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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  UNDERpowered - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By MOdriver - December 28 - 10:00 am

  I bought mine w/ 5000 miles, put 38,000 on it. Sold it because i had a family and you can BARELY squeeze a baby seat in the back, not practical. I bought it thinking this would be a peppy sports car, but was disappointed. Going from my Saturn to this was a step up, but not much. 170 hp and still only be in the 23mpg highway area makes this car not worth the money. It was reliable, handled fairly well, nice ride, and comfortable.

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  Safe - 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By consumeresq - December 27 - 10:59 am

  I only had my 13 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid for 6 weeks before it was totaled by someone running a red light. The car did what is was supposed to and protected my son and I from serious injury. The airbags went off and even the body shop said it fared very well for the impact it received. I enjoyed the car and think you get a lot for your money. The gas mileage was a little disappointing, but it had better than expected acceleration up hills. I think it has great styling and looks a lot like a Lexus. My only other complaint would be the gas pedal had a strange placement, I felt I had to have my seat too close in order to comfortable press on the gas pedal.

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  Loved the vehicle but biggest NIGHTMARE! - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Amanda - December 27 - 8:43 am

  Bought the car, ran great until i hit about 70000 miles. Engine spun a bearing. Had to replace engine even after following all of the manuf. recommendations and what not had reg oil change proofs and what not. Called hyundai usa (which is a joke) The car cost me $17000 dollars $4000 engine work went through 4 engines in 6 months I never once beat this car or anything I treated it like gold. My 2 year old and I used the vehicle to commute. cost me $3000 when I traded it in. Hyundai will never get a penny from me they are a rip off!!! Dont ever buy any Hyundai!! Friends owned and agree.

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  Re-design is Good! - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By RManley - December 24 - 1:00 pm

  The oveall interior and exterior design of the 2007 Hyundai Sante Fe is extremely well done. My wife loves it and the 07 rides so much better than our previous 03. I recommend this to friends all the time and they love the look.

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  Awesome Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By DLegend - December 22 - 1:36 pm

  Pretty Comfy ride. SE is more rough, but the limited is smooth. I am confident that you can get a loaded Limited w/o nav for 23,5 or 24 as opposed to the MSRP. The engine though deceivingly small, is pretty powerful. People complain about not having a V-6, but unless you live in a hilly rural or suburban area, I dont see the point at all. I think Hyundai did good finally after all these years. They convinced me, and I admit I used to laugh at Hyundai until recently. Ultimately we bought this car for the safety, feel, warranty and looks. Cant comment about reliability just yet, although the Sonata has been doing good in the past couple of years. But we are very optimistic!

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  Love Driving a Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Trudy - December 22 - 2:06 am

  I love driving this car. My only complaint is that the mileage is only about 20 mpg and my old car did better. It has a lot of pep and a lot of room, but still isnt so big as most SUVs. Its easy to maneuver. The A/C will blow you into the back seat and it just feels good driving it. Before I bought the Tucson I drove a Suzuki SUV, a Toyota Rav4 and a Honda CRV and the Tucson won hands down.

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  Bulletproof! - Eulogy to an Old Friend - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By lindabinca - December 21 - 5:08 pm

  Just sold my 02 GLS V6 Santa FeAWD a few days ago.(Feb 2012). I was 2nd owner. It was HANDS DOWN the best car Ive ever owned, When I sold it it had 246K!! miles on it, and get this - not a SINGLE rattle or loose panel, etc. inside. Completely amazing.Unheard of for me who had always owned Fords. YES I had to repair the engine, tran. etc along the way...but what a trooper! I hesitated before buying it-semed too utilitarian - grew over the years to totally respect its design integrity and heartiness. Went shopping for another-an 07 90k yesterday to replace it-what a DISAPPOINTMENT, SO cheaply made. Might just have to scout around out there for a low miles02 again.What happened Hyundai?

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  Hyandi - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Susie - December 21 - 11:06 am

  The leather heated seats were uncomfortable with a bar in the lower part of the seat to the back. Also the heated seats only heated the seat not the back.

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  2000 Sonata, good for the money - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By fish - December 21 - 2:00 am

  Weve beem pleased with the car. So far (weve driven it about 14,000 miles) the car has been great. The car drives well, has upscale features, and no maintenance problems so far. There have been several manufacturer recalls and the Renton dealership has been good to work with.

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  Good and Cheap - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By clauwolf - December 21 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Hyundai Accent because of the Great price and fuel mileage and I have been so happy with it.My only complaint is a little more room.The car comes loaded,I couldnt beleave the extras that came with it for the price.Plus the car not only gets great fuelmileage but my boyfriend says its fun to drive and I agree.