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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  Love the car - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By HGrant - December 26 - 11:20 pm

  After totaling 2 Toyotas I wanted an car that looked,and functioned as well, but cost less. My Hyundai GT was it. The only problem I found were the tires that came with it they did not last a full year. It handles wonderful and has great get up for a small car. There is also plenty of room in the trunk for all my groceries. City gas mileage is approx. 22-24 miles per gallon. Of course my dealerships service dept is wonderful to me, just as they were with the two Toyotas I bought. My neighbors were so impressed, two of them bought Hyundais. That must say something about not only the car but the dealership.

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  Genesis is an Excellent Car! - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Wfoster - December 26 - 2:26 pm

  The Hyundai Genesis is an outstanding car and performs very well. This is a luxury sedan that is powerful, quiet, luxurious, attractive and priced very competitively. Handles very well w/ a sporty ride. Great fuel efficiency for a 3.8L V-6 engine. The instrumentation is great and the sound system is top of the line. I compared the Mercedes E- Class, Lexus 350, Jaguar XF, Infiniti M-35/45 and BMW 5 Series before I chose this vehicle. I think its equal or superior in most aspects, yet was less costly than all of the other vehicles I compared. Great value. Hyundai has a real winner in my opinion!

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  Whole lotta car for the money - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Purpy - December 26 - 11:29 am

  I LOVE THIS CAR!!! This is my first "foreign" car but absolutely love it. You get a lot of car for the money, and I feel so safe with all the airbags that almost surround you.

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  Great car! - 2016 Hyundai Genesis
  By Michael Jones - December 25 - 10:05 pm

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  Junk - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By kat - December 25 - 6:10 pm

  Never buy a Santa Fe again. It was brand new had it 1 week the AC tore up had to return it to dealership 1 year later the Throttle Sensor went out after taking it to the dealership 2 times and saying they couldnt find the problem. When it is in Idle in jumps and feels like its gonna quit all the time. Never again will I buy a Hyundai my first and last. I only get 17 miles to the gallon of gas.

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  It does everything well - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By Brian - December 25 - 2:50 am

  After leasing my first four new cars (all GM), I settled on buying and truly evaluated a lot of options in the midsize category, foreign and domestic. I was sold on the Sonata from the first test drive. Ive driven 2,600 miles so far, and heres my conclusion: its a car that isnt exceptional in any one area, but does just about everything well. It feels solid and well built inside and out, offers a great blend of power and fuel economy (no worries about highway merging/passing), holds a lot of cargo and offers great value for the money. Not to mention the fantastic warranty. Hyundai has a real winner here.

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  Very Satisfied Azera Owner - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Tim T - December 24 - 7:40 pm

  Just completed first long trip, 560 miles, averaged 28.2 one way and 29.3 on return. Very smooth ride and very quiet cabin. Only complaint is inability to turn off the information display on dashboard. Dont need to see this information constantly or as brightly. Very impressed with fit and finish. Accessories for hyundais "flagship" are very limited. Wanted all weather floor mats, not available. Car itself is outstanding. Compares very well against Accord or Camry. Was going to buy Sonata, test drive of Azera was all it took to change my mind. Highly recommended.

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  Hyundai Just Gets Better and Better - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By jim - December 24 - 7:10 pm

  This is my second Sonata....Best car I have ever owned... Great power, handling and comfort...Very secure to drive in all weather conditions... Quiet smooth ride...too much power sometimes!!!Best car in this class and a great buy to boot!!!

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  First Hyundai - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By pghnative - December 24 - 3:36 am

  The Santa Fe is quieter and more enjoyable to drive than my Buick Rendezvous that I really liked. Its got a lot of standard features considering the fact that this is the base model. The 2.7 automatic V6 is OK in coastal NC where we live but strains in the mountains according to my wife (I wasnt with her). The stick-shift feature apparently was useful in coping with the steeper road grades. At 16.5 MPG city, fuel economy is disappointing. No problems at all so far but after 3 1/2 months, we only have 2,900 miles on it.

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  My Hyundai rules! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By KC - December 23 - 4:30 pm

  We get 29-32 mpg even w a lead foot! I still see Elantras on the road & think what a pretty car-oh its like mine! I still enjoy looking outside & seeing my shiny red car in the drive. The interior room is great compared to others in this class, although I agree that the plastic could use an upgrade on the door panels. The trunk is huge. It rides great, but we had to switch out tires as the original ones were death-traps on snow. But now it hauls through the slush and though it slides a bit, I havent gone off the road yet (my friend in a Subaru Outback has 2xs this yr!) I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of buying it. Its a great car for the price-we got ours used-it was a rental.