 2:07 am

  I love this suv so far. Ive had it about 1 month. It looks and rides like a brand new car and one that would cost a lot more. No one believed me when I told them my "new" car was actually 13 years old. It only had 50,000 miles on it, so with Hyundai 100,000 warranties, Im hoping to have it for a very long time. It has great acceleration and gas mileage. The seats and ride are very comfortable. Only thing I dont like is the wind noise when windows are down and moonroof is open. Im hoping window vent guards will help.

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  No Regrets - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Steve - September 22 - 9:36 pm

  Purchased the car with Cash for Clunkers and got it for just under $10K. Considered Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Dodge but happy I settled with Elantra. Taken one long trip and averaged 36 mpg. The ride is quite and comfortable with an interior space that lets you hear music at a reasonable volume with a stereo system much better than what you would expect in this class. The seats are excellent for not being adjustable. I have a combat injury to my back and was quite surprised at the seat support comfort on a long trip. I have owned two Honda Civics and consider this vehicle a much better value especially when comparing the warranty coverage. Hyundai has come a long way, baby!

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  Traded in my Caddy - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By mr.bob - September 22 - 3:33 pm

  Have my car since Apr.1. So far so good . Got it laoded and it comes with more stuff than the Caddy I traded in,it was my third. Its like ridding on marshmellows and I like it that way. I was concerned about the gas mileage at first but after first service everything evened out. I got 26.4 mpg on the road. I cant ask for more.

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  What a buy ! - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By tim - September 22 - 2:32 pm

  Excellent car. Thoughtfully engineered, first-rate build quality, very nicely equipped. But the warranty and the five years free roadside assistance closed the deal, not to mention the great price.

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  Great car-Poor MPG - 2009 Hyundai Azera
  By PoppyJ - September 21 - 7:47 pm

  This is one great car except for the city MPG which I am getting only 13-14 mpg. On a trip to the Hyundai factory in Montgomery AL. I averaged 27MPG which is respectable. That plant is really something to see and worth the 650 mile trip each way. My poor gas mileage is on file with my dealer, Maybe I have a lemon which I am following up on.

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  the new Azera - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Jose - September 21 - 8:00 am

  This is the best car that i ever had, you can compeared with avalon,lexus ES330, and others that cost thousands of dollar more. I love my car and Hyundai keep up with the good work.