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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  98 Sonata Reliability for less - 1998 Hyundai Sonata
  By vincent1234 - June 27 - 2:00 am

  Great experience - no mechanical or transmission problems ever- just oil changes. For the price like driving an accord for half the cost

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  Disappointed - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By dongrntuc - June 27 - 12:03 am

  We really like the car but so far have been BITTERLY disappointed with the fuel mileage. For a mix of 60/40 freeway/urban driving, we are averaging about 24 mpg. Even on a highway trip with very favorable conditions, we only got a bit over 26 mpg. We know that we wont get the EPA-certified 31 mpg from the window sticker but it ought to do much better than it is doing. We had the Hyundai district rep look at it and test drive it. He got only 24 mpg too so he confirmed what we have claimed. He said the car is operating properly and there is basically nothing they can do. This seems very ironic when Hyundai is now advertising themselves as the most fuel-efficient cars in America.

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  Great Car - 2009 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Owner - June 25 - 6:13 pm

  Car feels solid. Turns on a dime. No noise. When you step on the gas it goes. Radio and disc player good. When it rains keep windows up or you will get wet. Friends are impressed with the smooth ride. Not a huge SUV but just enough. Back hatch door a bit heavy to close but I guess they all are. Bought it with no frills and am happy with it. I would buy another one.

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  Great car for the money and tough - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By william - June 25 - 10:36 am

  Only problem we have ever had was the visor breaking, other than that nothing. We do change oil and do all the pm to the car. The dealer has been great to deal with as well. Just like with anything take care of it and it will take care of you.

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  Hundai elantra gls - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Tdfd - June 25 - 10:00 am

  This car has decent acceleration when not loaded down. decent handling and while it is pretty basic it is an awesome buy for the price you are not going to find many cheap cars to compare with it.

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  My Sante FE - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Karl - June 25 - 10:00 am

  I have driven my sante Fe through four thousand miles of Mexican roads without one problem. I have also put on over 30000 miles in one year.

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  Good Workhorse - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By helmr2 - June 25 - 9:03 am

  Comfortable ride, high reliability, spaceous interior, noisy engine above 3000 rpm, no troubles at all so far.front wheel drive requires attention at the steering in narrow curves and U-turns

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  First Hyundai - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By gojo - June 25 - 2:00 am

  Three years and 38000 miles with no problems.Consistantly hit 40 mpg on highway & average 35 around town. This car is no sports car, but for the money I couldnt be happier. Just changed original tires with Coopers & what a difference in ride, noise and handling. Hyundai I am impressed so far with your entry level car.

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  BOUGHT IT TODAY - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By ICEBURG - June 25 - 2:00 am

  I have just traded in my 2002 Toyota Celica GT for a Hyundai Accent. I basically could not justify paying $500.00 a month for a car (the Celica). I decided to put my money into renovating my home, so I needed to get out of my Celica lease and get into the cheapest car I could find for the value. My wife and I test drove a lot of cars, went to a lot of dealerships, it came down to the echo and the accent. My wife fell in love with the accent so we got it. It was funner to drive and more comfortable than the echo. It is no Celica (I loved that car) but it will be an ok substitute for the next 5 years.

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  Decent car - 1994 Hyundai Elantra
  By chetan - June 24 - 2:00 am

  A very nice car for its price! Would recommend it to anyone looking for a used car to use within the city.