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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  Reliable, Smooth, and No Regrets - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By carfan2011 - July 21 - 3:20 am

  Ive had my Santa Fe almost 3 years and have put almost 45,000 miles on it. The only time its been back to the dealership is for oil changes! The car is such a pleasure to drive, its so smooth you cant feel the transmission shift even under hard acceleration. The engine is whisper quiet even when underway, merging into traffic. The interior is holding up beautifully and the cloth seats are proving to wear very well. I love the adaptable transmission and how it adjusts to your driving style. Im averaging about 27 mpg on the highway and overall its a great car that I plan to drive it for a long time.

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  Overall Good Experience with this Car - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By CCM - July 19 - 7:09 pm

  I had a good experience with this car overall but not good enough to buy another Hyundai. On the plus side, you get a lot of features for the money on the down side, you tend to get what you pay for. In 3 years, I never had any major problems (other than clutch going out after 12 months due to San Francisco hills), but had lots of minor problems: brake lights constantly going out, cruise control went out, CDs stuck in CD player, worn-out floor mats, paint dinged easily. That said, the car was mechanically sound and suited my needs well as a basic city car. Wouldnt buy another Hyundai, a) because I can afford something better now and b) because I cant get past its inherent cheapness.

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  Surprised - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By Mickey J - July 18 - 4:36 am

  Ex wife took my cadillac so I bought this small car. I did not think I would be happy but to my surprise I really like it. It has been trouble free unlike my cadillac, It has enough power and the comfort is surprising for a small car. Gas milage has been 36.5 overall which is better than the sticker. It has been a great value for the money.

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  New car review - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By LaTonya - July 16 - 4:15 pm

  I have only had this car a month now and it seems ok.

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  good car - 1997 Hyundai Sonata
  By alex fong - July 16 - 3:00 am

  more power is better!

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  Cant Beat It! - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Steve - July 15 - 11:54 pm

  I originally leased my 2001 Elantra when new and bought it out. Still love the interior/exterior styling. Fuel economy is good for a car with a 2 litre engine but not great. Good handling for a car at this price point, but slightly ponderous at low speeds. Brakes could be better. Body hardware has held up very well. Resale value could be a little better, too. Havent needed any major repairs - just new brakes and tires 36 months in. Overall, reliability has been excellent, flawless winter starts. Time will tell whether the car holds up as a used vehicle. The Elantra is a worthy car and almost fully competitive with Honda, Toyota, et al. Buy one, youll be happy.

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  Love the car - but now its a beater... - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By leftoverchef - July 15 - 10:47 pm

  Well, Ive had the car since brand new and have loved it. I havent been too punctual with the routine maintenance (oil changes, etc.) and the car still has performed well (until recently, but more on that later). I made it to 100k miles on the original clutch - which is a record for me. I didnt even replace the timing belt until 110k miles! The only problem I really have had with it has been a faulty clutch pedal sensor when we bought it - and a crank-shaft position sensor that died just before i replaced the timing belt. That said - recently the Catalytic converter broke and the Exhaust manifold cracked - a $2600 repair - but my son will pay that to buy it from me instead!

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  Not Bad - 1997 Hyundai Accent
  By pjktj5 - July 15 - 1:58 am

  This is my first Hyundai, I bought it for me because I gave my wife my honda for the trade in value on it to use for a minivan since we are expecting our 3rd child in 11/05. The car runs great no major problems. Engine light comes on occasionaly, there is nothing wrong with the car it was a bad sensor an easy fix. It has 126k on it, with gas now over 2.30 a gallon this is a perfect car. NOT a speedy thing by any means but it does ride nice and smooth.

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  questionable interior - 2011 Hyundai Veracruz
  By schaef1 - July 14 - 4:51 pm

  I have loved the excellent layout of the Vera Cruz. However, the car is only 7 months old and the sterring wheel started peeling. It was replaced at no charge. Now both of the front leather seats are showing wear and once again, it is supposed to be replaced at no cost, however, whats to stop this from happening again. The mileage is fair and the ride is a little choppy at 30-35 miles. Otherwise, its a great car but I am concerned about the quality of the interior. The dealer finally admitted that he has seen the seats in other Vera Cruzs do this in the past. Why hasnt Hyundai fixed this? Would I recomend this car, the jury is still out?

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  humming car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By ollie - July 14 - 10:00 am

  It hums when I drive past 60mph,I own the car for just 3 days will take back to dealer Its a brand new car