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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  Excellent Value - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Paul Hickey - September 17 - 3:16 am

  Were just over 3000 miles into our new Santa Fe which we bought after a 5 minute test drive having read the reviews on line. Wow what a motor, my wife has moved from Mercedes Benz to Hyundai and no wonder what a super product. We test drove the new 2008 C Class today just to compare the two brands. The Santa Fe 3.3ltr Ltd edition in Black with Cream Leather interior and the high driving position wins hands down. We had a spin in the 2.7 litre version which also impressed however the bigger engine makes a massive difference to the overall driving experience. For those of you lucky enough to own the new Santa Fe happy motoring for those of you who are still sitting on the fence enjoy the view

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  Amazing - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By kwachong - September 16 - 11:50 pm

  This Entourage minivan is the best qualtity car I have ever driven. I have driven BMW 3 series. Actually I am more satisfied than BMW in its comfort, brake, manuvering on the street, in all the matters in drving.

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  2013 Hyundai Elantra GT - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By bcgordy1 - September 16 - 10:24 am

  Just bought the car a couple of weeks ago. Had narrowed decision down to Toyota Prius or the GT. Decided on the GT because of price, standard features, warranty, no batteries to replace and, believe it or not, quietness! Admitedly it is a little smaller than the Prius but we are empty nesters in our 60s looking for an around town/short road trip car. The car is a joy to drive and so quiet. Suspension is "sports", i.e., fairly stiff. Car feels solid.

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  Great car! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By houstonscott - September 16 - 5:27 am

  Have almost 2,000 miles on my base Sonata Hybrid and I am impressed with the vehicle. High build quality and great gas mileage. Recent road trip returned 41+ mpg.

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  Saved my life - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mikki - September 16 - 3:46 am

  Less than a year after I purchased 2007 Sonata Limited I was t-boned by a Ford Explorer doing 60++mph. The impact was directly in my drivers door. Miraculously, I climbed out of the vehicle and walked away from the wreck. I loved the car from the second I bought it and love it even more now. I will be buying another one just like the one that was wrecked and probably buying a Hyundai SUV for my husband. I drive an average of 40000 miles per year just for work and I really enjoyed this car.

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  I love Hyundais - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By lauram - September 16 - 1:02 am

  This is the third Hyundai Ive owned and I loved all of them. My last one had 250,000 miles on it, yes you read correctly thats not a typo, 250,000 miles. And its still going, I sold it to the salesman who sold me my car! He bought it for his daughter and he loves it. I never had a problem with any hyundai, I cant say the same for the 2 fords I had. terrible cars. give me a hyundai any day. I am totally sold on these cars.

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  Best yet! - 2014 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By badler - September 15 - 3:29 pm

  I only have a couple hundred miles on the odo but here is my initial review. Comfortable but the seats could be a little wider and have more leg support. It has the smoothest shifting manual I have ever driven which is good because I prefer automatic for a daily driver. Picked the car up for 15,900 after rebates. It has the style package with Leather. Ride is fantastic and I love the selectable steering feel. Gas mileage has been 30mpg in mixed driving and its not even broken in. Bluetooth and voice activation work perfectly.

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  love it - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By HappyCleve - September 15 - 1:06 pm

  I bought this instead of the RAV4 and I am very happy. Cute, comfortable, leather heated seats are great. Seats flip down easily for my xc skis. Plenty of trunk room. Even my mom fell in love and it is a great value!

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  Hyundai Continues to compete and win with Elantra GT base - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By salmonking46 - September 14 - 11:24 am

  If you are in the market for a car that is the perfect combination of fun, affordable, and functional the Elantra GT beckons a look. The Bluetooth functionality is practical and fun, Blulink is a useful. The steering mode option is clever, and again practical and fun. Eco mode is great for economy, averaged 39 mpg on the interstate first time out. Turning Eco off gives you some extra punch in the pedal. The seats are a comfortable compliment to a stable ride that seems to mix sporty attitude with touring comfort perfectly. Standard heated seats are an unexpected bit of luxury. It would be nice to have more compartments for storage. Exterior appearance beats the competitors by far.

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  $18,000 Including TTL! - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Danish American 73 - September 14 - 4:46 am

  I have been looking at the Sonatas for months now and finally jumped in when I saw the $3000 rebate. Since the first time I saw it I thought it reminded me of a BMW or high-end Honda. Beautiful lines and Xenon headlamps make it a very sexy car. Even the XM/FM radio antenna complete this picture. The front fog lamps are also cool looking. The 4Cyl is by far the most powerful and quietest 4Cyl Ive ever driven. It easily compares with my stock 6Cyl Nissan Maxima engine for acceleration. It was an easy choice after test driving the 4 and 6. Yes, the 6Cyl is VERY powerful and fast, but the extra $2000 price tag plus the annual increase in fuel cost of $400 is simply not worth it.