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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  DO NOT BUY!!! - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jennifer - December 23 - 7:07 am

  I wanted to love this car....but...one week after having it I was on a canyon in California it began overheating. I pulled over as prompted to let it cool down, went to the dealer was told there was nothing wrong must have been a fluke. This morning back on the canyon had to pull over due to my 2016 overheating....back to the dealership and was told it is operator error. Im causing the car to overheat with the stopping and starting...WHAT?? I apply the break when stopped and accelerate when I need to move forward....and that is the cause of this? While the technician was explaining this I began video taping his explanation...he stopped and told me I needed to speak with his manager. The manager told me there was not need to tape the conversation, the car will overheat if its in stop and go traffic and there is nothing they can do about it. "Thats the way Hyundais are made" ......Ummmmmm.....what? This came from the Keyes Hyundai in Van Nuys.

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  Sonata has some ponies - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Matt Lowery - December 23 - 2:05 am

  Well, after reading alot of reviews about the 2007 Sonata, I had to go out and test drive a couple. I went to a car dealer that had a V6 and a 4 cylinder 2007 Sonata parked side by side. I test drove both of them and what a thrill. The 4 cylinder had almost the same feel as the V6. If someone told me that, I would not have believed them. I owned a 98 Honda Accord V6 and the 4 cylinder felt almost as powerful as it did. So, I ended up buying the 4 cylinder Sonata and it is such fun to drive. I took the long way home just for fun. I appreciate all the reviews that other people shared. All of them came to "life" when I drove the Sonata for the first time. Go Hyundai.

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  gas guzzler - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Chuck - December 22 - 6:27 pm

  Very comfortable. I purchase the car for the size. It in between the other cars. Good handling in the snow. The gas mileage is the worst I could imagine. 14 mpg around town. What a let down. I had them check it out and they said it was ok. Very disappointed.

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  Value, efficiency, and functionality. - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By douger - December 21 - 7:32 pm

  I shopped Toyota, Scion, Honda and meant to test drive the Mazda 3. The deal I was presented with on my Hyundai caused me to stop shopping. I needed an economical sedan comfortable enough for a family of 4 safely travel. The room and drive was so pleasant, I probably would have been back after Mazda anyway. Engine noise I read about was not as bad as expected and the overall car is superior in functional design. After 6 months and 9,000 miles, Im still finding new things about the car like the fact I cant lock the car with keys in the ignition. If the initial quality rolls into long term reliability, other car manufacturers will have to try extremely hard to win my business back.

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  Im LOVIN my new Tucson! - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By ILUVMYTUCSON!!! - December 21 - 5:40 pm

  I am so in love with this car, If I could marry it, I would! I got the Desert Sage, Base level model, but even with that, the SUV comes loaded with lots of things standard. I had an Elantra (two of them, actually), so the fact that this is built on an Elantra carriage is great. It rides like a car, but I am ever mindful to not take corners like Speed Racer. I have the 4 cyl, so there isnt a lot of "pep" per se and it feels sluggish on accleration, but I just plan accordingly. Sound system is great in the interior cabin. I like the fold down seats and the lumbar support, but it would be nice if the passenger side front seat had lumbar support as well. Overall, its a GREAT car for the price!

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  Tiburon SE - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Scott - December 21 - 12:30 am

  This is one very solidly built vehicle. You can feel it in the doors, hatchback and hood. It handles very well for a car this heavy. There is pronounced torque steer when turning under a heavy throttle, but if you know its going to happen its very easy to correct for. Good power and torque. Very fun to drive. The six speed manual is definately the way to go. Huge track bars front and rear allow aggressive cornering without body roll. Quality Kenwood sound system driving six speakers. Radio quality hampered a bit by the in glass antennae. Overall, one great sporty coupe!

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  Follow up to 8/10 review - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dave - December 21 - 12:02 am

  This is a followup, I have had the car for 4 months and am very pleased with it. I have been getting anywhere from 35 - 38 mph in mixed driving. The brakes are excellent, the a/c cools the car down quickly and the heater warms it up just as quick. Again, I do not know why anyone would buy a Civic after owning this car. It is bigger, base models come with more, is much quicker, and costs anywhere from 2k to 4k less.

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  New car - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Spencer J - December 20 - 9:30 am

  I have looked for a new vehicle for over a year. I checked out every new car in the range and all lacked something. The Azera has room, performance, class, and style. I love the pass thru rear seats. Went on a ski trip and was able to lay skis inside (my skis are a long 203CM). I felt complete control of the car on steep, wet, and winding roads in the mountains. Also got about 27 MPG on the highway. 18 MPG in city. Car is a definite winner.

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  Have had this car seven years! - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Terry - December 19 - 3:03 pm

  First let me say that Hyundai sticks with you all the way with their 100,000 mile power train warranty. They fixed the differential in my car at 95,000 miles free of charge! I never incurred any major repairs other than worn parts. And its been a gas to drive. Steering is very responsive and the standard drive provided excellent gitty-up especially in the mid ranges over 40mph. I would buy it again but the exterior of the 2009 model is just plain looking and they discontinued the hatchback.

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  A really nice little car - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Harrumpf - December 19 - 12:32 pm

  When the gas crunch hit, I decided to sell my Subaru (great car...bad city MPG) and purchase a small economy car. While focused on Civics and Corollas initially because of their stellar reputations, no dealers were willing to discount anything. So, I took my open mind to the local Hyundai store and drove the Elantra. I was immediately impressed with the car. Then I started to read up on it. Consumer Reports rated it HIGHER than the Civic and Corolla....as a matter of fact it rated it #1 in class. I bought an SE for $16,100....a full $2,200 bucks less than the best price I could get on a Civic EX. I have already put 12,000 carefree miles on it and would recommend it highly!