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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  Much More for Less! - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Gusyar - April 16 - 5:36 pm

  I own a Canadian model of the XG350. This basically means it has all of the features of the base XG with most of the "L" extras except the wood-grain steering wheel. Its the only model available in Canada. In short, I love the car. I first drove a 300 when they came out in "01 and wanted one immediately. It took four more years, but the 350 has been a great car. Ride, handling and comfort for thousands less than the competition. Last week I stretched it out to 205KM/HR and it had lots left. I hope Hyundais replacement,the "Azera" is as much value.

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  I just live the car - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Edd - April 16 - 10:00 am

  Nice car to drive, It hasnt given me any trouble at all at least so far. Ive put a couple of after market parts on it , and im very pleased with the looks and performance of my tibi.Its very fast and at the same time is very economic on fuel.

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  UNDER RATED AUTO BY EDMUNDS AND OTHERS - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By PETER LAPLAC - April 16 - 10:00 am

  THE 350XGL IS VIRTUALLY FLAWLESS...THOUGH IT DOES NOT RECEIVE RATINGS ABOVE 5-6 BY AUTO EXPERTS. THIS IS NOT FAIR AND HELPFUL TO POTENTIAL BUYERS. THIS CAR SHOULD BE COMPARED TO LINCOLN, BMW, VOLVO, INFINITY ETC., AND NOT RELAGATED TO CHEAP NISSANS, HONDAS, ETC.

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  I was surprised by the quality... - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By kjones65 - April 16 - 10:00 am

  I purchased this car a year ago as a company car to make daily trips and occasionally haul some equipment. I have been pleasantly surprised that the quality of the fit and finish over the year has been just as good as my passat. Hyundai has developed a solid product line in design and quality since it partnered with Daimler Chrysler. I would rec. this car for anyone looking for a great value.

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  Excellent buy for the money. - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dredd3505 - April 16 - 10:00 am

  After owning an Accent since 99 and very happy with reliability, we went and picked up the Santa Fe. Initially test drove the AWD 2.7 but found it hesitated ond pickup was a little slow. Opted to give up the AWD and upgrade to 3.5l. Very very happy with the handling and performance of this truck. The hardest part was keeping it under 55mph during the break-in period. This truck wants to be driven. Very sporty, very comfortable interior with all the creature comforts included as standard equipment. Leather/heated seats, auto temp. control, 6 speaker 6 cd changer auto dim rear view, heated side view mirrors, and on and on.

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  Great Second Car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Stevete - April 16 - 10:00 am

  I had a Porsche Boxster S and a Mercedes S430 when I bought this car. Sold the Boxster S and use this car instead. Sound system is much better than the Boxster and the car is 10 times more reliable than the Merc. I could have bought 7 of these for what I paid for the S430.

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  Our first Hyundai - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By bucs180 - April 15 - 5:40 am

  My wife compaired cars based on interior room. For the last 13 years and 197,000 miles later we have owned two Dodge Intrepids. 2 weeks ago the A/C had to be repaired in Feb.. Even for Dodge, thats impressive. Instead of driving home after the car was repaired, a stop was made at our local Hyundai dealership. The car was appraised and I presented a news paper ad for a Sonata LX. Much to my surprise, the offer was just too good to pass up. Went home, discussed the offer with my wife and now she drives a wonderful car with Leather interior. My son and I share an Explorer Sports Trac. He is in 11 grade. He loves the v6 with auto stick. I love the 10 year inclusive warranty.

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  Azera - Great car at any price - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Doug Smith - April 14 - 12:40 pm

  The Azera is the quitest car I have ever driven. Great get up and go with the quite 3.8L V6. Great styling and smooth lines. everything is in easy reach of the driver.

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  LOVE MY TUCSON - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Goldylocks - April 13 - 12:43 pm

  I took my 2001 Hyundai Elantra to the dealership for oil change, tune up, etc. I left with a 2005 Hyundai Tucson. I absolutely love this car. I love the look, the style, the interior. This car is my baby. One week after I bought it my best friends husband backed in to the front bumper and SMASHED it all in. Did $1200 work of just cosmetic damage. Good thing is the engine is placed far enough back that it didnt touch it, bad thing is the bumper really CRUMBLED. I was only parked 5 feet away from him and it did that much damage. Hard to get parts in for this car right now b/c its so new (took 2 weeks to get front bumper)....SO DONT WRECK THEM!!!

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  Awesome luxury car - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Radu - April 12 - 4:40 pm

  I tested more than 15 cars, including Lexus IS, BMW 530, Audi A6, Mercedes E350, Infinity M45, Jaguar XJ8. None are better than the Genesis! The quality is awesome, the car is solid & extremely quiet, the performance is great and the price is low for what the car offers! It has all the features of a twice as expensive car + 5 years full warranty. The interior is as big as Lexus LS and BMW 7 series and the quality is just as good! I’ve been driving it for 1 month now and I can’t find any flaws. The snobs might say: ”it’s a Hyundai”, but this is how Lexus started as well. Unless you’re willing to pay $20-30k more for the brand name to buy a similar car, you’ll be impressed with the Genesis!