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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  Azera - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Randomprime - October 23 - 4:18 pm

  I have owned Hyundais since 2000, and my wife has since 2006. I opted for the Azera as my most recent option, and I have been pleasantly surprised with the comfort, style and general reliability of this car. Ive come to expect more from Hyundai, and they deliver.

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  Very Reliable Car at 60,000 miles - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Marcia - October 23 - 1:47 pm

  I bought my Elantra new and have had no major mechanical issues. Ive had to replace brake pads once and front headlights twice (which the dealer replaced at no expense to me). My only complaint is that it is very noisy inside (road noise), but overall, am very satisfied with its performance.

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  Very nice car! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By toysax - October 23 - 12:23 pm

  I have my Limited and have driven it about 300 miles. 1st impressions: Steering, after one day was no issue very controlled, very tight turning radius. Exterior style? Had a group of 4 guys gawking it while I did errands in a strip mall. Incidentally the pacific blue pearl is a great color, from far away its a dark navy blue, get close up, especially on a bright day and the metallic undertone looks great! Interior: comfortable slick sporty, leather and chrome works well. Drive, it DOESNT have that instant burst of power that a 6 gives you but it picks it up fast and moves great. Passing at any speed , no problem. Using the gate shift adds some torque,

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  Surprisingly nice car - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Bill - October 23 - 11:59 am

  Got this car because of the ratings and price. This car is going to my dtr when she is able to drive. With 6 airbags and good safety ratings, I could not be happier. Although it has one recall (fuel pump), the car has been flawless. I will put >15k on it in 6 months and have been completely satisfied with everything about the car. Good assembly, good materials, quiet comfortable cabin, nice acceleration, great MPG (30.5 over >12k), and brakes. It has nice touches throughout the car at such a good price. My SE has the alloy wheels and spoiler. It has XM, I prefer Sirius (for HS) - no big deal. No regrets.

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  Love my Hyundai Santa Fe BASIC 2WD Automatic - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ldamboise - October 22 - 7:04 am

  I have 191,000 miles on my 2002 Santa Fe. This is by far the best, most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. Only complaint is that this vehicle has an issue with every belt. The timing belt had been replaced 2x and I often had to have other belts replaced or tightened. Failure to do so immediately resulted in a loud squeeling every time I started my car. The good thing is, nothing EXPENSIVE ever went. This car is fun to drive, GREAT Gas Mileage, and cheap to maintain. I am on the road a lot, and I love being in this car. It is so comfortable that my MANY long trips per month (ranging from 2 hours one way to 12 hours one way) are always a breeze. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS VEHICLE

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  Just Say Yes - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ms. Brown - October 22 - 4:20 am

  All I can say is that Hyundai has really impressed me. I never thought I would purchase a Hyundai because of all the negative comments I read on the previous models. I traded in my 2010 Toyota Camry XLE V6 and to my surprise it drives the same to me. I really enjoy looking at my car and driving it. Dont take our word for, just go in and test drive one.

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  Better than other minivan - 2008 Hyundai Entourage
  By will - October 21 - 9:45 pm

  Good looking exterior and excellent mileage. 14~16 mpg in city, 26~30 mpg on Hwy. Detaching middle seats is not easy but it give me very spacious cabin, very useful for loading so many things like sofa.

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  Rear seat rattle - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Nighthawk50 - October 21 - 12:53 pm

  My Sante Fe is now 14 month old. Four time, I have asked the dealer to fix a rattle in the right rear seat back. They have never accomplished a fix. They even replaced the latching mechanism. The fourth request to fix, after driving 70 miles round trip and waiting 2 hours again, including an oil change, I was told that the seatback rattle is NORMAL in an SUV. I contacted Hyundai customer service and was told, in broken English, the same cock-and-bill story that it is normal for an adjustable seat back to rattle. I told them thats bull, that family and friends have other make SUVs that dont have seatback rattles and Ill never buy or recommend a Hyundai to anyone if thats their response.

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  OWNER - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By BURKO - October 21 - 2:00 am

  NEVER BEEN MORE PLEASED WITH A CAR

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  sonata LX - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By jcoastal91 - October 21 - 2:00 am

  very satisfied with my car. Luxury at a fair and reasonable price. Warranty is super. 3rd hyundai that I have bought in the last 3 years. Dealership customership service could improve. Disconnect among differnet services departments within the company.