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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  2013 Hyundai GT hatch Auto - 1 month review - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By mergatroid - July 27 - 11:31 pm

  Came from a 2010 Mazda 3. Love this car so far. I am 6 1" tall and have great leg room in front. Back seat is also very spacious. I have the base model but it is very well equipped. So far averaging about 32MPG in about 80% hwy, 20% city driving. On one 60 minute freeway stretch at 65mph I averaged 36mpg. Pleased so far and I am hoping it will improve as time goes on. Keep it in ECO mode all the time. Very quiet car, average acceleration but plenty of power in manual mode. Sport mode in steering my favorite and handles very well, but not quite as good as my Mazda 3. Fantastic dash set up - Bluetooth works great, AC strong, above average stereo - nice bass. Competitors have their work to do.

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  Probably not - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By gk - July 26 - 4:36 am

  Bought the GLS 6 cyl new from dealer. Very reliable for the first three years I owned it. Good drivers visibility. Not exciting to drive, and not very fuel efficient (for 3500 lbs). Puny V6 engine. Useless rear trunk cover. Tire pressure light too sensitive. Ride was a little smoother carrying a full load vs. traveling light.

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  Head Turner - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Kevin - July 26 - 1:10 am

  Husky sound from the exhaust! 6 speed, all leather interior, premium sound system, great value!!! If you are thinking of whether you would have buyers remorse after purchasing this car, let me help you!! Just buy it. Great on fuel, great on style. Sun roof gets a 10.

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  cost to own - 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ksig - July 25 - 11:33 pm

  The good news is that this is a great road car and does a nice job in snowy weather. On mixed town and highway im getting 23.5 mpg. Now for the bad news, with just a little over $26,000 miles Im looking at a total maintenance cost of just over $1,300. this is well over the Edmunds figure. the 15k service was $282. the 30k will be $550. Im also expected to have serivce to the rear differential and transfer cases @$120 each. Finally, there is some filter that needs to be replaced at 30k that will cost $250.

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  Beware a bumpy ride - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By D - July 25 - 10:53 pm

  I just leased a base model Genesis a week ago. Sadly I like everything about it except the suspension. When I first test drove it, I noticed it was a bit bumpy, but I thought maybe it was because of the road I was on. I also noticed a few reviews mentioned bumpiness. But when I test drove it the second time it felt OK so I went ahead and leased it. After I took it home, I started feeling that the bumpiness was quite pronounced and at times jarring. I often find myself getting bumped up out of my seat, akin to the feeling of airplane turbulence. The vehicle has an odd combination of soft and hard ride. It feels cushy on a perfectly smooth road, but imperfections make the ride feel very bumpy.

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  Its better then expected - 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Mitch - July 25 - 9:28 pm

  While milage drop during the winter 24 city / 32 highway, it gets good when it worm up. Last trip from Iowa to Salt Lake City I got 36.7 avg while using cruise control at 80 mph. Comming back I drop the speed to 72 mph and use my skill to see what can I get out of this car. My average was 40.6 mpg

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  Seat of the pants - 1991 Hyundai Sonata
  By philosopher - July 25 - 2:00 am

  We drove the Hyundai as a lark and it blew away the competition. The test drive made you feel you were king of the road. I save 4k and got the best riding vehicle in its class. The only thing I would do better is get a v6.

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  100,000+ NO PROBLEMS ! Still Going!! - 1998 Hyundai Accent
  By Drifus - July 25 - 2:00 am

  This car has been no trouble. For less than 5 years old and 100000 + its been great. I have replace tires once, spark plugs once. Regular oil changes. This car has never been serviced other then what was mentioned. I have driven this car hard the whole time. (Shifting at 5500 rpms most of the time) If it can endure me like this car has I call it either a fluke or a great car. This car was in Minnesota for 4 years of its life and was wonderful in the snow.

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  Hooray for Hyundia - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By L. Stephens - July 24 - 10:00 am

  After comparing car prices such as BMW, Volvo, Volkswagon, Honda, Toyota I consistantly returned back to the Hyundia Sonata LX V6. I test drove all of the above and could not see paying the high dollers for a "name" brand vehicle, when I could get the same options, comfort and reliability from the Hyundia at a much better price. I am very happy with my purchase.

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  so good - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By jinsung - July 24 - 4:06 am

  wow~ not for the korea car powerful and comfort..