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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  Most Bang for your Buck - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By B Coombs - November 3 - 5:06 pm

  After looking at many brands of cars in similar categories, we decided to purchase our Sonata. The Sonata beat most cars in regards to price, safety features and warranty. My wife and I have been impressed with the acceleration of the 4 cylinder engine and have also been very happy with the cars fuel mileage. I would certainly recommend the Sonata to friends.

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  could be better - 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By VJ - November 2 - 2:25 pm

  Its been 3 months since i won this car. The features are really good for the price compared to competitors.I really like the smart cruise,sunroof and DBL features. And the warranty is reallly good. Below are the areas it needs lot of improvement 1. Navigation : worst navigation system, half of the address are not found 2. Noise, there is considerable road noise coming from behind, which leads to bad ride experience. 3. Lowest fuel economy in this segment. 4. Cargo space is less compared to pilot/highlander

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  My Review - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Coryk14 - October 24 - 10:00 am

  Good experience so far

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  It rattles, but its pretty - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Donnamo - October 24 - 10:00 am

  I had trouble with the cruise control when I first bought this car. Had to press HARD on the brakes, and it still rolled into traffic from a stop. After having it towed to the dealership twice, they fixed the problem. The dealership is unable/unwilling to fix the rattle in the passenger door.

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  Just needs minor changes - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By FSH - October 21 - 6:10 am

  Bought this new in 2006 for our daughter because of the size and safety. After a year, she wanted a smaller vehicle and so we bought her a new Tiburon and my wife inherited the Tucson. She absolutely loves it with the exception of some minor design flaws (see below).

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  Overall - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By gefforts - October 18 - 1:35 pm

  We all have our opinions of our own Sonatas, for myself even after an accident, which I had Hyundai fix completely because I wanted no issues and it was major damage. I have no problems at all in a yr and one month of owning the car. My own issue and an issue, major for some and minor for many is the map update for the Nav. system. They completely lied or didnt know that you had to pay 200 plus dollars each year IF you wanted the update. Many people dont care/have bigger issues with the car or do pony up. To me its the principal. [non-permissible content removed].

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  Gas mileage disappointing - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By jimmania - October 15 - 2:49 am

  Overall great car..However, the gas mileage on this car is far removed from what was promised..Ive been averaging about 18 MPG on the average, far below what was promised and expected..

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  sweet - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By pt - October 15 - 2:00 am

  very comfortable, good acceleration, excellent 5 speaker stereo

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  2002 Hyundai Santa Fe LX 4WD V6 - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By E Dawes - October 10 - 3:10 am

  This has been a very satisfactory car for me. The features are excellent for the price. It is a bit underpowered for the weight of the vehicle, but Hyundai has corrected that in newer models. The only failure in 5 years has been the interior clock for which a replacement doesnt seem to be available. I am considering purchasing another Santa Fe when I replace my present car.

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  nice car - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By duane john abbott - October 10 - 2:00 am

  i enjoy the vehicle and receive many comments on the looks.i purchased the four cylinder and it lacks some power,mainly when the air conditioning is in use.i am unhappy of the two recalls.the motor in the sunroof and the horse power was wrong with my vehicle.overall,i have fun with the car and for the price,you get quite a bit....happy driving....duane abbott