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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  Too Bad Hyundai Axed the Entourage - 2008 Hyundai Entourage
  By clex2 - May 31 - 12:54 pm

  So after almost 5 months of ownership, I can say that I am truly impressed with the Entourage. All the forum complaints on the power doors, wheel vibration, battery drain, and gas mileage have not been part of my experience. They van has been flawless since day one, except for a crooked Entourage emblem and broken conversation mirror, both of which were fixed under warranty. If they still made the Entourage, I would be recommending it to everyone. I guess the Kia Sedona is the equivalent, but from what Ive read, the Entourage is a little bit more upscale, although at a slight increase in cost. If you can still find one, I bet you can get a great deal on this great minivan.

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  I should have bought a Toyota/Honda - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sal - May 31 - 4:43 am

  It would be a really nice car if not for the road noise which is terrible. I have a ghost in my car that appears at 60-65 mph (sounds like your blowing in an empty bottle). The dealer cant fix it. It is so annoying that I look forward to traffic so that I wont have the "Howl". The best advice I can give is: "you get what you pay for". Beware

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  OK, not great - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Ray - May 30 - 1:30 pm

  Good fuel economy. Comfortable seating. Plenty of back seat room. Poor ride. Feel every bump with the Sports package tires. I wanted a small hatchback type vehicle to take the place of my mid sized SUV. My other car is a Toyota Camry and the ride in the Touring is nowhere near that. I should of spent the extra money and gotten the Rav 4

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  Best Value compare to Accord or Camry - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Austinboy - May 30 - 6:26 am

  2nd Generation of faithful Honda cars. Took me 2 weeks to decide b/w Accord, Camry, Mazda 6 and Malibu. I compared those cars with the same price model. Hyundai Sonata was not even in my mind. Tested drive all of them. I decided on Accord for their value. Then I tested 2011 Sonata and just change my mind. Wow, I though I tested drive this Sonata before, today I found out this car was more then what I expected driving from the dealer in Dallas to Austin. Everything was nice, nice handling, nice power, nice interior/exterior, love the seats, like the electronic inside.

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  Great Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By AJ - May 30 - 3:50 am

  So far so good, and its seems well worth it. Initially looked at the standard Honda, Toyota Camry, Altima/Maxima, but settled on the Hyundai. Quality seems great so far.

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  Tin Can Feel - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By ScottNYC - May 30 - 1:09 am

  This car has been reliable, but it has one of the noisiest suspensions I have ever encountered. Each bump in the road is met with a crash and a bang. Edmunds high rating for this can only be explained by an obsession with foreign cars.... Disappointing fuel economy. I thought Korean cars were fuel efficient!

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  New England kills the brakes - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Don - May 29 - 2:11 pm

  We bought our Sonata new 22 months ago and have enjoyed driving it. This week, after 22K miles, the rear brakes started making loud, grinding sounds. The dealership installed new rear brakes, pads, shims and clips at a cost of $265. Hyundai headquarters sees this as normal wear in New England with the sand and salt and all. My 50 years of driving tells me otherwise. Something is wrong with the Sonata brakes. The service manager at the dealership explained the companies concern over the issue. The company itself was unconcerned with my complaint. If you drive a Hyundai in New England, be forewarned.

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  BAD WARRANTY - 2008 Hyundai Entourage
  By wizardsrepair - May 29 - 8:30 am

  I bought this vehicle in March of 2009 and in the first two weeks I noticed a discoloring in the headlight lens which I was told would not be replaced under the warranty and now I am sitting at two month mark and I am having problems with my drivers seat rocking and popping and now I am being told that yjis also will not be a warranty repair. I will never buy another Hyundai again.

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  Happy - 2008 Hyundai Entourage
  By Mark - May 29 - 8:27 am

  I have taken my van on two long distance trip, I am very satisfied. The comfort and handling is very good. Fun to drive...trip computer rear sensors great features...I wish I would of upgraded to receive the power gate. The back do not always close properly when loaded.

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  XG350L - WOW - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Joe Brackman - May 29 - 2:00 am

  I drove this car for a month as a rental car mostly on interstate highways. The car handles great and is very comfortable. It is a poor mans Lexus. The drive train when in Auto position in fine. I did not feel the transmission hunting. I think this car is an execellent value and thats why I bought one. Nothing else comes close for the price.