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 Good Metro Vehicle - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By GrandPoohPa - September 4 - 2:00 am

  The 2003 Accent is a great buy. It appears to get above 250 per fill up. It has a 1.6 liter engine, so it wonÂ’t win you any races. The back seat is small and perfect for kids. The trunk is big and has drop down back seats to allow more room. The electric package option allows the driver control over all the windows and locks. Estimated maintenance cost (based on manufacturerÂ’s schedule of 3750 miles or 3 months) to be about $20 per fill up. (My plan is to throw $20 into a savings account every fill up.) The tires are the smallest made, so that should cut down on replacement cost too.

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  Excellent First Step - Room for imprvmnt - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By JP - September 2 - 9:46 am

  I see many criticizing the handling of this car. Personally, I think it is close to perfect. I find most luxury cars too soft with the handling and this car corners flat with predictable handling while not losing a luxury feel. It does have a tendency to porpoise a bit and there is room for improvement there. The thought given to this car and what is important to the driver is exceptional. I love most of the interior except the seats and headroom. I am 6 5" and I feel the seat needs to be lowered or have some padding removed. The seats should also be bigger offering some lateral support. Overall this is a winner for Hyundai and if they listen to consumers it can only get better.

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  A lot of bang for the buck - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By houston_buyer - September 2 - 2:10 am

  The Santa Fe is just the right size for me, not too small like the CRV or RAV4 but still small enough to be fun to drive. I bought the Limited with navigation, and the IPOD integration, blue tooth, and nav system, and satellite radio and backup camera all work wonderfully. The 6 cylinder has great pick-up. Ive been averaging 21 MPG with mostly city driving. Taking some 6 footers out to lunch, they found the back seat roomy and comfortable. The cargo room is very spacious. The paint job is top-notch. Fit and finish inside and outside are outstanding. The dash controls are wonderfully laid out. The leather seats up front with the power seat is very comfortable.

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  Bang for the Buck - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By jimailer - September 1 - 10:00 am

  LOOKs that just will not stop. Just a great little car to drive. BUT the dealers are few and and getting to be less and less. I think its the super warranty that comes with the car. I have found that it could loose a little weight, Driver head room is limited and the V6 gets about 22mpg. If you push hard you can get it for less than MSRP. All in All Id buy another one.

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  car - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By baroha - September 1 - 10:00 am

  The car is great

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  good value - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By economist - August 30 - 10:00 am

  Very well engineered--better than my Jimmy. Test drove a Toyota Highlander, too. Highlander had more power, space, and a luxury ride. Santa Fe had better steering, breaking, styling, and PRICE, and a solid, European sporty feel for the road. Its a perfect car for my wife. Would be for me if I werent 62", 210 lbs. Duck your head when you get in! Headroom fine once inside.

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  WOW - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By tnc - August 30 - 10:00 am

  the car is a stunner to look at. always gets stares and the fit and finish, but the ride is not so hot and the engine should have much more horsepower. The dealers suck and they are no help AT ALL. the car is worth the money but it is not a lexus, bmw or toyota

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  I love my sante fe! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By M. Allen - August 29 - 4:03 pm

  I tried the Tucson and the Sante Fe, and although they are very simular, I prefer the Sante Fe. It rides better than the Tucson and has more room. I just love my Sante Fe and I love driving it. I recommend it to anyone considering getting one.

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  Nice little car - 1996 Hyundai Elantra
  By Alex1 - August 29 - 2:00 am

  Bought it used, had it for almost 3 years, about 80k now. Pretty happy so far. Relatively fun to drive, stable on the highway, fast, roomy. Mostly Minor problems and maintanance, but parts for Huyndai are pretty expensive. Overrall, a very nice car, but not as cheap to maintain as the price may suggest.

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  Good car, bad gas mileage! - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Janos - August 28 - 3:03 pm

  I bought my Santa Fe back in October 2008 - my wife wanted us to have a 4 wheel drive vehicle in case of bad weather. I expected the mileage to go down some from the sedan I had but figured with with conservative driving, Id at least get in the low to mid 20s. Definitely NOT the case! Im averaging closer to 16 to 18 miles to the gallon even with mostly highway driving at 70. It runs smoothly and is very comfortable to drive but every time I fill the tank, I cringe. Snow / slick road handling is so-so. My wifes Mazda 6 actually handles a lot better in snow & ice which kind of defeats the purpose of getting the four wheel drive Santa Fe! I will probably end up going back to a sedan.