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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  Nice, but repair needed after two weeks - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By psh - August 18 - 10:00 am

  I love the appearance of the Sonata. It looks very elegant, like the German luxury sedans. I bought the LX model with ABS and traction control and drove it happily for two weeks until the power steering started making terrible noises. I took it in and it turns out that the rack and pinion was leaking and needs to be replaced. Not only that, but the part has to be back-ordered from Korea because there are 17 people ahead of me who need the same part. Basically, two weeks into owning a new car, and it is sitting at the service department for 10 days+ while they back-order a new rack and pinion.

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  great SUV I believe to out there f - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By tomkat - August 18 - 10:00 am

  Just bought and driven over 2000 miles on it since then. only bad thing is the tires are out of balance and need to be balnced and checked by the dealer before given to customer. Also the 2.7 is a good engine but lacks power in the mountains. I would recommend the 3.5ltrGreat buying service no i got to have this one saleman and great service. I would definately recommend to anyone

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  12 years no trouble - then sudden death - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By dave072968 - August 18 - 5:01 am

  I bought my 2000 Tiburon April 2000. It was my first brand new car. All I did was oil changes and gas and go for 12 years and had few problems with it until it died. The car looks fast and is fast enough to pass and get plenty of tickets but will not win any races so dont try. It has been a good car for the most part. The timing belt wore out. Now they tell me its gonna cost at least $4400 to fix it.

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  Best Choice - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By jennydee - August 18 - 12:02 am

  This is my first car. Throughout my search I test drove many different cars such as the civic, corolla,etc. but found for the money, the elantra was def the way to go. Now having driven this car for a year I am completely happy with my decision. I am in college and do high mileage. Amazing on fuel, smooth ride, can be a little loud but def not that big of a concern. I am a tall person and this car fits me perfect. Very spacious. I would def recommend this car to anyone looking for a sedan with all the best qualities in one low price compared. Especially with the amazing warranties that Hyundai offers you would be absolutely crazy to go anywhere else.

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  So far so good. - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Clayman100 - August 17 - 9:46 pm

  This is my first SUV and 6 cyl. car so Im having to make some adjustments. I really like the solid feel of the Tucson. Its very quiet driving down the hiway, feels like Im gliding. Takes bumps and dips with ease. My friends like the extra room in the rear seats. Wish the rear windows were not tinted as its harder to park at night but, I may like it better in the summer.

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  good little car - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By robert - August 17 - 9:39 pm

  I have had my car for 4 years and put 150000 miles on it I am on my 4th set of tires found out not all tires work on this car have had a brake caliper stick right front that wore that pad out quick it was fixed under warranty just drove to Indiana from texas and back 2000 round trip and on a couple tanks of gas got 41 miles per gallon I have enjoyed this car and would buy another for the price been very dependable never left me stranded on the road like some other cars have

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  Lovin the mpg! - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By tinybubbles - August 17 - 2:55 pm

  got this car with the C4C (cash for clunkers) $4500 that I got for my 1998 Isuzu Rodeo. What a deal! This car is great for the money spent. LOVE the way it handles and I get 33mpg in mixed city/hwy driving. Cant beat that. Odd mix of features - has power windows, power locks, low tire pressure indicator, six airbags but no cruise control! Overall I cant complain - the warranty is great, too. Take a serious look at this car especially if youre doing the C4C deal.

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  Great car. - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Jeannie - August 17 - 2:21 pm

  I really love this car. The price was great. I got every option you could purchase and it is alot of fun to drive. The Nav system is superior. I think the Nav system is overpriced but worth it for me. The only complaint I have is about the road noise. I could really tell the difference between this car and my old car when I went thru the car wash. It was much louder. My old car was a Lincoln LS. To get a comparable Lincoln I would have had to spend about $10,000 more.

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  Meets my expectations - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mark - August 17 - 8:53 am

  Overall Im very impressed. Commuter car bought for just under $18K in Franklin, TN. 4 cylinder is okay but could use more power for this size of car. Only problem is with the Hankook tires. Car rides great and is ultra quite - quieter than our Acura TL. Ive driven two 09 models as loaners and they are very loud. Hyundai must have taken out some of the insulation. Im not too impressed with the mpg. If I really baby the car on the interstate I can get 28 mpg at 70 mph w/out AC. (I check mpg at the pump - computer is not accurate.) I average 25-26 per tank mostly highway but really have to stay under 70. Car driven 6K so far. I do recommend this car based on comfort, quite ride and price.

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  Expensive to Maintain - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By Richard - August 17 - 12:30 am

  I bought this car new in 2001 and I called it a "Poor Mans Lexus." The initial quality was rock solid but I had to replace the transmission at 90k and Hyundai pcked up the cost. I had the shuddering thing happening that someone mentioned in an earlier posting. Everything else (alternater, brakes, water pump, etc...) was very expensive to fix becuase you can only get genuine Hyundai parts. The check engine light comes on quite a bit and it is always something with this car. It seems to be very sensitive and the oil and oxygen sensors are always turning that damn light back on! Now I was told that it needs to have the catalitic converters ($3,000)replaced so it is time for me to get rid of it.