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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  Silver - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Six - August 9 - 10:00 pm

  It rides good, but a little noisy

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  2013 Santa Fe Sport 2.0T AWD - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rmcbain - August 9 - 4:16 am

  The 2013 Santa Fe Sport 2.0T AWD is a good all round suv and does attain a fair gas mileage if driven below 70 with the econo engaged. I have one concern regarding the engine as it has happened several times where it feels like the engine has stalled and when you try to engage the gas pedal the engine does not respond. It is quite disconcerting when you are trying to cross traffic when making left hand turns and there is no acceleration. If you wait one or two seconds or feather the gas it will seem to engage the fuel system and you are good to go. It has also done this on the interstates when you are drivng without cruise and the gas pedal just goes dead.

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  Almost there - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By dgavin - August 8 - 9:20 pm

  I really do enjoy this vehicle. All around good buy. Transitioned from a Crown Victoria to the Elantra due to obvious fuel economy issues and am extremely satisfied. The safety features, (Halo airbags, stability control) are standard an a great addition.

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  Not sure yet how I feel yet - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By DA - August 8 - 4:03 pm

  Pros: Nice features, great warranty, nice looking, not many around. Cons: Accelerator and brake are too close together - too easy to have one foot on both. My leather front seats are like sitting on boards. I cant beleive others say theyre very comfy. Air gets musty easily, though there may be some setting Im missing. Car accelerates from a stop a bit too quickly for my tastes, though Im used to 4-cylinder engines. Front, driver side, door lock seems to get stuck occasionally. Model has been discontinued, so parts may be harder to come by. Not many dealers around and Ive heard the company is in bad shape.

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  elantra touring is great value for money - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By rodger - August 8 - 4:00 am

  What a great little car. There are very few options you can add on to this car as it comes very well equipped. The elantra touring is the same model as one they sell over seas and it shows in the handling, the car handles like a sport car. It comes with eltronic stability control which also helps in this department. I got 30 mpg second tank and the driving consisted of about 45% city and 55% highway driving. I love the bluetooth which will dial your cell phone with voice commands. The only dislikes are the dinky horn, come on Hyundai with todays quite cars it likely wont even be hear if someone has their Windows up and the radio on, also the key and remote should be combined.

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  Great Price & Fun to Drive - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By blueyedlady08 - August 8 - 2:00 am

  When I went looking for a new car to replace my 10 year old Honda Civic I was shocked at the price of a new car. I was just not in the market to pay outrageous car payments. My fiance suggested I look at the Hyundai Accent, I balked at first because in my mind they were UGLY!! But I went online and took a look, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only by the price but the looks and the warranty too. I have had my Accent for a year now and I still love it.

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  Quality Drive Thats Cheap! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Hanky - August 7 - 10:00 am

  Nice Car thats build with quality! The base level model even has SHIFTtronic automatic transmission - makes it fun to drive! Only minuses are below average gas milage for a 4 cylinder. Toyotas 6 cylinder has more horse power and almost the same gas mpg. Coming from driving a luxuary SUV for awhile, low feeling and the harder feel of the seats needs getting use to. Finally, cant beat the warranty and peace of mind of road assistant. Recommended over any dosmestic brand car! Period!

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  Nice Little Car - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By samurai - August 6 - 2:00 am

  For the price, it is a very serviceable car. The drive is smooth and comfortable with decent acceleration. It doesnt go very fast - above 65 mph the engine sounds like its working pretty hard. Not too stable against strong cross winds. I highly recommend it as a second car or as a commuter car that you dont care about putting a lot of miles on or getting dinged in parking lots.

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  Are the Airbags going to deploy? - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By TomcatRyan3 - August 5 - 10:00 am

  I was considering purchasing a Hyundai Elantra until I read some of the reviews on Edmunds. Anyone can put out a 100,000 mile warranty, what good is it if you dont pay warranty claims. Check out the Insurance institute crash ratings. The airbags on the Elantra Deploy Late! Making it worst in class!!! I think Hyundais build quality is highly suspect they lied about there Horespower ratings what else are they lying about.

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  Good but not as great as I expected - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Karen - August 4 - 1:30 am

  Probably should have bought the 4 cylinder for the extra gas mileage, the 6 cylinder is good with a heavy load (people, etc) but not necessary when just one. Have had trouble with "flat" tires...looks like the car sat too long on the lot and this is an 09..tires were changed by dealer off another 09 and still seems to be a rough ride. (Lotta weight was put on the rims too). Great visibility, turns in tight areas well. Interior vinyl (dash/doors) can scratch easily--several nicks are showing up from objects that touch vinyl...Getting lots of customer appreciation "touches" from dealer and Hyundai corp....a very professional group! Getting alot of "lookers" at car..