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:

• 

  Fantastic Ride!!! - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Lisa - April 4 - 5:10 pm

  Great job Hyundai! Love the handling of the Veracruz. Quiet ride.

• 

  Great Car with a MAJOR safety flaw - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By ricwhite - April 4 - 11:53 am

  I purchased my Azera in mid-March after much research. The Azera is a quality car with features found in cars costing thousands more. However, recently released crash test results put the Azera below most sedans in several safety areas. This is very discouraging -- especially considering all of the saftey hype that surrounded this car. Another disappointment is fuel economy. I average about 20 mpg (70% city 30% highway). The performance is great. Superb ride and feel. Accleration and brakes are excellent. It is a very comfortable car with good handling. The exterior design is not breathtaking, but above average. The build quality appears great. Overall, very impressive.

• 

  GLS v6 (Canadian) - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By DPB - April 4 - 8:06 am

  I owned an 18-yrs old Taurus that Id had for the last ten years. I decided to by a new car since I wanted something with a warranty. Hyundais warranty is included in the price and its 5-yrs bumper to bumper, well almost..! I always had Fords or British Leyland cars. Before buying the Sonata I looked at the v6 versions of the Fusion, G6, Mazda-6 and the Altima. The last two were too expensive. When comparing the Fusion & G6 the Sonata out paced them in all areas. I got a great deal at the dealership whos knowledge of this product was excellent. I have done 13,500km without any issues. Those journeys from Calgary to Edmonton are less tiring now & more comfortable. Excellent car.

• 

  Great SUV - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By REL - April 3 - 2:26 pm

  The Veracruz is a very quiet smooth riding suv with very good quality, it has many extra features for the money. The only problem I have with the Veracruz is the gas mileage, it is less than I expected.

• 

  QuickSilver Luxury - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ralph T. - April 2 - 4:53 pm

  This is my third Elantra and it is by far the best. It is loaded with features and it has been turning heads wherever I go. Thats pretty cool when you turn heads in a car that cost less than 20K. The only option I did not get was leather, but the cloth seats warm up quickly on these cool northeast mornings. Next week I am taking it on a trip and I cant wait to see how comfortable it is on the long trip.

• 

  buy used and beat the depreciation - 2013 Hyundai Veloster
  By Tom K - April 2 - 2:30 am

  I bought this 2013 Orange Turbo with 14000 miles on it for less than $15,900. Sticker on it new was $28000+. This car has all the options, moon roof, paddle shifters, etc. It was unusual for the left side tires to be shot, but figured it was a turbo and the previous owner had some fun with it. I am old and should have bought a car that sits a little higher up. Averaging about 26-28 mpg on regular gas. So far so good.

• 

  After 3 months, could not live with the lack of power - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By rskdsk - April 1 - 12:27 am

  In general it is a nice car, but the lack of power is just not something I can handle any longer. If you live in a place were you need to pull out into traffic ... DO NOT BUY THIS CAR ... or you will cause an accident. I got the fully loaded model with the tech and appearance package, moon roof, etc... but could not get home-link. The nav is easy to use with good graphics, the ride is ok, but sloppy when push to its limits. The 38 mpg is only achieved when light-footed on the highway, otherwise the true milage is 27-28. In summary, I thought by buying a fully loaded model would somehow compensate for the lack of power ... I was wrong.

• 

  Limited AWD - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Pabs54321 - March 31 - 9:10 pm

  We bought the Santa Fe so that we could transport our newborn grand daughter. My wife had a Mustang convertible and it was impossible to place the child in the car seat. We looked at quite a few SUVs and chose the Santa Fe. I never thought Id enjoy driving an SUV but I do enjoy the Santa Fe. My only complaint is the gas mileage, it is almost as bad as my V-8 powered truck which is also a 4X4.

• 

  Excellent Buy - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By P Brantley - March 31 - 1:49 pm

  I purchased this car within an hour of my test drive and havent had a single regret so far. I just returned from a weekend trip to another state and have already put over 12oo miles on the car. I would rather drive this than my wifes Camry XLE. I am 6 ft and weigh 280 but the comfort and driveability are exceptional. Very smooth, not rough, tight steering, no power surge acceleration with cruise control even up steep hills. I have averaged 31-32 MPG. I am very pleased with this car and the service I received from the dealer who went the extra step and got my 4 points off my initial interest rate. I will look to Hyundai first for my next car.

• 

  Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By undecydedd - March 31 - 10:00 am

  My husband was broadsided by another SUV that weighed 2000 lbs more than our Santa Fe, that was traveling at about 50 mph. The Santa Fe flipped from the impact, spun 180 degrees and landed on its wheels. My husband walked away from this accident. He had nothing broken, literally not even a scratch. The only injury was the soreness from the airbags and the force of the impact. I would recommend the Santa Fe to anyone based on the fact that my husband is still here with me. I appreciate the fact that Hyundai includes standard side air bags in their vehicles. The quality of the Santa Fe saved a life.