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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  2006 Elantra - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By jb - April 11 - 8:03 pm

  Nice fun car to drive. I have had no problem beating the EPA rated mileage. I average 31 in city driving and 40 on the highway.

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  Love it! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By michele - April 11 - 5:20 pm

  I went to the dealer to get a free oil change on my 2009 Sonata. While I was waiting I started looking at the 2011s. I instantly fell in love with the new body style and interior. Well, one hour later, I signed the papers. Two hours later I was driving it off the lot! I really loved my 2009, but the 2011 has it beat. What a gorgeous car. It has more standard equipment than the 2009 such as blue tooth, autodim mirror w/ homelink for garage door opener and compass, The radio, blue tooth, trip meter and cruise controls are all on steering wheel. Cloth seats that prevent staining (even oil stains), cargo net in trunk, outside temp. The car runs beautifully. Its a real eye catcher.

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  good car, service too expensive. - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Beth - April 11 - 9:40 am

  I just took my car in for its 60,000 servicing-- $880!! I was not shocked by the $400 servicing at 30,000, but this one threw me for a loop! I wasnt prepared for that big a number. (I guess the warranty is not COMPLETELY free, since these two services are REQUIRED in order to keep your car under warranty.) I have had to replace a few bulbs too, and they are a little tricky to do yourself. One bigger issue: When I accelerate hard to get up to speed (like on an on-ramp) the car downshifts ROUGH-- it sounds like the transmission is about to fall out of the bottom of the car. I dont like that much, and the dealership doesnt seem to think it is a big deal, but it makes me nervous.

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  even if - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By imonlyyours18 - April 11 - 5:26 am

  even if the sonata where the price of the ford i would pick it any way.as far as beung advance ford is not far ahead at all.and thay have ben around a lot longer.and i just traded my 04 maxima for the 07 sonata and for some reason i think the sonata is a lot more fun

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  Its A Dream! - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Martyjoy - April 10 - 11:50 pm

  I LOVE this car! The build quality is amazing, it is beautiful, and it is fun to drive. And that new car smell is sooo sweet. I am amazed at the well-thought out design details. It seems like this design group thought of everything. It is really worthy of your consideration.

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  Customer - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Maico - April 10 - 2:53 pm

  The test drive was so awesome its so nice, comfortable and kind cheap

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  Nice - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Mirandamay - April 10 - 2:00 am

  with every year of new tiburon that comes out they get better and better.

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  Surprising Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By R S Moore - April 9 - 6:33 pm

  Great car. Have several road trips from Va to Fla and Canada. nstalled XM radio which made a good trip even better.Nice acceleration and smooth braking.Is stylish and roomy.Can carry a bag of scuba gear and luggage for three people easily.Do alot of highway driving and you can set the seat back and be extremely comfortable. Have read a couple of complaints about the seats but this must be strictly a personal preference.

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  First Time Hyundai Owner - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Mike - April 9 - 6:56 am

  Like a lot of people wrote, this is my first Hyundai. I had a 04 CRV w/ 91K miles & wanted something a little bigger w/ a V-6 for towing. I bought this Santa Fe used for $19,800 w/ 7500 miles & had them add nice leather seat and door covers for $900. Got $9000 trade for my CRV which also needed $1500 put into it so this was a deal I couldnt pass on. I drive 2/3 high & 1/3 city. Averaged 26 mpg w/ my CRV & so far Im getting 23 avearge with the SF & 3.3L engine. I drive pretty conservative, use the cruise & avoid hard braking & starts. A friends wife has the same CRV & she only averaged 20 mpg because she had terrible driving habits. What a quiet smooth drive too!!!

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  an excellent car and value - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Happy Hyundai owner - April 8 - 4:30 pm

  this car is an exceptional value for the money, fun to drive, solid and reliable.Quite ride and plemty of room for adults amd a very large trunk