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:

• 

  Amasing - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By H Johnson - December 12 - 8:30 pm

  This is our second Hyundai. We traded our 05 Elantra GT for the Santa FE 06. We drove it to our home here in Texas and was quite pleased with all the features as advertised by Hyundai. It has enough power, it navigated the mountains and curves exceptiopnally well,The only thing I didnt know at time of puchase is the inside trim. The glare from the chrome on the Console is the thing I cover with a cloth. NO big deal. The Santa FE will give milage with Cruise Control on and handles high winds with ease here in Soth Texas. The 07 is probably even better than ours but we will keep this one FOREVER! Good Vehicle and you feel SAFE in it. Keep up the good work but dont over price it.

• 

  Sonata great car for the price - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Steve - December 12 - 3:30 pm

  The car has been great and Hyundai supports the warranty. Had a transmission fail at 92,000, but I am sure it was due to improper servicing at 65K. Hyundai replaced with rebuilt Trans only asking if I changed fluid. Previous post dissing Sonata due to failed timing light and no engine light to warn is owners fault. No car will give a light for this and they all will fail. Suppose to replace at 65,000, mine lasted until 90K and then I had it replaced. Still running strong at 97K. Comfortable and roomy. Back seat tight with carseats, but all cars of this size are. Would buy again and recommend. Hope to get another 50K and then buy a new one.

• 

  Nice car, but could be better. - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By SevenBizzos - December 12 - 11:57 am

  Bought a 2004 GT new and with the car approaching 5 years old, Im overall satisfied with the car, but... Doing the suggested, periodic maintenance has been a huge headache, mostly focusing on the dealerships. The prices for the 30k, 60k, etc. check- ups are horribly overpriced and the dealerships dont even perform what the owners manual suggests they do. Youll take your car in for a repair (like a PCV valve) and its 10 minutes of sales talk before they tell you they havent even looked at the car. Ive even had them tell me I needed a grossly overpriced cabin filter replacement only to find it missing a week later when I did it myself. Thievery or the car didnt come with one.

• 

  Canadian VC - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Mark - December 11 - 7:06 pm

  Five weeks in and increasingly impressed as time passes. Roomy, serene, well appointed.

• 

  Good value for the price - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By sean1776 - December 11 - 4:10 pm

  This car has surpassed my expectations. The acceleration and power with the 2.0 turbo feels like I have a six cylinder under the hood. The SE package gives a good feel for the road and handles very good. Yes, you are going to feel more of the bumps, but that is what you get for the handling package. The price for what you get is a value.

• 

  Excellent for the price - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By dcmisa - December 11 - 2:48 pm

  A lot of car for what you pay. The gas mileage is fantastic, I get about 32 to 34 mpg. The interior is great but you can tell that the plastic on the inside doors would scratch easily your not careful. I have the SE model and it comes with the stiffer suspension which really improves handling. Acceleration is very decent too because I have a manual. Dont get an automatic, the manual is cheaper, lighter and a lot more fun to drive. (Beware the trunk is tiny) Also buy the SE coupe as its the only Accent model with ABS which has already helped me out this winter. IMO ABS is pretty important. XM radio is great, even has a input jack for an MP3 player. CD player is also MP3 enabled.

• 

  Bad Tires - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Bad Tires - December 11 - 2:46 am

  I bought the Tiburon new. I started having trouble with the tires right away. Had to air them up within first month, and every 6-8 weeks after that. Took it back to the dealer four times. They said no apparent leak, maybe a problem with the seal. So added nitrogen. 8 weeks later, a tire low again. Deal will not replace tire. Hyundai customer service says Hyundai is not responsible for defective tires, the tire manufacturer is. I purchased road hazard and extended warranty. Neither will cover defective tires. I dont feel safe driving the car.

• 

  2011 Hyundai Sonata - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By shaun peens - December 10 - 6:20 pm

  Ok ,You will all think i am crazy but I traded my 2005 E55AMG IN FOR A 2011 Hyundai. My Merc had 73k and got 13mpg around town. I bought the SE version which has the sporty feel after and after a lot of neg i got the white SE with tinted windows for 21k even. I have had it for the weekend and put 300m on the clock. Comfort good,fuel economy great,looks perfect ,just not sure if i am going to be able to deal with the wimpy engine,so far so good! Would recommend this if you were looking to buy a mid size car. oh yes ,traded my E because i was tired of the $ huge bills every time something went wrong, Total rating 8/10 for me. $21000 for this car is great value.

• 

  Best in class - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By BK - December 10 - 5:40 pm

  Price, gas mileage, standard safety options, and warranty are why I chose the Elantra over other cars in its class. I love all the standard options like XM, 4 wheel ABS, standard side airbags, heated mirrors, blue lights, fog lights, stereo system. I chose this over the Nissan Sentra because of all the standard equipment and the warranty. You just cant beat it. Its a fun car to drive, handles well and just has a overall sturdy feel. It sips gas and after driving a light pick up for over ten years the gas savings are noticeable.

• 

  Absolutely a Keeper - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By james curtis - December 10 - 10:53 am

  Have owned BMW, Caddys ! Now 2 Hyundais. Never needed repair! Great acceleration! Trunk holds 4 sets of golf clubs and interior is spacious! I am only one in my foresome that has a car to hold all of us on a road trip! 30 mpg and fast! Great car!!!