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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  Very Pleased - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Joel & Jodie - August 12 - 10:00 am

  We have had the SUV for six months now and are very pleased. For the money (and warranty) the features and amenities are a great value. We did have one recall to re-program the ABS system but that took about twenty minutes at the dealer. It is smooth, quiet, and has more power than I expected. There are a few features I would like to see them included in the future but only because I have gotten used to them im my other vehicles. I got the extended ten year 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. I dont normally do that but being my first experience with Hyundai I wanted the peace of mind. The warranty price is more than covered by the rebate.

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  Great Car, Minimal Problems - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By B - August 12 - 7:50 am

  We have put 107,000 miles on this car in four years and it has not given us many problems. The only one it has given us is that the windshield wipers get stuck and you just have to loosen them from the windshield. Other than that this car has given us no problems and has even held up when I had a 2 hour commute (each way) to work each day.

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  Awesome But... - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mark - August 12 - 4:43 am

  This is a great car and I really like it but it has an engine whine at 60- 70MPH that is very annoying. So far Hyundai refuses to do anything to resolve the prblem. As I said I really like the car but not sure I could recommend it due to engine issue and Hynudais lack of help.

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  Excellent Utility Vehicle - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By johansen - August 11 - 4:07 pm

  We purchased the 2013 Sport (5 seater) with the 2.0 turbo, front wheel drive, with the popular and premium packages. The popular package is pretty much standard on all models and the premium adds saddle interior with leather, rear camera, heated front/rear seats, power front seats, etc. Really didnt want to spend the extra 2 grand or so on the premium option but in the end, we decided the package was worth the money. Plenty of interior room, initially my wife was worried it was too large, but after driving it, she realized it didnt feel as large as it appeared. The ride is very solid and comfortable, the turbo gives plenty of oomph, interior is gorgeous, and the quality is excellent.

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  Affordable luxuries... - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rex - August 11 - 2:24 pm

  Its not as sporty as a Mazda 3 nor as popular (not yet) as Corolla or Civic but my Elantra gets the job done with far more than enough safety and luxury features as standard. MPG 33+ on highway @ 65+ MPH. Although it could use more hp ride is quiet pleasing and comfortable on long drives.Build and qualities are up par with the famous 3. Bottom line is the price I paid for this great car...sure saved me a lot to afford to go on long drives for vacations.

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  Great vehicle! - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By DHP - August 11 - 9:23 am

  I purchased the Santa Fe se v. 6 awd in April 2010 and now have almost 2500 miles on it. I was a little concerned about the gas mileage the first 1000 miles because it seemed low but as soon as it hit about 1500 the mpg jumped significantly. We took a long interstate drive and it averaged almost 25-26 mpg. I live in a city and it now averages about 21-22 which is very good for this size vehicle. Will try it out on a 1200 mile trip next week and see how it does. I will say that I love my Santa Fe. It is very easy for me to drive and it is very comfortable. It has plenty of storage compartments. I dont really have any complaints so far. I will Post a review again in a few more months.

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  2007 Azera - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Chuck Leonard - August 10 - 3:53 pm

  This was the the first truly new car we every purchased. We really like the cars exterior green color and light beige leather interior. The car performs very will and we get about 26.5 MPG on the highway The biggest problem I have with the and maybe I should say the tires that came on it, is road noise. at 17,000 miles the dealer Car City St Joseph MO replaced one the tires but that really did not solve the problem. Now at 30,800 miles the dealer is saying the tires are cupped. Telling me its my fault for not rotating then every 7,500 miles.

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  Great Car - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By John - August 10 - 9:45 am

  Very economical to operate and maintain, and it uses regular gas!

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  Decent little car - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By decent car - August 10 - 3:17 am

  I purchased my Elantra new in Nov of 05. I needed a new car after the electrical system in my 99 Jetta stopped working(very pricey repair) I have had absolutely 0 problems with this car. I have performed routine maintenance on the car, oil changes etc. New tires at 60,000 miles. I have been impressed with the peppy engine and love the gas mileage, I average 36 to 38mpg highway. I commute a lot to work and school. I do not like the fact the engine revs at higher rpms when shifting gears with the 5 speed manual transmission. Sheetmetal dents easily and paint has worn off the hubcaps. Interior has held up nicely, had to install new radio and upgraded the speakers. Wish I had the sunroof

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  SUSPENSION is the PROBLEM - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By kidulan - August 10 - 2:08 am

  I just got my car on Aug 6th 2009 (Manufactured date: July 7th 2009). In general, I love this car lots. Only thing that ruins this car is its suspension. It is fun to drive but it is NOT COMFORTABLE with its crappy suspension design. The 7-speaker system is good. And trunk, glove box and handrest box are big but no partition at all. There is no way to organize the items, quite a mess. Many people starred the car while driving. And it brings some talks with friends and strangers while parking. Water came into trunk when open. Please and Please fix the suspension in all effort for the pioneer (who bought the first year Genesis) as the compensation.