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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  Post test drive review: - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Shark lover... - January 15 - 8:20 am

  Test drove this car this weekend, what a blast! Drove the automatic, they didnt have a manual avail. For the price its a helluva fun little car to drive. That auto shift gimmick is pretty cool too, Im sure I could go through some trannys. Looks far better than the old Shark!!! To the other two posters your both right auto. comes w/ 16s and the manuals come with 17s.

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  Good looking car but it has some problems - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By mcastro2 - January 14 - 3:03 pm

  I recently got my GLS and logged just under 1,000 miles on it. The car looks good inside and out. Its roomier than my old Mitsubishi Galant. But the steering wheel is very stiff. My Galant was much smoother on the handling. Then engine is late coming off the red lights but I cant knock it too much being a 4 cylinder. My Sonata pulls to the right instead of the left and the pull comes and goes. The Bluetooth is great but the voice recognition stinks. I thought it was my accent but I had my daughter test it and it stunk just as much. In the first thousand miles I have not seen better than 29 MPG. Maybe I need to drive some more before it starts to produce.

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  value for the cast, 5 yr warranty - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By bill - January 13 - 10:13 am

  This is a midsize sedan with a lot of bang for the buck, for a 2009 sedan, safety features were standard, ESC, ABS, Anti skid included, all hwalpful and 6 airbags which were often optional on others that only included 4 at the time. The stereo radio included sirrius free for 1 year, six great speakers, and controls for bass/treble/fader/side, andone more I forget at thistime, but the sound is crisp,esp with sirrius and cds , and wavs. I always feel safe with the safety featurs included. After 6 1/2 yrs ofownership I now have several things to have looked at, the up/down button for the driv window/ the tps light/ and possible brake inspection. The dealer in New Castle DE is great but after moving south 50 miles, the dealer in DOVER DE I would NOT recomend at all ! They often ignore you in service desk area, and act as if you are bothering them !

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  Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By lewie - January 12 - 10:00 am

  the only complaint I have is that I made a mistake and bought a 4 cylinder which isnt strong enough when the air conditioner is running.

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  2015 Sonata 2.4 poor engine/transmission synchronization - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By mayflower12 - January 10 - 9:24 pm

  I have owned a 2011 and 2013 2.4 Hyundai Sonata GLS and now I own a 2015 2.4 Hyundai Sport. The engine and transmission of the 2015 does not work well in normal mode. The engine seems to want to shift down when under load at low speeds but the transmission will not allow it with normal gas pedal pressure, causing the engine to shutter. Shifting is much better in sport mode, but the torque is a lot less than the 2013 and 2011. Even with the traction and stability controls turned off, when you take a tight turn from stop or a tight u-turn at a slow speed and then press down hard on the gas, to keep from being run over by fast moving traffic, the vehicle is slow to respond. Back seats to hard.

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  spend a few extra bucks and Go for a 2015.... - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jay - January 10 - 4:26 am

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  2013 Santa Fe 2.0 Sport - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rmcbain - January 8 - 4:32 am

  I purchased the Santa Fe at Palm springs Hyundai and have two problems. The drivers seat was loose and when you drive away from a stop you felt as if you were going to tip backwards. It was resolved with a quick repair at the local dealership. The other problem is that the gas pedal does not work all the time. You get a dead feeling and there is no power when you go to pull away from an intersection or what ever. It is extremely discomforting when you are trying to cross a lane of traffic and the car does not respond to pressing on teh gas pedal. It seems to be happening more often than it first did. Anyone else have this problem.

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  my 3rd hyundai - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By glad search over - January 6 - 4:30 pm

  Didnt have to do much research on the Hyundai vehicle b/c this is my 3rd Hyundai in 6 years. Due to the rise in gas I was determined to get a car with an overall gas mileage in the 30s. Narrowed my choices to the Elantra, the Corolla, and the Honda Fit. The Fit seemed like a cute car, decent enough ride, but not good enough for the amount of driving that I do. I couldnt tell any difference btwn the Corrolla and the Elantra as far as the overall drive and quality. However, I got the Elantra for 3,000 dollars cheaper. The car drives very good, am surprised at the power and the cruising speeds. My wife drove it and I was constantly telling her to slow down.

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  Half year follow-up since purchase 1/31 - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Recommend - January 6 - 6:13 am

  I wrote my original review 2/09/08. 34yr old buyer. After 5 mos. of ownership Im still very happy w/ my purchase. I have the dark cherry red with color matched door handles, blk leather interior. Sharp looks,rides beautifully. It is roomy; 4 adults and a car seat with room to spare. Huge trunk. Great mileage. Good power. My only regret is not getting the V6 (NOTE:the 4 cyl is NO SLOUCH!) I got my loaded 2008 Ltd off the showroom floor for $18.5K plus tax/title. I do like the new 2009 interior more + the improved HP and 1 mpg better for the 2009. Were I not so picky, there would be scarcely a chance to criticize or compare my 2008. No buyers remorse on day 1.Still happy after 5 months.

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  you should buy one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By faster - January 3 - 10:00 am

  had it for almost a month and reall love driving the car ,sure beats driving my 2002 honda civic ex