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:

• 

  Excellent choice - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Gary S - October 14 - 7:20 am

  I am thrilled with my new sonata. The 6 is a great engine, the car drives very Nice on the highway and is very powerful. I love the radio controls on the steering wheel and I love the free (for 3 months) satellite radio. I think this is one of the nicest looking sedans on the road today. I have the silver with Gray leather interior and it looks terrific. I am a Canadian and purchased the car from towne Hyundai in Buffalo NY and they were great to deal with. The prices I showed them from Edmunds really helped me get a good deal. No problems importing the car into Canada either. I saved well over $10,000 on this vehicle compared to Canadian prices. (thanks to the par value of our currency!).

• 

  Hyundai Rocks! - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By Hyundai Rocks! - October 13 - 5:43 pm

  Great car! Hyundai sells a great product for much less than other imports. Easy clutch, great interior layout, GREAT fuel mileage! I would buy a Hyundai again.

• 

  Watch out Accord - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Car Doc - October 13 - 3:53 pm

  This car is fantastic! Wall to wall airbags, antilock breaks, stability control, power everything. Best car yet!

• 

  Azera - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Linda - October 12 - 3:20 pm

  I have had this vehicle one month and really love it. We have driven the car to Maryland and back and to PA and have gotten excellent gas mileage. It is also a very comfortable car to drive. I love all the conveniences that this car has. Also like the sleek lines in the body. Would highly recommend this vehicle.

• 

  This car rocks - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By cupcakes0904 - October 12 - 3:10 pm

  I love my new 2006 Hyundai Tiburon............she is cute, sporty and all I wanted. I love the looks I get driving cuz I look so good in it. This car comes stocked well even for the lower end models.....def not a stripped car, I got a great radio and rims...no hubcaps for me, not to mention a spoiler..awesome car!!!

• 

  A Great Vacation Ride - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By John Soltysiak - October 12 - 1:04 pm

  I rented a 2007 Entourage in Salt Lake City for an 8 day, 1800 mile vacation through Grand Teton and Yellowstone Parks. The drive was on mountainous roads in winter conditions. This vehicle has a strong drivetrain with fast acceleration and effortless mountain climbing power. Handling was sporty and the ride very comfortable. Gas mileage was outstanding and amazing averaging about 27 mpg. This included a considerable amount of stop and go driving between scenic turnouts in both parks, and some idling to keep warm while viewing wildlife, not to mention the cold weather conditions and, at times, snow covered roads. Overall, I am very impressed with this vehicle.

• 

  We Are Satisified - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Ed & Pat - October 11 - 9:24 pm

  My husband and I purchased our Hyudai Accent GLS 4 door sedan right after the Labor Day Holiday. We have now had it for about six weeks and put about 1300 miles on it. Although we have not taken it out of the city yet, we have done both city driving and interstate driving. The Accent handles well is a bit slow does ride almost like a small car but not bad. It takes curves well and parks easily The sound system is nice and there are neat features which surprising are normally found on higher end cars like lighted mirrors, trunk, glove box tilt wheel. The only interior design we do not like is the placement of the cup holders. They should be more up front We are plaesed with our Accent

• 

  Great car spoiled by driver seat - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By zen2 - October 11 - 10:33 am

  Quiet, yet powerful ride. Great build quality, Lots of room, inside, and in the trunk. However, almost all overshadowed by the very uncomfortable driver seat.

• 

  Fun Car - 2014 Hyundai Veloster
  By gd2583 - October 10 - 5:28 pm

  The Veloster Turbo is a fun fuel efficient car to drive. With horsepower of 201 it passes like a car with a V8. The cornering and handling seem to be from a much more expensive car. Hyundai did a great job on the exterior design, While shopping I was looking at 2 door coupes like the KIA Forte, Hyundai Elantra and Honda coupes. I saw my first Veloster in the lot after test driving the Elantra Coupe and ask the salesman what it was. I noticed that a couple had turbo badges on them and said why not take it for a test drive, who knows. Needless to say this was the car for me.I can see the Veloster becoming a cult classic of the fast and furious types.

• 

  Hyundai XG300 - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By Donna - October 10 - 2:13 am

  excellent value for a car w/ premium options.