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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  Wow what a vehicle - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MissyAnn - February 15 - 2:43 pm

  This is my first vehicle that I have bought. The sales people at the dealership helped out alot. I love how the AC gets cold right away and how it is nice and quiet in the vehicle. I only wish I bought it sooner. Overall the thing that caught my attention the most was the warrenty on it.

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  6th Largest Car Manufacturer - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By RichmondVA - February 15 - 6:10 am

  Owned 00 Audi A4, 90 Honda Accord, 04 Jeep Liberty & 99 Ford Explorer. Santa Fe exceeds even the Accord in ownership experience so far. Accord has 251k miles and we expect the Hyundai will be kept that long as well. We have GLS w/FWD, 2.7L, A/C, Shiftronic and XM radio... hard to imagine needing more in an SUV. At 13k miles, we avg 24 MPG (40% city/60% hwy driving w/ air always on). Great suspension much like the MB ML320; decent engine torque like the BMW 2.5L inline-6; class-leading interior like 07 Audi A6. No problems so far.

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  Hyundai Navigation System - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Kenneth Bildstein - February 14 - 12:21 am

  The navigation system SUCKS. You dont talk to a real person like you do with GM On Star. With Hyundai you talk to a machine and MOST of the time the STUPID machine cant understand what you say or can not find what you are looking for. I have to carry a portable GPS in the car when traveling because the Blue Star Navigation dont work Most of the time. For this reason, I most likely will buy another Hyundai. I will most likely buy a Chevy Malibu instead. With the Malibu On Star you actually talk to a real person when using the Navigation System, and they understand what you are asking for and can ALWAYS HELP you and find what you are looking for.

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  Miracles never surprise me - 1994 Hyundai Elantra
  By MelissaAlleva - February 13 - 2:00 am

  We bought this car from a neighbor. Originally, the car had been owned by a mechanic (which was the reason I decided to buy). I have owned the car for over a year, I have only needed to replace the alternator. The car had 119,000 on it when we bought it and made it through a trip from New York to Florida and still runs great. I am glad to have as a 2nd car.

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  A Great Vehicle - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By HyScott - February 12 - 5:03 am

  I do owe this car a hand. It has been a really great economical and reliable car. We have always had either European luxury cars or GM SUVs so this car had a lot against it to impress me. This was my first car and definitely not my last Hyundai. They handle VERY well and are extremely easy to drive and operate. The interior is bland but has some accents that set it above GM and Toyota. All of the V6 Santas have leather wrapped steering wheels and gear selectors, many other marks donÂ’t. The sound system is surprisingly good and will blow away any base system on other marks. The manual mode on the transmission is GREAT, and I love how they went the extra mile on it.

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  definitely worth it - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By cmt - February 12 - 2:00 am

  I have a 2000 Elantra with about 60000 miles on it so far and it has worked out great. Its a decent little car which could be considered phenomenal for the price. The only problems Ive had were with the power windows which have all needed repairs at some point. It doesnt compare with the pricer automobiles and it wasnt designed to. bottom line, if it fits your budget, you should definitely go test one out. Personally, I like the pre-2k1 body style though as opposed to the new ones.

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  Awesome - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By FuNFuN - February 11 - 7:43 am

  Dont know about these critics of the SE version. I have over 30000 miles on mine and have had zero problems with it and Im a very spirited driver. The six speed tranny is precision so maybe thats the problem some are having. They dont know how to drive it. All Ive ever owned are manual shift sports cars. Even had a Camaro and the Tiburon SE is faster to 60 and has a faster top speed (145 with no mods at redline). Not too bad when there is over a litre of difference in the engine size. Not much more to ask for. And to those knocking the performance compared to other V6 cars, I can keep up with a Mustang GT with no problem. Just got to know when to shift, and how to drive!!!

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  Ode to my Hyundai - 1996 Hyundai Accent
  By geegee - February 11 - 2:00 am

  My little car that could. I have had it for almost 8 years from new, drove GREAT! for the first 5 years, had two major repairs after that (when it rains it pours) engine head, and computer went out, but no small problems at all! couldnt bring myself to trade in because no other car could match it for veratility, or gas mileage. I got 33MPG on mixed driving. I will miss you!

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  I love my car, but... - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By little red hen - February 10 - 2:00 am

  I love my car but I hate the amount I paid for it $26,000 plus a 2.9% interest rate. My saleswomen and her manager laughed all the way to the bank, Im sure and I would never refer A2 Hyundai to ANYONE. I love driving it but it has a couple of significant problems interior noise on the X-ways causing you to have to turn up the volume to hear radio, CDs or tape,the CD player needs to have warm CDs before it plays well and just recently I noticed a very harsh sound from the engine but it has been extremely cold lately.

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  What Are You Waiting For? Get This Car! - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By jr75 - February 5 - 10:00 am

  Ive had the Elantra GT for a year, and love it! Anyone "on the fence" about a Hyundai should really check out their new line -- esp the GT. These cars have terrific build quality, are reliable, and the features that cost an additional $3K-$4K in other cars are INCLUDED in the GT. Wife owns a Honda and she loves my car! Any fault that could possibly be found is beyond minor when you compare what you get vs. what you pay. Love the look of the car. Friends constantly stop me to ask if its "really" a Hyundai. The photos on the site dont do it justice...Do yourself a favor -- put it on your list. Trust me, youre definitely NOT "settling."