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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  Major safety concern? - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Rick - May 12 - 12:56 pm

  We have only owned the Sonata for 1 month. Although the test drive was fine, the the front passenger seat became very uncomfortable on a longer road trip. Also, I recently drove the car in the country after dark, and it seemed like a curtain descended half way down the windshield. I had to turn on the highbeams to be able to see if an animal was in the road, and even then, I couldnt see the sides at intersections. The problem isnt bad on lighted city streets except for not being able to see around the corner at intersections. The dealer said that the lights are normal -- but I didnt have this problem with the Nissan, Ford or Chevy cars that we drove over the past 25 years.

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  So far, better than expected - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Biff - May 11 - 7:26 am

  I looked at the Ford Escape (no power), the Honda CR-V (less than no power), Jeep Liberty (no legroom) and was pleasantly surprised with the Santa Fe. I looked at it 8 years ago and it was a gas pig then. It now has a six-speed transmission and the V6 actually gets only 1 mpg less than the 4-cylinder with a ton more power. I read reviews that some people werent happy with the mileage. My tests: driving hard on the highway: 22-23 mpg, going 40-50 mph to work: 28 mpg, 35- 40 mpg on flat surfaces: 32 mpg, combined: 24-25 mpg. The interior and sound system are far and away the best out there. Very quiet. No winter yet, but awd got me through a flash flood just great. Absolutely a good choice.

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  Great car for the money! - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By the1cooljay - May 10 - 10:00 am

  Ive only put 500 miles on this car so far, but I am already impressed with this Hyundai product. Nice power and zippy performance with the manual version I have. I got this car with a $2000 off sale at my dealer, so paid only $11,500 brand new! Very good deal.

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  Great car WHEN IT RUNS - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By sleepydiva - May 10 - 7:29 am

  Brand New and runs with the reliability of a 1989. I have had at least 6 instances in which my new Santa Fe would not start. If it did it would stall immediately. (Its an automatic). In the last case it had to be towed and I am currently driving a rental (again). Clearly at this point... NOT RELIABLE.

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  Were happy with it so far.... - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dan90638 - May 6 - 5:37 pm

  We put on about 1500 miles on it so far. Great interior and exterior design. Its very quiet, more so than the CRV and RAV4. Its very comfortable and smooth. There are blind spots, but if you pay attention and add a blind spot mirror (and actually turn your head to look like youre suppose to), then its not that bad. MPG is 18-22, 27-31 in the highway, with a 24 avg, depending on the condition. Had to replace the gas tank due to a melted hose,w which caused the gas pump to shut off thinking its full, but no problem since. Overall, were happy and satisfied with the car, but the long term eval is still to be determined.

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  First Impressions - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Richard - May 2 - 11:06 pm

  We purchased a new 2008 Santa Fe LTD AWD. The average MPG after 250 miles is 19.5 with a mix of city and freeway driving. I expect better MPG after the break in. The remote fuel door open switch did not work the first time we went to put gas in the tank. The dealer should have checked this before they delivered the car. We had to use the emergency fuel door pull cord behind the rear seat panel to open the fuel door. We noticed the seats are really uncomfortable after the first 100 miles. I hope they "soften up" over time. Except for the fuel door, everything else works on the vehicle. The CD, Radio and rear DVD sound great. The Santa Fe drives and handles well.

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  Love My Azera! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By larry - April 30 - 3:56 am

  Ive had my Azera Litd. since June 15 and love it. It was difficult to find the color I wanted. But I eventually got what I wanted--venetian blue with tan leather interior. Car is soooo quiet and comfortable to sit in. Only drawback is lack of fuel economy. Ive been averaging just 17-18 mpg over several tankfulls of gas, even with some highway driving. With mixed driving, I thought Id average around 22-23 mpg. Very disappointing, especially with gas prices as high as they are. At least the car runs on regular gas.

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  hyundai review - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By salexan - April 27 - 11:43 pm

  like it very much

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  My Second Santa Fe - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By vegasangel - April 19 - 7:07 am

  This is my Second Santa Fe, having owned a 2003 previously. Overall, this is a great vehicle, having really no major issues over the past almost 5 years. Dont know if Ill own another one due to the overall cost of owning the newer models, but Id recommend this vehicle to anybody. I get questions about it all of the time. Im very happy with this vehicle.

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  Decent!!! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By KristinB - April 17 - 10:00 am

  I bought my car on April 23rd, 2003, after months of wanting it. I only qualified for a lease, as I was upside down in a crappy Sentra. I absolutely love love love my Sante Fe. I wish I could have gotten a moon roof, though.