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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  09 Genesis...my wish list - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By jerry - September 13 - 3:06 am

  No doubt the best luxury car for the money. Might trade mine in for the V* when it shows up. My wish list. Back up camera (NAV Model) needs to come on faster at start up. Genesis logo remains on the screen too long when put in reverse at start up. I have backed up 10 feet before the screen goes to back up.

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  very good car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By kion - September 11 - 10:00 am

  style is best, and price is fantastic

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  Good Value - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Good Value - September 11 - 8:53 am

  I bought my 2008 Veracruz in March of 2009, and it was sold at invoice, and with a $6000 rebate in addition, so it came it a little over $20,000 for a nicely equipped crossover vehicle. An SUV is built on a truck chassis, so I would consider this a crossover. Nice design and build quality, and a nice vehicle to drive. The only negatives are the poor fuel economy (l5 mpg. city), and the very poor reception of the AM radio, which has a poor tuner. The satellite and FM radio reception is fine, but I like to listen to AM. I listened to another Veracruz and it had the same poor tuner. Nice room for seven here, and a very good value for the money. Just be ready to buy anot

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  Great Vehicle until.... - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ricknuvo - September 9 - 11:10 am

  I bought my 2013 Santa Fe almost 2 months ago. I love all the features that come with the technology package, however I must say Im a little disappointed. After having the car for 2 months, Hyundai advised me that my radio went out. Are you kidding me? The car is only a year old. So Ive gone a few days without a radio, until it can be ordered. Thankful for the warranty, but I worry what will happen after the warranty end. Other than that, the car has seemed to run good.

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  Car stumbles engine wont engage sometimes - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By s2them - September 7 - 10:15 pm

  We loved our Sonata Hybrid until we pulled out and the engine didnt engage after getting out in the road under battery power,, Hyundai has not called me back when promised and unless they do something to fix situation ,i dont recommended this car maybe 5 years down the road after they have fixed the bugs,,just to Day they issued a new service bulletin on the connector to the computer

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  Gas Gauge Calibration Problems 2015 Sonata Limited - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By AP - September 5 - 8:17 pm

  I just purchased the car last week. When the dealer gave me the car it was suppose to be full tank and the digital gas indicator showed about little above 3/4 full. So salesman and I drove down to the nearest gas station to fill it up to full tank as that was the dealers policy. But, when the salesman tried to make it full tank the pump would turn off, even though gas gauge showed it was not. We thought it might have been the pump at the gas station. But, after purchasing the vehicle and filling it up at another gas station, I came across the same problem, the pump would shut off even though it was not full tank. I did some searches online and it seems this is an issues, see link: http://www.hyundai-forums.com/lf-2015-sonata-i45/306826-gas-gauge-calibration-2015-sonata-ltd.html Other than this issue, the vehicle as been good.

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  nice car - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By moshe - September 5 - 2:00 am

  its good fun to drive very cheap amazing car better than a lexus its a steal

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  good value & great ride - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By tttech - September 3 - 2:00 am

  Just 2 weeks so far but Im impressed. My GT has everything I want in a refined package. If things continue going well this will be a very sought after vehicle for Hyundai.

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  So Far, So Good - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By twistykat - August 30 - 5:00 pm

  Beautiful vehicle! Lots of power and lots of extras. The MPG seems (is!) less than advertised, and the when you take you foot off of the accelerator there seems to be a lot of drag in the automatic transmission - not sure if that is a feature or a bug. Overall, we are very happy with our Sonata. Time will tell as far as reliability, however the car feels solid so we dont expect any problems.

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  Buyer Beware - 2013 Hyundai Veloster
  By wearl - August 30 - 6:28 am

  Bought a 2013 Veloster in December 2012. Never owned a Hyundai anything but was struck with the MPGs, and the tech and sport package as well as the cars design. Then...problems and more problems. The car would stall and cut off on me constantly. Took it to the dealer they "couldnt duplicate the customers concern" 6 times taken to the dealer! The car would cut off on me on the freeway, surface streets, gas stations you name it it stalled and cut off. I didnt realize that Hyundai was selling prototypes? I needed a reliable car...and this aint it! Buyback here I come. Oh, btw beware of the Arbitration clause that you must do if you dont "opt-out" with 90 days of purchase.