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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  Better than Ford Focus - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By justaguy6 - October 7 - 4:55 pm

  Owning a 2012 Ford Focus Titanium hatchback for 5 months, I was in the shop 4 times for transmission issues and once for the nav/audio screen shutting off. All in all, it was a mess. I have purchased a silver elantra gt with tech and style package, manual transmission. Owning it for about a week, I am averaging 37 mpg (not sure where everyone else is driving). Prior to Ford, I was a BMW owner (2003) - fed up with costs to own. Although this is no BMW, this car is a lot of fun. Feel solid and handles pretty well for a car in this segment.

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  Watch out for Hyundai Customer Service. - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By mpayne2112 - October 7 - 6:33 am

  I had some with the passenger seat and it failed VA inspection. I took that car to Pohanka in Fredericksburg VA. They were nice but they ended up keeping the car for 2 weeks to get parts from Hyundai.OH Yeah, Hyundai does not provide a loaner. The car is nice, but the service and support for their products are awful. They did fix the seat but there were some cosmetic things they forgot to fix and I have to take it back again. When I bought this car, It was between this and the Saturn Aura. If I could do it over again, I would have purchased the Saturn but wanted to save some money. You get what you pay for. The car is nice, but if you want the company to back the product, go somewhere else.

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  Great SUV! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By PRecor - October 7 - 2:00 am

  My first new car has been wonderful. There have been no performance issues, the V6 has power and the ride is comfortable.

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  The Hidden Secret - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By andrew forrell - October 7 - 2:00 am

  You dont hear much talk about the Santa Fe compared to hondas, nissans, or toyotas. Its value & Quality is like a hidden secret. I feel that it surpasses them all in value and its solid construction is all anyone needs. Only two things I dont like about my hyundai is gas milage and the fact that the bumpers have no protection from scratches. Obviously the people who designed this car dont drive or have to park in NY city. People continually bump into it scratching the painted bumpers. They need to think about some bumper guards or grills at least as an option with the car.

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  MY SANTA FE - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By IZZY - October 7 - 2:00 am

  THE DRIVERS SEAT COULD BE A BIT MORE ROOMY AND MORE LEG ROOM. IF I HAVE A BEVERAGE IN THE CUP HOLDER MY RIGHT KNEE IS RIGHT UP AGAINST THE MUG OR BOTTLE. ALSO THE RADIO DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH BASS.THE SOUND COULD BE MUCH MORE FULLER, ESPECIALLY SINCE ITS CALLED "MONSOON".

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  Watch it fly! - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Valerie Mintz - October 6 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my Elantra in July 2004 and have been delighted with it. The only thing I wish Id done is upgraded the handling package. Living in the mountains the extra traction would have been nice. But boy, does it ever fly up that hill!

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  very good car- - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jack Miller - October 6 - 2:00 am

  like this car- roomy and good to drive

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  Could be better - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Robert Peck - October 3 - 1:06 am

  I am pleased with the overall value of my Tucson ,but the mileage it is getting is a big disappointment. But besides that, I am very happy with my decision to buy the Tucson.

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  Santa Fe - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By G.L. - October 1 - 2:00 am

  Car is good-looking inside and out; friends look twice, then express surprise that its a Hyundai. Its highly reliable. In two years, only trouble has been a failed battery. Maintenance is inexpensive.

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  Hyundai Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By touscan - September 30 - 5:46 pm

  We purchased this vehicle for price and economy with gas. We also are pleased with the four wheel drive for bad weather. All and all weve been very satisfied with this vehicle.