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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  GREAT SUV - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By STEVE - June 17 - 11:56 am

  GREAT SUV AND REAL HEAD TUNRER. ONLY COMPLAINT IS LOW GAS MILEAGE.

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  Blue storm - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By racchi - June 16 - 4:30 pm

  Thats the name I have dubbed my 2013 Sonata. Was looking for something more fuel efficient after my trusty 4runner was totaled. Cross shopped some small SUVs and midsize sedans. In the end, the Sonata had the right mix of value, style, and performance. Rode better than the Tucson, CX 5 suvs. More personality and value vs Camry and Accord and more comfortable than Altima.

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  Bye-bye Toyota - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By roni - June 15 - 8:56 am

  Ive only had the car for less than 2 weeks and love driving in it. I had a Toyota Camry before and this has everything the Camry had and then some. You get more for your money with this car. The standard features are what make this car so great.

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  The Tucson is a great buy, but its not perfect. - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By J.D. McKinney - June 14 - 11:02 pm

  Im not going to go into detail about the Tucson because there are a ton of reviews both written and video via YouTube that you can reference. In the past, Ive owned primarily sporty cars so my driving experience is measured against driving those types of vehicles. This is my first CUV and I purchased it because I recently moved to Denver and I needed something to navigate the inclement weather. Overall impressions are that I am very satisfied with my purchase. The ride is comfortable and the handling and acceleration are better than I expected. I really like the perforated cooled seats. I gave a ride to some friends and they were impressed by the leather interior and the panoramic sunroof. The vehicle feels more expensive than it is. In short, you get a lot of value for the purchase price. I havent driven it in the snow, but Im confident the AWD with differential lock will perform well. These are the issues I have with the vehicle. First, the media player doesnt decode mp4 audio tracks. M4A was generally intended as the successor to MP3, which had not been originally designed for audio. This means you have to convert an MP4 files to MP3s, which can be time consuming depending on how many you have in your collection. My second issue is the power lift gate. Its slow and if you deactivate the power lift gate option and choose to open and close it manually, you cant open the lift gate from inside the vehicle. Also, Ive locked the vehicle as I was walking away from the vehicle while the lift gate was descending and it stopped midway. It only happened once, but I feel I have to watch it just to make sure it closes. Finally, the Limited trim comes with push button ignition but there isn’t an option to start the vehicle if the battery in the proximity key dies. Other vehicles Ive driven that have push button ignition have a slot to insert the key and start the engine with the key manually. This seems like a huge oversight, but I’m assuming there’s a warning if the battery in the proximity key is low, but Im planning on keeping a spare battery in the glove box as a precaution.

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  Hyundai Tucson Rating - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Alan Wade - June 13 - 6:03 pm

  Purchased nearly 3 mos. ago, my wife primarily drives it but we switch off. I think it is fun to drive & has a better ride than expected. More head room than our 2004 Sonata which is also very nice car.

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  Very Reliable - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By zeal - June 12 - 2:00 am

  At 3 years this car has proven to be extremely reliable with excellent fuel economy. With 2 years of bumper to bumper coverage and roadside assistance, and 7 years of powertrain coverage left I feel I made an excellent choice.

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  Not so good - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Joe - June 9 - 2:00 am

  Back to the dealer for a new radio couldnt see screen. Electric window fails to open and close cant find nothing wrong keep checking.4 Cyl very sluggish car feels heavy for the engine

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  Bang for the buck - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ChosenMibhar - June 5 - 11:33 am

  Heres my story, its a long one. Ive been researching, renting, test driving and reading reviews for over a year. Finally I made a decision. Considering the tag price, gas mileage and overall value this SUV is the way to go! Standard equipment on base model, excellent warranty, reasonable resale value, and so far dependable. If Hyundai keeps this up Ill never buy American again.

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  I love my car - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By lillaura01 - June 4 - 10:56 am

  This car is excellent for the price. It drives very well; my friends constantly remark about how smooth the ride is. Gas mileage is great. Of course, this isnt a luxury car, but I enjoy my sunroof and power everything. I travel a great deal for work, and Ive never had a problem. Its also comforting to know that I have roadside assistance any time I need it and an unbeatable warranty. I highly recommend this car.

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  Bang for buck - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By paul peterson - June 4 - 10:50 am

  I have had my sante fe for over three years. In that time, I have had virtually no problems. I think that the quality is good, the ride is smooth and the price is right.