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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  NOT RECOMMENDED - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By disappointed53 - June 13 - 5:41 am

  Ive had 2 santa fes, a 2007 and a 2009, both 2.7 v6 engines. the 2007 had numerous engine problems including breaking down on me 300 miles from home on a vacation trip; traded it in for an 09 and a year and a half later it developed a tapping sound in the engine and trying to get it serviced is like pulling teeth. this "rep" has to approve all engine replacement jobs but he apparently can check in whenever he feels like it. after numerous tries to get it fixed, including calling corporate office, my frustration made me trade it in for another brand..it is not worth the aggrevation.I will never buy a hyundai again...buyer beware!!!!!!

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  New to the Hyundia family - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By GGagne1955 - June 12 - 2:00 am

  Just purchases a 2004 Sonata and a 2004 Elantra for our son in college. Very pleased with both vehicles. Dealer was a pleasure to work with, they even allowed us to apply the Hyundai loyalty owner rebate to the Sonata. Our first trip in the sonata returned a very good 29.33 miles per gallon.

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  Excellent Value - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By scojay - June 11 - 11:26 am

  After 1000 miles I am still impressed with this SUV. It has a car-like feel with a hint of luxury. Quick when it needs to be, corners well and has sleek curves. I paid $22,900 which represents an excellent value for the features and ride.

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  Great Family Hauler - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Anthony Edu - June 11 - 3:37 am

  Owned the car brand new for about 7 years now and so far it has been good to us. A few recalls were taken care of warranty but one major repair expense outside of warranty was the rack and pinion ($1k/incld labor) since it was leaking heavily from the passenger side. Also, there are traces of oil leaking from the head valve gaskets after 90k. Regular oil maintenance for both engine and transmission have been done religiously according to recommended intervals. Im expecting to pay another $1k @100k for spark plug and valve cover gasket replacement work. It seems that these cars were designed to crap out after warranty and when youre done paying off the loan...SMH

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  Fun but needs more - 2012 Hyundai TUCSON
  By mlien - June 10 - 5:45 am

  I bought the Tuscon straight out of college, and it was the closest thing I could find to what I wanted in my budget. I would say it has a low-budget feel to the inside. If you do a lot of highway travel, it is loud. It could have used another layer of insulation on the bottom. After 70 mph there is a high squeal coming from somewhere in the window. The dealer hasnt been able to figure it out. There is also a smell of mildew in the car from the AC. Both things are apparently common, but the dealer hasnt been able to figure out. For the price point, its a great vehicle. I have moved large pieces of furniture. Its very spacious. It has some get up and go for a 4 cylinder.

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  excellent first time buyer car - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By cc5galvan - June 10 - 2:00 am

  I have had a lot of fun driving my accent. It is a peppy little thing and gets great gas mileage. I would buy another Hyandi

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  keep coming hyundai - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By toledojazz - June 6 - 10:00 am

  couldnt have found a better value for money.no it doesnt match up to bmw,lexus, or other cars 30000 and up.but it holds its own with the cars itw was meant to compete with.there are always trade offs when designing cars,and the ones here are well worth it.i find no problem with build quility.the sespention could be thigter,for a more sporty ride.and i suspect to see improvement over next few

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  Best Sports car for the buck - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By sweetczz - June 5 - 9:15 am

  I bought this sports car because: 1) cheapest, good looking sports car 2) allowed for lots of leg room for growing young boys 3) hatchback has been awesome with room! ,6) had the most FREE options - a lot of them 7) had the best and longest warranty 8) has only needed regular maintenance upkeep so far (tuneup - once every 7 years - im bad) oil changes about every 3-4 miles - 100k miles now

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  Pleasantly surprised!! - 1996 Hyundai Elantra
  By JB in NJ - June 4 - 2:00 am

  Car has done us well as we have over 125,000 miles now. Changed the oil every 3000 miles and the car has reciprocated. Only problems have been with the check engine light coming on (several recalls and a new gas cap). Have only replaced the clutch once and the brakes once or twice. Recently had to replace the wiper motor and window regulator at about $200 each, but thats been the only problems. Just bought a 2003 Santa Fe based upon our favorable experience with this car.

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  Great car for price - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By St. Cloud Dave - June 4 - 2:00 am

  I bought this used at 18000. Ive driven 9000 mi. so far and had to have it serviced twice in the first month but since then has been great. Actually Im surprised its as good a vehicle as it is. It may not be as good a vehicle as you would expect for a 20 thousand dollar car buts it costs a heck of a lot less and for its competition its one great deal. Its been a pleasan ownership experience so far.