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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  Best SUV for the money - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Martin - June 10 - 3:36 am

  The Santa Fe, similarly equipped, costs considerably less than any serious competitor. Oddly enough, most people compare this vehicle to Lexus, Honda Pilot, Acura and Toyota Highlander, all considerably more expensive vehicles. The Santa Fe, similarly equipped, is still priced lower than RAV 4 and CRV, which are both less substantial vehicles. Hyundai is a company that in a short period of time, has listened to its customers and actually built cars people want at an affordable price. They are beating Toyota at their own game by sticking to reliable, proven technologies without experimental gimmicks offering their customers a solid vehicle with a meaningful warranty.

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  Peppy car - 1996 Hyundai Accent
  By Claystin - June 8 - 2:00 am

  Good car that was purchased used with 33K on the odometer. Reliable and dependable on have changed oil, tires, and brakes, regular maintainance.

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  Love it but some problems - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By ashlex - June 7 - 3:30 am

  We bought our sonata less than 2 weeks ago. And honestly we love the car .... but some problems that come standard on some sonatas. Center console makes rattlling noise. Bad shocks on the rear suspension. Also the mode button on the weel was getting stuck. All those parts are going to be replaised by the dealer. But other than that we love the car. And i just wanted to say all that for the people that a going to buy one of those cars. The onlything i didnt like so far is that the car tends to slide from stop on snow but thats why there is the stabiliy control. The red colour ROCKS. Didnt score perfect only because no car is perfect.

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  Good SUV for the price - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By duclown - June 5 - 1:23 am

  Purchased new in 2003 for wife to drive to work, family use on weekend. Has made several 2,000 mile round-trips from WI to Denver CO through winter snow without incident. Daily commute is about 15 miles round-trip. Reliable car, has only needed one unscheduled maintenance trip for malfunctioning rear diff computer setting (sounds more serious than it is). Our dog loves the cargo area, she sleeps contentedly in the sun on longer trips.

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  Nice Style, Efficiency, and Reliability - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By BMS - June 1 - 4:36 am

  I purchased my Tiburon new in January of 04. I was initially impressed with the style and features offered on a car in this price range. I know that Hyundai used to build junk but they were attempting to re-brand themselves around 03-04 and I really liked the Tibby then, so I bought one. I love my car. I have over 100,000 miles on it and the only problem I have had is around 40,000 the rotors had to be replaced. I change the oil every 6,500 miles and the car runs great, looks great, drives great, and is so versatile. I love that I can flip the seats down and throw my roadbike in the trunk. Overall, probably the most car you could get for around $16,800. And the new ones are even sexier!

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  Great car, not so great speakers - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Earl duChossois - May 31 - 12:35 am

  I wouldnt think in a modern car that speaker quality on the loaded model would be an issue but these speakers are flat. No depth, lots of drop out at high volume. very disappointing. The rest of the car is great.

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  shark review - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Tiburoncwgrl420 - May 30 - 3:33 am

  I love this car more than mostly any other car.I love the body style and the sports car look of it.

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  1 week old - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By thundercat - May 29 - 10:00 am

  I have had my Tucson 1 week and I love it. However, as others have noted, the mileage is not what I expected or is reported. I am only geting 21.5 mph on the highway - granted the AC has been on high due to the high outside temps we have been having. May have to contact the dealer about it. Very comfortable especially when compared to my 2001 Forester! Am looking forward to using the heated seats in the winter, which are standard on the GLS model. Loving the blue tooth, XM satellite radio, and steering wheel controls, which are standard on the GLS I hope that it is as reliable as my Subaru was and that I am able to get the mileage up.

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  smooth - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By epstein - May 24 - 7:40 pm

  Bad ride hard steering need 6 way and air cooled passenger seat. Dunlop tires to much road feel and balance problems. Drivers seat to small not enough thigh support. Nav system pain to learn. Transmission has a slapping sound when stepping off and on the gas.

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  Great look but overall JUNK - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By shadowh127 - May 24 - 3:01 pm

  I bought my SE 14 months ago with 15,000 miles. It now has 35,000 miles on it and Im told needs a new clutch for $3000. I reported a problem from the 1st week and again 3 additional times prior to this past week but because they couldnt duplicate the problem dismissed it. It has been into the Hyundai dealership over a dozen times for things such as: sunroof not functioning properly, bad tpms sensors, faulty driver buckle pretensioner (causing airbag light to come on), cruise control didnt work, fuel gauge faulty, temp guage, acceleration issues - CLUTCH. Do your research prior to buying any Tiburon, they seem to have many similar issues. I will NEVER buy a Hyundai again!