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 mpg - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By bassman - November 26 - 8:33 pm

  i have owned my gls for a little over 2 monthes now and so far it has been good except for the gas mileage. it is rated between 19-24 mpg and have yet to reach even 19 mpg despite moderate driving. even on the highway only 18 mpg which bothers the heck out of me. other than the mpg is been a fun car to drive.

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  Like This Truck! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Pat R - November 26 - 7:10 pm

  This is a very good little truck. I have not had any problems with it and the dealers are very professional.

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  80,000 miles and not one problem - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By Jefo - November 26 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Accent new and it has been used as a commute to work car ever since. The only extras are the AC and the rear spoiler. My vechile is about to reach the 80,000 mile mark in just 3 1/2 years with not a single breakdown or problem. I enjoy driving and maintaining so the manual tranny and easy engine layout fit me fine.

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  overall a good city car - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By neerugulati - November 25 - 10:00 am

  great car for the price offered at dealerships. has a lot to offer when compared on standard features with other competitors that includes a powerful engine, power door and windows, safety and conveneint features. only problem is that when i go past 75mph, i start hearing noises from my front tyres.....feels like they rub with the wheel base or something...feels quite dangerous at that speed.

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  Poor resale /Trade-in value - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By K.Kennedy - November 21 - 1:43 am

  I love my Tuscon, but having a few problems, when you go through standing water you lose power steering and a battery light comes on. Scared I will lose control. Also off and on the power locks will not work have to unlock each door manually.

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  New Sonata Look - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Carmine - November 18 - 12:43 pm

  This will make the 6th Hyundai product that I haved owned since 2003, my last Hyundai before the 2009 sonata was a 2006 sonata se v6. This time around I choose the 4 cylinder more for the economy purpose of the car. I am pleasantly surprised with the power and the changes that been made with the 2009 model. I now own the 2009 sonata limited and I think it blows away my previous car a 2007 Nissan altima 2.5sl.

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  1.5 Years Later - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Peter - November 18 - 12:30 am

  Overally I am happy with my purchase, no major issues at all. The sunroofs a bit quirky, but works. This car is a real head turner, I changed the hyundai logos to the ones used in Korea and Australia (Tuscani) and people always now ask if its some special european car. There are not too many on the road so I frequently see people stairing at my car as I am driving, kinda funny being in a Hyundai, not really though of a sporty or exotic. I like the 6spd manual, makes the car really fun to drive but it is a gas guzzler. I think the 28mpg is only if you driver very conserativly. On the highway I say I get ~25mpg depending on how much I push the car.

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  I will buy another Hyundai - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By JustinBuffaloNY - November 15 - 2:00 am

  I love the car! I have put 65,000 miles on the car in 2 1/2 years with no problems! The only thing that I had to replace were the tires. I had the car in a 60mph accident on icy roads head on with a suv and thanks to the cinstruction of the car my wife and I walked away with out a scrach.

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  incredible - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Mike - November 14 - 5:50 am

  "Yeah right.. a HYUNDAI.." or at least thats what I thought when I was ready to buy a new car. My Ford died at 84,000 miles so I traded it in for $4,000 looking at the Civic Si, Eclipse, WRX, tC, RSX, and a few others. Loved my stepsisters 06 Sonata so decided to give Hyundai a try. I never thought Id own a Korean car, but this one is perfect. My car had to have auto climate, V6 (or similar) refinement, leather, moon roof, and premium sound. That pretty much knocked everything out but the Tiburon, Eclipse, and RSX. Minor complaints, but no regrets. This was the best car by far. Firm but not harsh, comfortable but not boring, feels like our 06 C280 in terms of driving feel. Love it.

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  Get Compliments Every Time I Go Out in My Veloster - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By dutchgirl22 - November 12 - 10:08 am

  I bought my Veloster about a month ago. I traded in my 2003 Hyundai Tiburon which I LOVED for this car. I drive for a living so I put on about 25,000 miles a year and I need a small car for parking spaces with a large trunk for my medical devices, along w great gas mileage/good warranty/good price. I had a 4 cylinder Tiburon so I am used to the weaker power of the Veloster as well as feeling everything on the road (I feel less than w my Tiburon). My complaint is the MPG whether highway/city is NOT correct. I seem to have to get gas as much now as I did w my Tiburon that allegedly has 10-15 mpg less than the Veloster. I get compliments all the time and I do love the look.