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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  good relatively cheap car - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By eugen - May 7 - 2:00 am

  I had a pleasant experience with this car. Not enough power though. The sound system is badly designed but it is not an essential part of a car I guess... for me at least. It get realatively good mileage on the highways. Wished it kept its value better.

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  Great Leap of Faith so far - 2010 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Optimistic - May 4 - 9:36 am

  So far I absolutely love my Veracruz!I took a leap of faith on this purchase. I was always biased against Hyundai until they came with the Genesis sedan. My last 3 vehicles have been Merc. M Class, VW Passat, and Infiniti G35. I was tired of premium fuel, quirky problems, and high repair costs. I knew I wanted crossover with power, bang for buck, and reliability. Co-worker of mine has a Veracruz and once I saw the interior I went to test drive vs. Pilot, Highlander LTD, and Traverse. Once i test drove i loved it above all. The ride is smooth as silk, the interior is class leading for the price, it is very, very quiet, and i like it much better than my previous vehicles in regard to comfort.

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  Sonata Best Sedan for Price - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Steve - May 1 - 11:50 pm

  This car has been been very reliable and it drives perfectly. The exterior rivels that of Audi and BMW. My only complaint is the bland and somewhat disfunctional interior.

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  Not bad for the buck! - 1998 Hyundai Elantra
  By fce - May 1 - 2:00 am

  Not a bad little car. I bought it for commuting with 105000 miles. It had a bad auto transmission. As far as I know this is the major downfall of this car. I have junk yard connections so I put the trans. in myself. It is only a 2 hour job at most. Bam! I got a decent little car. The car drives solid, no rattles, it even handles pretty good.

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  Not as good as Advertised - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By kayaktheriver - May 1 - 1:32 am

  After looking around for an all-around economical vehicle, I settled on the Tuscon. For the most part, its very nice, decent room, rides well, and has a nice base package of interior features. BUT, Im not happy with my gas mileage or some of the design flaws. Ive driven the vehicle for 7000 miles plus (mostly highway), and at best, Ive gotten 24 MPG - more typically Im getting 22-23 MPG. As MPG was one of the key reasons I purchased the vehicle, this is highly disappointing. Two other issues are bothersome. The rear wiper does not have a liquid sprayer. Also, when it rains, and the car is wet, when you open the doors, water pours into the vehicle. BUYER BEWARE.

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  Great buy! - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By DeeJai - April 26 - 4:30 pm

  I bought my Hyndai Tucson in late 08 at a decent "end of model year" discount. This is by far the smallest, and only front wheel drive suv I have ever owned but it has proven it self very capable. I have taken it from Washington, to Utah, to Alaska, all the way up to Inuvik,NWT (look it up on a google) and then all the way to New York. It does amazingly well on snow (with some good snow tires)and even handles mud and dirt roads with ease. All around Im sure glad I bought a Tucson!

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  From palm trees to mountains - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By twitch1900 - April 25 - 10:00 am

  Awesome car for the money....many ammenities incl in the price! Puts Honda and Toyota to shame for comparable car.

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  fun,affordable luxury - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By luvmysantefe - April 24 - 2:50 am

  The Sante Fe is truly my favorite SUV of them all, it handles unbelievably well in winter conditions, the sleek look makes it a real eye catcher and the heated leather seats are a luxury. The interior is very roomy, plenty of cargo space. Its a little hard on fuel. An overall fun affordable luxury SUV.

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  Long time owner - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Long_time_owner - April 23 - 10:00 am

  I have had this vehicle since 2001 and has over 165,000 miles! It wasnt been without its share of problems though. The first major repair was a new transmission at 20k. Lots of other problems too all covered under the warranty. Since the bumper to bumper warranty has been out, only a few minor repairs, so I cant complain too much. Factory put quality tires on, didnt get a new set till 100k! Its a very comfortable vehicle and has been on many, many road trips. I think it may be getting time for a new vehicle, Hyundai will probably be at the top of my list, I think theyve come a long way since 01, and the warranty and affordability cant be beat.

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  Great car - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By joehardware - April 23 - 10:00 am

  Bought this as an import fan, and havent been disappointed. Have owned Acura, Mazda, and VW prior to this, and I can say that its of equal, if not better quality, than the lot of them. Fun to drive, and the 3.5L V6 is a no brainer if youre considering this. I test drove many of the competitors in this class, and none compared value wise. 276 hp makes it a great choice if you like to experience where youre going as opposed to just getting there.