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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  A nice second car - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Claystin68 - March 23 - 2:00 am

  Bought the car for going back and forth to work. Occasionally picking up the children.

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  Azera is a Good Automobile - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By Jim Cole - March 22 - 5:34 pm

  I have driven my new Azera for 3 weeks. So far,I love it. Powerful,smooth,noiseless ride. I wanted the white ,But not in stock. I purchased the Titanium Blue. How lucky was I??? The blue is soooo rich looking. To own a car for 10-20000 dollars less than I was expecting to pay is a huge bonus. Hyundai makes a fine product. I ...Will write a comment in about 6 months,after the break in period.

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  Been solid as a rock - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Doug - March 21 - 4:52 pm

  The dealer had quite a number of 03s left as the 04s were coming out, so I felt the "deal" was good. Looking at all the cars in this price range, Edmunds comment was it was a "good commuter car". I drive a hundred miles round trip to work and back, they were 100% correct. It still averages almost 30mpg. Ive been very pleased. Never been back to the dealership. Change the oil ever 3-4 thousand miles. Original tires tires lasted about 45k. With 68,000 miles on it (I drive a Mustang convert most of the summer), Im looking for a new one.

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  Love my Sonata - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Darla - March 21 - 2:22 pm

  This is the third Hyundai Ive purchased and OMG have they come a long way from the 1986 Hyundai Excel. This car is quality all the way around for an extremely reasonable price.

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  New CEO is a genius! - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Scourge - March 21 - 10:00 am

  Hyundai used to suck...bad! Then they got a new CEO and viola! Major changes took place. If this vehicle is any indication of the rest of their lineup, Hyundai will be a major player in just a few more years. We have approximately 10,000 miles on our Santa Fe already and not a single problem to note. We tested the Escape, Liberty, and others. I then convinced my wife to test the Santa Fe just to be thourough in our research. We were both floored by the quality of the vehicle, the price, the warranty, standard features, etc., etc. IMHO, there is simply no better value out there.

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  Didnt think I would ever own a Hyundai - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Converted - March 21 - 10:00 am

  My wife talked me into looking at this vehicle. To avoid a conflict, I gave it a token look. It blew my negative expectations away. I went back several times, each time looking for something negative. I simply couldnt find anything wrong. We also looked at the Mazda Tribute. The interior of the Tribute looked like a Ford pick-up from the 80s compared to the Santa Fe. I am very pro Honda and Toyota, this is right there with both of them. So far I am still in shock at the great sense of value I get each time I drive it. While I was waiting for them to clean my new Santa Fe up to take it home, the salesman threw me the keys to a 2003 Tiburon. Wow, that just may be my next purchase.

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  Value in Hyundais Elantra GT - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By timtriolo - March 21 - 10:00 am

  The most standard features @ the best price in the market. Interior detail is sensitive to comfort, design, performance.Others comment my GT looks like a SAAB!Quiet and peppy powertrain. Warranty is untouchable.Drawback=lackluster trade- in value.Dealers say this is changing, but so is dealer attitude:theyre becoming arrogant. Some said my researched figures were bogus,or tried to short--change me on my trade. Found and honest dealer and got a fair trade+$500 under invoice on GT.I bought discontinued Cranberry Color(replaced with weak Chianti Red).warranty is untouchable.

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  Great car for the price - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By VerySurprised - March 21 - 10:00 am

  My previous car ,a 95 Altima, was paid off (at least the loan was) but I found myself in the repair shop almost every month with bills more than a car payment would be. So I decided to look for a new car. I test drove different cars from the leading manufacturers. Since my previous perception of Hyundai was not very good, Hyundai was not even in my radar until I saw an article online about the redesigned Sonata. I was presently surprised when I went to my local Hyundai dealership, saw and drove the new Sonata. I have driven 7500 miles so far with no problems. So far I am very impressed with the 2002 Hyundai Sonata.

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  2001hyundia - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Alexmyman - March 21 - 10:00 am

  Bought for value with features? Was leary at first? After one year of driving it and with a few long trips under its belt I fell in love with it. I have a trailer hitch attached and found it quite capable of pulling a decent size load. Gas mileage city around 23 mpg (imperial) highway average is around 35 mpg (imperial) Only problem I had is when getting gas filled up If the gas cap isnt turned tight enough the check engine light comes on and Its a trip to the dealer to fix it.Dealer excellent!!!

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  great value - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By blisowski - March 21 - 9:26 am

  Very little problems in the first year of ownership. Service departments are topnotch and will consider buying a Hyundai in the future. More dealerships would be helpful, it is 45 miles to closest dealer.