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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  A very solid vehicle - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By cam36 - October 31 - 10:07 pm

  Mine is a Limited, FWD. Bought in June of 2010. Just turned 37,000 miles. Runs great. Nice power and handling. 20-22 mpg combined winter and summer--all right for v-6 w 276hp. Has been completely reliable thus far with absolutely no mechanical issues at all! The only complaints I have are the road noise at highway speeds and its sensitivity in acceleration from a standstill, it wants to jump right out there...not much room for finesse. If you need to floor it to pass or maneuver, it takes a noticeable lapse of time where it does nothing ( like a turbo hesitating before it kicks in) and then it snaps to and takes off. Aside from these things, its been a great vehicle.

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  Suspension Lets car down - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By kalmanzar - October 30 - 9:45 pm

  Ive had the car for 1 yr now with about 15k mi. This is my 13th car owned, and I really like a lot of things about this car. The engine is very powerful for a 4cy, but can be a bit noisy. Like all the features for the price and the styling inside & out. Have 3 major gripes, tires are extremely noisy over certain surfaces, can be really annoying but only over certain surfaces. But the main problem is the suspension, after careful thought it is unacceptably firm. Car hits potholes really, really hard, feels horrible. Enough to the point that I dont enjoy the car b/c of it. Lastly steering is lifeless and vague. Think I would have enjoyed the GLS or Limited more, but Se does look great!

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  Bills review - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Bill Blakely - October 26 - 8:16 am

  I drive 46 miles to work every day, so I need a vehicle that gets good mileage. So far I have gotten 37 mpg, which is just under what I got with my 97 Saturn SL2. Its fairly comfortable, and the gauges are in plain sight. The odometer/trip meter button is kind of awkwardly placed.

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  First SUV - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By TAV - October 26 - 12:10 am

  After my 93 Corolla had finally had it, I decided to get an SUV. Actually wanted a VW Toureg, but fell in love with the Santa Fe since I could actually afford it. Had one issue a few months after purchase, was able to work around it and get it fixed (something with a valve in the fuel system). Being in northern MN, I do wish I would have gotten one that was 4WD or AWD. Drives well, and being almost 6 ft, I feel comfortable in it and in the back. Seats fold down nicely. Have used the roof racks for skis and for a luggage, went nicely. Power sun roof, very nice. I was very excited that it had a cassette player(my iPod connects easily) AC is very cold. Cruise work easily. Lots of storage inside

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  Leaky sunroof - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Lemon? - October 24 - 10:00 am

  Have had the car into dealer four times still waiting for a fix. Very frustrating having to go back and forth to the dealer. Water continues to leak in around the sunroof.

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  Goodbye college beater car...hello style - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By arose - October 24 - 10:00 am

  Bought the SantaFe 6mo ago and have been very pleased with the handling and comfort. Definitely splurge for the LX edition and the sunroof if you can (haggle for the lifetime leather sealant and protection!) I paid $22K for mine (with 100K mile waranty, leather protection and 75,000mi maintance), and it was worth it!

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  go for it - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By happy - October 24 - 10:00 am

  I was very pleased with the power of the LX 3.5L engine. It has great pick up and handles very well in wet conditions. The only con that I have found thus far is the length of time needed to adjust the drivers seat in order to be comfortable.

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  Heed my warning! I love this car, but... - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Tracy - October 23 - 5:53 pm

  I love this car; the style, the way it sits on the road, handles the corners. Unfortunately for me I found out after the fact that Hyundai has some major transmission problems. I bought it at 33,000 miles as the 2nd owner and had a 60,000m warranty. The tranmission started acting up not too long after; losing 1st gear, not shifting out of 2nd gear unless you shut the car off. Hyundai said they couldnt find a thing wrong, until my warranty expired. Less than 2,000 later, they tell me I need a new tranmission. To the tune of $1,700. Now, just 1 1/2yrs, Im getting rid of it b/c its doing the same exact thing it did before the rebuild. Love the car but, please learn from my bad experience.

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  Almost as good as Honda/Toyota - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jean - October 21 - 5:00 pm

  Bought over the Net for great price. Extended warranty used when rear wheel bearing cracked but otherwise has been flawless. Service from 2 different dealers excellent, good customer service locally & from Hyundai USA. Very impressed with build quality altho its underpowered for the weight. Excellent handling & braking, great cargo capacity thats easy to use.

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  Comments - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By 747pilot - October 18 - 2:00 am

  Fine car, can use a stiffer torsion bar (anti sway) in the back. I would like to see average economy, and instant economy on the display instead of the non-sense distance driven and time driven since the last refill.