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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  OK car, bad choice for me - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Ricardo Ho - January 25 - 4:46 pm

  I bought an AWD Limited Santa Fe a year ago.It is an okay car. Some squeak and rattles, but I never had any mechanical failure. The sound is relatively good. Initially, it drives ok. I later found the the front seats were too high and very uncomfortable. It takes me a month to find that out and I develop a serious lower back pain that affects my sleep. The leather used in Santa Fe does not last. I decide to change car to ease my lower back pain. Most dealer were only willing to trade it for 1/3 of the price I paid. I end up give Hyundai another try since they gave highest trade in value. I still lost half of my investment.

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  2007 hyundai limited - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By bernard edwards - January 25 - 11:56 am

  we purchased our seventh hyundai,a vera cruz limited and like our other hyundais we love the vera cruz.we got the ultimate package,and it is a gorgeous vehicle inside and out,and like the motor trend said it beat the lexus rx 350 and i can see why.gas milage right with two wheel drive at 500 miles is just over 24 mph,so it is the best cross over out there.

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  Died at 99,200 miles! - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By Angela Wakhweya - January 24 - 9:28 pm

  I bought it new. It ran efficiently for six years...I was about to celebrate its 100,000 mile birthday when the timing belt shredded and killed my whole engine...after one year of no car payments, is it worth the grief now...

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  Could not be Happier - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By lasagapunk - January 24 - 5:46 am

  I bought my Elantra as my second Hyundai. I love the ride, the radio, and the price. I got all the extras, except ABS, for under $15,000. This is the first time that I walk out to my car on way to work and think, "I love my car."

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  I smell lemons - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By 1carnut - January 23 - 9:24 pm

  Thank goodness for the warranty. I bought this car used with very low miles and a good service history. I have a brake problem that cant seem to be solved. On my 5th master cylinder and still have mush brake pedal. (Maybe thats not the problem guys!!) Ive also had to have the rack & pinion replaced and the noise it was making prior to replacement is back. All of this with less than 35k miles. I do not abuse this car and it should not be having these issues. I will say that the dealerships have been good about doing the repairs. I see that its on the recommended used cars list. I guess I just got a bad one but NEVER AGAIN!

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  Driving 2005 Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Sam Joo - January 23 - 1:30 am

  I have been driving 2005 Tucson GL for 2 and a half years now, and it has been great experience! Just a regular oil changes and brake pads after 40,000, but I think its becasue of hilly areas that were in. We (my wife and I) drove it around quite a bit, to Chicago to Virginia, and its really fun to drive both city and highway. Its still quiet, and has lots of room. I was so please with lots of space (both rear seats and a passenger side seat can be completely folded) when I moved after the purchase. Mine is a front wheel drive, but it was quite fun to drive on snowy roads, especially electric stability system was great when I drove the hilly drive ways.

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  Great car... with bad surprises - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jeffbiss007 - January 22 - 10:24 pm

  I bought my Hyundai Elantra in march 2005 and I was totally satisfied with it! This car has a great look, does not consume a lot of gas and has enough power to shift any slow vehicle on any road. Also, this car really has a lot of space (can make 5 persons very comfortable, including 4 men over 60). But... Bad surprises appeared during the winter 2008/2009: My clutch began to slip more and more. I drive a manual car since I am 16 (12 years from now) and I never had troubles with clutches. And have always been gentle with my Elantra. Now, after 80000 km (50000 miles), my clutch is done, and I have to prove my dealership I did not beat my car:

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  Hyundai customer for life. - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Velantra - January 22 - 4:20 pm

  I traded my 02 Elantra GLS for an 05 Elantra GT 5dr. The GT rides a whole lot better because of the sport tuned suspension. Quality inside and out is excellent. I put 57,000 miles on my 02 Elantra without any problems and I expect the same for my 05. I love the style of the 05 GT 5dr. If your in the market, you really need to take a look at the Elantra and test drive one. Youll see the difference and also see how much money youll be saving compared to the competition.

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  tracking - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By JaimeX - January 22 - 8:00 am

  I like the car overall well enough. Quality is good. The only problem I have noticed so far is the tracking at highway speeds is a bit loose - that is, it wanders off desired track easily and steering is a little twitchy, especially in even a slight cross wind. I havent driven it enough to develop an opinion about the gas mileage, reliability or other operation aspects.

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  A LOT of Car for the Money - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By Drew2931 - January 22 - 6:43 am

  I have 20,000 miles on my 2008 azera limited. This is a lot of car for the money! It is quiet, smooth, comfortable and with great performance from the 3.8l v-6. It has been perfectly reliable. There are no rattles or squeaks anywhere and it feels like it will stay that way forever. My children love the back seat - comfortable seats with lots of room. The truck is huge! All of the controls are logically laid out and I did not have to go to school to figure everything out. I Cruise at 72 - 78 on the interstate and the car is stable, quiet, great visibility all around and I average 25 - 26 mpg at this speed. I love the styling, it is understated, but classic.