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:

• 

  Rattle and Shake - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By rowbean - October 10 - 9:29 pm

  I loved my car from day one. It never got the gas mileage they swear by, but I still loved it. I purchased it May 2010 and ran the A/C all summer with no problems. After 10 months, the entire car would shake and rattle when the A/C was on. It was like nothing I had ever felt. I had to take it 3 times before they would finally speak to the factory rep. After 5 days, they finally determined the A/C condenser was warped. Its still in the shop today.

• 

  Cant beat it - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Joe - October 10 - 5:03 pm

  Approaching 15k miles and runs great. A little vibration at 75 mph, gotta get the tires rebalanced. Love the car.

• 

  A nice car for the price - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By ggabriel1226 - October 10 - 1:34 pm

  I have been impressed with the car so far. I have owned it for 8 months and it has been good so far. You cant beat the warranty on the car either

• 

  Feeling Mislead - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By ken1584 - October 9 - 9:57 pm

  Never again, Hyundai. I chose this car over the Camry and Accord based on the ride and rich set of features that were advertised with it. The Blue Link option was what tipped me over the edge in going the Hyundai. Its been three months since I bought the car and Ive found that some of those Blue Link options were just vaporware...items that were advertised, but never materialized. Things like Geo Fencing and Valet and Speed Alert, which were prominently advertised when I bought the car are still not available in my car and no longer appear on Hyundais marketing site.

• 

  Great car for the money - 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By em_libra62 - October 9 - 7:41 pm

  I have had this car for three months. So far, it has been great. Fun to drive, easy to handle. I have the V6, felt the 4 was short on power during the test drive. Avg 22mpg in the city, around 30 on the hwy. One of the features of this car which they dont push is its short turn radius. I can whip it around like a compact and have gotten some parking places that amaze my riders.

• 

  AWESOME AZERA - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Frank Duve - October 9 - 5:29 pm

  I purchased this car in late 2006 & have been amazed at its build quality & comfort. The driving position is perfect for a 6 footer. I use it daily for work in heavy Washington D.C. traffic & 54,000 miles have proven its durability. Its a pleasure to drive.The Azera has features that others in its class cant match.I get about 22 m.p.g. in the city, & 26-30 on the highway & this car is fast.

• 

  Just WONDERFUL!! - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By racraine1 - October 9 - 12:26 pm

  I (like others) went to get a Sonata. Id researched the vehicle thoroughly and found it to be just what I wanted. I climbed in and thought it fine, but my girlfriend thought it looked a little small. the salesman then took us on a test drive of the Azera and it was love at first drive. The ride, comfort and extras teat come in the Lilmited edition put the car right up against the stiffest competition. I cannot say enough good things about the car.

• 

  Two Years Owning a Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Ken Parker - October 9 - 11:10 am

  Two years owning this car and weve taken it to Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas with no problems. This car is very sturdy and has survived very windy conditions. The ride is comfortable and there were times we slept in it at rest stops with ner a backache.

• 

  Ok car, thats about it. - 2017 Hyundai Sonata
  By Rental car critic - October 9 - 3:50 am

  I rented a 2017 GLS model with the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder engine. We took it to Columbus Ohio from TN, so I had some time to get aquainted with it. The car only had 3 miles on it when we started off. It got pretty darn good gas mileage. I averaged 35.1 Mpg for the whole trip, that included city, highway, and idling for a while. However it seems the gas mileage came at the cost of power. Which happens, but the lack of power from the engine was very agravating while trying to merge in city traffic. The lack of ANY grunt at city speeds got old quick. Highway was ok. The seats are ok for short trips, but seemed uncomfortable to me for long trips. I mean, you have to get out and stretch on long trips, thats a given. But the seats were just plain uncomfortable after about 45min-1 hour of driving. The instruments and dash were pretty nice and oriented well. AC was great. Radio/bluetooth were great. Lights and steering were good. Glad it has a blindspot mirror installed. The windshield was a little short for me and im 62. I had the seat adjusted as low as possible, still had to lean it back a bit. It would be a great highway car if it were just more comfortable. For stop and go and city merging, it needs more grunt. Overall id say it would be a good choice for getting you to work and dropping the kid off at school. But not for trips unless you pack icy-hot and ibuprophen.

• 

  I am just shocked - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Bridgeport Buddha - October 7 - 7:45 pm

  Truly amazing how much car you get for the dollar. Pzero, fuel economy, fun to drive and less of an economy feel than expected. Hyundai certainly has come a long way. Thank goodness the hybrids at the time were too in demand and their dealers were so high and mighty. We started to look most fuel efficient and then cost efficient and ended up at a Hyundai dealer. After checking consumer comments here, the price and the test drive, there was nothing left but to do the smart thing and buy. The sparkles in the paint help it look clean even when its not - bonus for the lazy owner.