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:

• 

  Great Car - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Jim Proulx - March 18 - 6:40 pm

  I like the car very much. It is fun to drive. I also like the safety features. I like the room it has for hauling.

• 

  time for a new one - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By ralfyb - March 18 - 5:05 pm

  I now have 42000 on my 06 azera and am going to get a 09 I was going to trade it in but the value is terrible I do not understand this car had 2 problems a broken head rest clip and a seat switch they really should value this car more they have made a lifetime Hyundai buyer out of me I plan On keeping my 06 and letting my daughter use it why should i give up the 100000 Great car keep up the good work

• 

  Better than any american car ive had! - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By kwf - March 18 - 12:39 pm

  I have had this car about 2 and half years. I have had no problems as of yet. I am almost at 50,000 miles. I am thinking about upgrading to the Genesis, it also looks like a great car.

• 

  Many problems - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Brian - March 18 - 11:22 am

  Ive had this car for 3 years, bought it new. Have had many problems with seat back falling off, its been replaced five times and still not fixed (first happened three months after I got the car, on my second coolant leak, cylinder in clutch needed replaced, glove compartment handle fell off, cloth came off the center console, power mirror switch replaced twice, and seat frame has been replaced three times. I would not recommend buying any Hyundai. I have been going through trouble trying to get my whole seat replaced with someone from the Hyundai central office.

• 

  reliable - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By T Bagn - March 18 - 10:36 am

• 

  The car! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Ryan - March 17 - 1:00 pm

  If youre in the market for a sports car this is it! Drove all the American muscle, very big and clumsy. The Genesis coupe suspension and steering is tight and nimble, throttle response is fantastic and the paddle shifters are responsive for the money. Cant believe this is a Hyundai. They have come a long way from the 80s when they manufactured crap. Go test drive one and you wont have to read another review. The Genesis coupe speaks for itself! Under normal driving conditions leave the traction control on or you may leave a skid mark and not the kind you find on the road.

• 

  I love my Tiburon - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By kman1989 - March 17 - 12:36 pm

  It was used with 21,500 miles on it. I bought it right off the bat. I havent had any trouble with it what so ever. Im actually looking into tuning it up. It handles like no other and the ride is smooth. The sound system is great for being stock. The mpg is great too. I live in Idaho and I drove to Salt Lake City, Utah and back on 1/2 tank of gas and its about a 4 or 5 hour drive from where I live.

• 

  Good value$ - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By Elman - March 17 - 10:00 am

  Havent noticed a body roll of automatic shifting problem since we just "commute". Bit of bobbing at speed. Overall a fun car to drive with lots of features for the price.

• 

  WOW! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By sanben - March 17 - 10:00 am

  We researched for months before we even knew what we wanted to test-drive and Edmunds was THE most useful site we found! Hubby and I narrowed our choices to Toyota Highlander and this Santa Fe. It was no contest! We paid about $7,000 less and got a great-looking vehicle with tons of options! It is fun to drive and does NOT look like a cookie- cutter SUV that everyone else has. Try it for yourself!

• 

  Amazing - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By lidude25 - March 17 - 10:00 am

  For the money this is the best car you can get. Some of the options/standard features are not even available on cars in its class and also in more expensive classes.