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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  07 Sante Fe is a winner - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Larry - February 8 - 1:46 pm

  This vehicle is worth every penny I paid for it. The exterior body design is such an improvement over past Sante Fes. The interior is well laid out and uses quality materials. Leather Seats on the limited are more comfortable than the cloth seats. All the built in safety features make it very insurance friendly.

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  Great Value - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dale Poncy - February 8 - 10:00 am

  This is my 4th Hyundai. I have owned an Elantra GLS, Elantra GT, Santa Fe, and now this Sonata LX. All are 2001 or newer. These are great cars for the money.

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  Some issues, but a good car overall - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By srchad - February 8 - 10:00 am

  Had my GT for 2 years and have 18k miles on it. Overall very pleased. Reasonably powerful and rides nice enough. Minor issues like sporadic engine racing at idle, clock stopped, and flaws in paint. Interior quality is surprisingly good and the parts seem to be good quality. Some cost cutting is obvious. The protectors that cover the bottom frame of the doors seem to be nothing more than thick pieces of tape, not plastic like in most cars. The heel of my shoe scraped right through one of them to the paint. Since the resale value is not up to par with Honda or Toyota, make sure you plan to keep it for a while. For the money, though, this is a nice car!

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  Fun, Fun, Fun - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Corrinne T - February 8 - 10:00 am

  I just got my new Tiburon this week and I love it! Its fun, sporty, and drives great in the rain!!! I cant wait to drive it when the roads are dry. I bought the car because of its sleek exterior design and comfortable interior. The infiniti system is absolutely perfect for jamming to great tunes. The only thing I wish it has is a bit more hp but it does the trick. Having the 6-speed really helps. Its definitely a head-turner and has really wowwed my friends and family.

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  Kick A** car! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Boston Babs - February 8 - 10:00 am

  Fabulous car! Great feeling driving it. Pick up, from stop position is excellent. Standard features are above average. Its usually in automatic, but can go into manual transmission if I want to play some road games with some of the big boys! Stereo is fantastic. The ONE BIG THING I MISS IS..... Hyundai doesnt make rain guards for the windows. I get soaked if the window is open a bit in the rain. Otherwise,I really love everything about this car. Great styling Hyundai!

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  I love my Hyundai! - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jake - February 8 - 12:26 am

  I bought this car brand new and have driven 122,000 miles with NO major problems. The suspension, exhaust, and air conditioning are all holding up well and have never been serviced! The ONLY thing I think Hyundai could have done better is increase the time between replacements of the timing belt which is set for every 60k miles. Dealerships want to charge over $1100 for the service, but I can get it done at Midas for $450 - its a pain because they usually want the car for the entire day. Even with that, the maintenance costs have been super low and all I do is regular oil changes. I hope to keep this car for another 80k at least!

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  perfect sales rep. vehicle - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By hantover - February 7 - 4:46 am

  Bought my Sonata new 2 1/2 years ago. Currently have 94,000 miles on her. High miles due to my profession as a sales rep. covering 5 states. Only one problem was a check engine light at around 40K - dealer said it was some problem with the fuel cap. No problems since. Routinely get 32 mpg highway. I have owned 32 cars since 1977. This one and Honda Accords have been the best for ride, comfort, gas mileage, and reliability. Left the sales rep. job 8 months ago, so I wont be driving the usual 50K per year. I intend to keep this one for another 10 years.

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  Moms SUV - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Sam12345 - February 7 - 2:00 am

  Great for around town

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  Watch out for this car suspension! - 2009 Hyundai Azera
  By Carlos - February 6 - 9:16 pm

  The driving is fun. Powerfull car nice well finish lots of details making this car amazing. The suspension is not so great, is very stiff so if you dont like the feel of the road "Do not purchase this car" I cant wait to trade in for some other and remember I purchase this car not even 3 months ago.

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  100,000 wagon - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By RonM - February 6 - 6:29 pm

  Bought this car new, and hate to trade it. Put 100,000 on it without any major problems.