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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  Great Little Car for Everybody - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By nr1989 - September 5 - 9:58 pm

  Bought this car a few months ago from a lady who rarely drove it, only 9,000 miles in 5 years. Bought the car for my Grandmother, she likes the compact size because it is easier for her to drive and park. Have taken the car on small tips and 2000 mile trips, it is comfortable and will drive all day without a problem. Car has a lot of power, even my 20 something friends who have driven have commented on how quick it is. I never thought I would buy a foreign car, but this little Hyundai is great for everyone.

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  My first foreign car - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By ralfyb - September 5 - 4:13 pm

  I have been driving USA made trucks for the last 25 years now they call them SUVs. Sold my boat and pop up and tried a car so far I think I made the right choice smooth and comfortable sometimes I miss the truck but on long trips you cannot beat it after the test drive my wife and I got hooked

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  Best Value of many. - 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By lakeside4 - September 5 - 3:23 pm

  We searched for a replacement for our 2006 Toyota Sequoia, wanting to go down in size. We looked at Toyota first, not finding the Highlander very appealing to us and dealer selection was awful. We also looked at Buick, Ford, GM and Dodge. We were very surprised when we began comparing features, options, overall cost and warranties of all the above. We found the Hyundai to be the best overall value by wide margin. Love driving it and the features are great. We had to drive a long way to find the one we wanted but well worth it!

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  Nice Accent - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Gordy - September 5 - 9:14 am

  A nice compact for the price. Very reliable. Handles well, but a little bumpy on uneven roads. Great warranty. Only problem has been to replace spark plug wires after check engine light displayed, and this was handled promptly by the Hyundai dealer.

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  Great Value - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By laura - September 5 - 8:08 am

  I bought my 01 Elantra gently used in 2002, because it appeared to be the best value. And it has been. Ive not had to pay for any major repairs in the 7 years and 100,000 miles Ive owned. Def. the lowest cost to own car Ive ever had. The car is not sexy, so Ive been a bit bored with it ( since I bought it), but will keep driving until it starts needing major repairs.

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  Excellent value - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By ccrater4 - September 5 - 4:36 am

  I bought my Tiburon GT for $8000 about a year ago. Ive loved it since day one. It is over all an awesome car to drive. Although, it is not the fastest car. If you are looking for something to race it may not be for you. Its lack of power isnt justified by its fuel economy. I would expect better than 18 city from a 2.7L V6. Over all I would recommend this car to anyone. It is a great deal and is very fun to drive.

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  Lots of issues after 3.5yrs - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By DWON - September 4 - 11:57 pm

  At first, I thought. i was smart in buying the Sonata over Accord or Camry, now I regret it. In a few words, car started to fail me in many ways, such as airbag malfunction (light says its not active), headlights frequently burn out, muff, and it will cost over $1.5k to fix), muffler noise ( time and $400 to fix), sunroof noises (really annoying), cracked axel (wth?), and a bunch of small, annoying issues I dont care for or have time to deal with. It was great at first, but the unreliability is starting to show. Pretty disappointed, so I wont be buying Hyundai again.

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  Rides too rough. - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Big Bear - September 4 - 9:08 pm

  I bought my pre-owned 3.8 from a man who is known to be less than frugal who really "unloaded" this beauty upon me. It is a gorgeous car, but after I drove it 850 miles it reminds me of the gorgeous, brainy woman who cant boil water. Only the BMW 318i that I just sold rode worse. The suspension system is horrible. When the tires are cold you can feel every tar strip in the highway. The guys who designed the suspension should not be allowed to graduate fro high school this year. The steering is also numb and it becomes very tiring to be driving with the intent to find a good centerline feel and have that suspension fighting me. There is too much road noise being transmitted into the car.

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  New Transmission at 87,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By unhappysonataowner - September 4 - 12:18 pm

  This is the first Hyundai I have owned. It is an 02 w/87,000 miles. It needs a entire new transmission, which the dealer said would cost $2800. I have owned Ford, Chrysler and Jeep vehicle and never had a problem of this magnitude. The ford even has 223,00o miles. When I took it to the dealer the first time the check engine light came on AutoZOne told me it was a Shift Control Solenoid code.

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  2003 hundai sonata - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By David Liu - September 4 - 10:00 am

  this vehicle rides well and is well built. It come standard with a lot of features that you pay extra for in a US or Japanese car