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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  Pleasantly surprised - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By Monipeni - January 23 - 2:00 am

  Was forced to buy the Sonata due to constraints set by the bank and my budget. It turned out it is a great car for the money. Fun to drive on the highway, handles like a dream and has lots of pep. Plenty of room inside and in the trunk. Nicely styled too. The stereo cranks except the CD player skips sometimes. Some of the paint is peeling off a door handle. Its a 5 speed. The shifter is horrible, hard to find 3rd gear sometimes and have to be at a complete stop to go into 1st. All in all I would recommend to a friend to buy a Sonata anytime.

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  quality/reliability - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By brumble - January 23 - 2:00 am

  Weve got 26,000 mostly-city miles on our Sonata. The ONLY things weve replaced/fixed are battery and one light bulb. 4 cyl. with 5-speed is lively performer. Quality so far is BETTER than our Camry.

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  Great first car - 1999 Hyundai Accent
  By Brandon G. from CA - January 20 - 2:00 am

  Ya, Im 16 and I got my accent about 6 months ago and it has been great. Its not the fastest car in the world but its still fun to drive.Also its small size helps a lot with parking. It seems like a very reliable car and Id recommend it.

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  2007 Hyundai Santa Fe FWD Limited - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Collyer Burbach - January 15 - 3:56 am

  Purchased this vehicle two weeks ago for my wife. She and I both love it. We had a power seat switch fail within a week, but the dealership addressed it quickly. Power is good with the 3.3L. The 2.7L would not be enough. Turns tight, quiet on the road. Seats have enough adjustability to be comfortable. Good leg room in 2nd row.

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  So far very nice. - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By tom - January 13 - 8:13 am

  Only 800 miles so far. Firm ride but sporty feeling. Can see well out of the vehicle. Seems well constructed. Mixed gas mileage so far 24-25 mpg. Nice short turning circle.

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  How Good You Look - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Magnolia Mae - January 12 - 2:00 am

  I just got my car, and I love it! It drives well, has great pick-up and is super pretty. The only thing I dont like is there are no power windows or locks and no cruise control, but its nothing I cant live without.

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  Love my Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jeannie - January 12 - 12:40 am

  Why get a BMW X5 when you can save 30K and get this vehicle. It rides great,looks great, fully loaded, leather seats, sunroof, etc. :) Gas Mileage could be a bit better, it is great on the Highway. I have so much room. The warranty is outstanding. I used to drive a BMW car and wanted a BMW X5 but didnt want to pay the sticker price. I found the Tucson and it came with everything and a bit more than what the X5 had, and a WAY LOWER sticker tag. I highly recommend this vehicle.

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  Satisfied with our Hyundai - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jqueen - January 11 - 2:00 am

  We have had our 2001 Hyundai for almost three years and 52,000 miles now. We have had a few visits to the dealership for minor problems, most within the first few months of ownership. We still get right at 33-35 mpg on the highway and 25-27 in town. The engine isnt as quiet as it was new, but it still performs the same way. There are no annoying rattles in the car, except when there is loose change in the cupholder or something to that effect. All in all, it has been an excellent choice for us.

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  Heres hoping - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By federale46 - January 9 - 5:08 am

  I have had this car since March of 2010, and most of the time, it is trouble free, but there are quirks that make me think of turning it in. I commute 82 miles a day, and have 61K on the car. Everything was fine for the first 30k miles. Then, it developed a problem with the fuel tank where it wouldnt take gas, and this took the dealer a month to resolve. Then, the transmission started thumping. The dealer did a reset twice and replaced the fluid, but the thumping started again at 59K. The dealer says they will replace the transmission if they find the condition again, but the problem is that the thumping comes and goes, and when its time to take it to the dealer, the thumping stops.

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  No pick up - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By newcar62 - January 7 - 4:42 pm

  I really want to love this car. I love the exterior and interior design and all the features it has. For these reasons, I would say the car has good value. HOWEVER, I have had the car not even 2 weeks and cannot get used to the 4 cylinder, which Im assuming is the reason the car has NO pick up. It takes too long to get going every time I have to accelerate and this makes me dread every single traffic light/stop sign. Maybe it is because I am coming from the 6 cyl. tuscon, but it just doesnt seem like enough power for an suv. I dont remember my test drive being like this so Im tempted to go drive another one at the dealership andsee if its a problem with my car. Anyone else have this?