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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  Its a good car... - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By A Y - August 26 - 12:01 am

  I purchased the Elantra SE with optional sunroof and heated seats. So far I have had no problems, it is comfortable to drive, great gas millage (33.5 MPG), lots of leg and head room. I traded in my 2000 Chevy blazer as it was starting to have problems and I needed better MPG. I looked around for about 4 weeks before making the purchase. I test drove the Mazda 3, Ford Focus, and Chevy Cobalt. All instruments seems to be in good locations and easy to use. I like the XM radio and will keep the subscription. Large trunk, nice looks, and I love the sunroof. I would like fully powered seats, bigger side mirrors, and GPS/on board computer option, and bluetooth. So far I am happy with my purchase.

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  Excellent Car, Best in class - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Wayne - August 24 - 6:40 pm

  I bought the car on a Friday and took it on an extended trip, 2000 miles in 7 days. On the first leg of the trip I filled up 1 time after 485 miles (and the tank still had a little less than a quarter tank). The same performance on the trip back. Mileage was half on interstate and half on backroads and in cities. Im rather large and the seats remained comfortable throughout the trip. Overall an excellent driving experience.

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  The Veracruz is WONDERFUL! - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By SSVC - August 24 - 9:16 am

  I looked at them all but the Veracruz was clearly the best for me. I am thoroughly satisfied with the quality and numerous features of the Limited model. I chose the FWD version to get better mileage and slightly better performance,

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  grandmas car - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By tom - August 23 - 10:58 pm

  My 85 yr old mother purchased this 2004 sonata gls new. Turned into on coming traffic and was hit head on, the other car was totaled she received only a minor bruise from the air bag. We hoped they would total it so he didnt have to put her back on the road. Ins fixed it, she no longer drives and I have been driving it. Now I am glad they repaired it, its the best car I have ever owned.

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  excellent family sedan - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By BARES - August 23 - 6:30 pm

  The car is of surprising quality. The new 4 cylinder engine is smooth and quiet - more power than needed on most occasions. The styling is exceptional. The car seems as large as our E Class Mercedes at half the cost. Our next buy? Hyundai of course!

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  Great car especially at the price - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By James - August 23 - 9:39 am

  My Chevy s10 pickup died without warning and I needed a car in a hurry and for little money. I wanted a new car but had used car money. I found the Elantra, researched it and made the purchase. I never had any problems in 70K+ miles the only things I did were brakes (one set of pads) and tires. For the price you get a good ride, some luxury and very cheap to drive (fuel and maintenance).

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  In the Beginning - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Stinky - August 23 - 8:23 am

  If this is how Hyundai enters the sports car market I can hardly wait to see the refined product a few years from now. Handling is excellent. Power& low end torque are good. Exterior styling is luscious; far better than the vanilla g37,370z, mustang and the clunky camaro. Interior styling is pleasing and the seats are way comfortable without sacrificing support. Forward visibility is excellent. Rear window visibility not so hot; proper mirror adjustment compensates nicely. Whether driving in town, on the interstate, or backroad twisties this car behaves admirably. Steering is responsive and provides good road feel. Rear end feels hooked up and predictable when pushed to this cars limits. Great car!

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  1st SUV Ive Purchased - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Gino - August 22 - 7:46 am

  I just purchased a GLS FW 3.5 Santa Fe. I love it so far. The ride is smooth, just like a car. Goes up hills without a problem. Havent had a chance to drive it in bad weather yet. Edmunds.com was great for me. I was really able to do a lot of homework before purchasing the vehicle. Everyone who has seen it likes it. My cousins took a ride in it and they want to purchase one. My only regret is I dont know if I should have gone with the 2.7 with AWD versus the power of the 3.5 engine and FW drive. I couldnt afford both. However this one does have ABS brakes and traction control. You cant beat the warranty. Winter will be the test. Go Hyundai!

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  Surprise Vehicle - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Impressed - August 21 - 1:36 pm

  I looked at and drove many SUVs before I decided to drive a Santa Fe. Features that I thought were missing on other SUVs were standard on the SE such as day/night mirror, trip computer, CD/MP3 player, and a V6 engine. I originally was not looking at a Santa Fe because the previous design was not appealing to me at all. I only thought of driving the Santa Fe after test driving a Chevy Equinox at a dealership right next to a Hyundai dealership. I must say it was the best thing I could have done. The exterior redesign makes the new 2007 Santa Fes a very attractive SUV. The interior design is not cluttered and very usable. Hyundai is certainly doing well in their assault on Toyota.

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  Elantra SE Manual - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Paul - August 20 - 5:25 pm

  I just purchased this car yesterday an i couldnt be happier with my choice. After looking and looking over every car manufacturers website and reading reviews and safety ratings an every possible angle, i decided on the Elantra SE.The gas mileage was above an beyond what the sticker says. I got 41MPG on a 60 mile highway trip, on a 50/50 combo of city/hghwy i got 33mpg. the extra options of the SE are well worth the extra money, especially safety features (A/C,Cruise,ESC,Brake assist). XM radio is nice also. If i had an extra 10,000 dollars to buy a car, id still get the exact same car, no doubt! plenty of storage spaces, fun to drive ZOOM ZOOM THIS ONE MAZDA!!! Hyundai is going places...