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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  Most Fun Lil car I ever Owned! - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By itztoofun - December 30 - 7:23 pm

  I checked several other cars that had the same Look" ,small and sporty Look , without the High price tag! This was by far , the best deal for my money! If you just want to cruise with the top back, have the sport car feeling, and not the high insurance cost! I bought the 5 speed GS model with a sun-roof. I have had more compliments on this car than I have ever had with ANY other car Ive owned! Not planning on racing with anyone, just enjoying the ride! Have not had any problems with the car in 3 years !!

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  Still strong - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jay - December 30 - 6:35 am

  I cannot really give a long term review as I have had the same 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe since new and I only have 77 thousand miles on it. I live on Oahu so travel is short no matter where you go. I commute 16 miles a day and have every day since I owned it. I did replace the power steering pump that seems to be a Hyundai problem that is fairly common, serpentine belt which is just good maintenance and proper oil and fluid changes to transmission, power steering and brakes and cooling. The cabin has one flaw, the plastic dash and various parts chirp from bad fits and lack of insulation. Always has been that way. Other than that, I keep it covered both at home in a car port and in an underground garage and always have, perhaps that is why I have no paint issues at all. I hand wash it and always have since Oahu has no public spray wash booths, this seems to have given the paint a long lease on life. The only real issue is that it is realiable enough to get bored with it after so many years.

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  Hyundai has come a loooong way - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By racerjae - December 30 - 3:23 am

  My first car I drove was a Hyundai Excel. What a nightmare driving that thing! In less than 20 years, Hyundai is truly a quality manufacturer, and it shows in their cars such as the Sonata. The Sonata is comparable to the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, but costs thousands less. Plus you get the best warranty out there. Its truly a best buy in my opinion. Every time I drive it, I almost forget that Im driving a Hyundai. It has a smooth supple ride, acceleration is sufficient (although the engine buzzes a bit at higher RPMs), it handles and brakes well, and its quiet inside. It can easily seat five adults, and the trunk is huge. Enough said.

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  Great car, 18 year old owner - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By joeychris909 - December 29 - 8:17 pm

  Great 1st car. This is my 1st car and I love it. Gave me some trouble like the leaking transmission, headlight burnouts, fading dash clock, and the airbag light. Im 18 years old and this car has been fun to drive with a decent amount of space. Other Young people like me would choose a Honda over a Hyundai but I chose the Hyundai. Still runs strong with 156,780 miles!

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  great buy - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By freddy - December 29 - 5:56 pm

  have had the car about a month and cant wait to get behind the wheel every day. it rides like a dream and has lots of bells and whistles for the money.

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  198,000 km and still rolling - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Nick - December 29 - 10:46 am

  I bought this car 4 months ago had to change the radiator, the battery and the head light now have to change the exhaust, the alternator and the spark plugs despite of this... Man I love my car! Nice plastic wood finish, engine not hard on oil and engine very peppy for a 2.0l 4 cyl. Only paid 1500$ and I knew I had to put money in it but I didnt mind cause Hyundai is a very reliable brand and that my car will last for another 198,00 km )

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  Update on my 9/21/2009 review - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Happy Camper - December 29 - 9:06 am

  Still lovin this car after having put over 27K on it. Performed satisfactorily through the New England winter and its still fun to drive. I do find that I rarely seem to get it into reverse with first try; have to give it another extra little push when I hear the gears grumbling. One somewhat annoying little bugaboo that started happening last fall is the driverside door locking by itself when I get out. Seems that I might be slamming the door too hard (from all those years of driving larger cars with bigger and heavier doors, I guess) which sets the latch to lock.

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  What a great car! - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By John Silvers - December 29 - 12:56 am

  Ive had my XG-350 for 3 years and it has not disappointed. What an excellent vehicle. It has more features than much more expensive vehicles and performs just as well.

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  ride to cali - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By jasonM - December 28 - 6:13 pm

  i just baught the elantra gt about a mounth ago. about a week after i bought it my grandmother took a spill out side her house in california and broke her hip. i decided to get time off of work and take a trip down to help her out. now i live in north dakota and my grandmother lives about 30 minutes north east of sacremento CA. i took her through everything from dirt roads in north dakota to snowy passes in montana, washington, and oregon and rough traffic in portland and sacremento. she preformed extermely well in all envirements. her handling never got rougher no matter what terrain or how much snow and rain were coming.id just like to thank the guys who built it.

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  Happy with purchase - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By Chris - December 28 - 11:30 am

  I just bought this 2009 accent and I could not be happier. This car is not my primary vehicle, its just a around town vehicle and for my 17yr old son to use to school and work. The outside body design makes it look like a more expensive vehicle. I was also surprised by the get up and go from the 1.6L engine. Im 6-4 and have plenty of head room. I do have to put the seat all the way back and tilt the back, but over all I feel comfortable.