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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  My 2005 Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Laspalmas - September 13 - 10:13 am

  From the actual purchase experience to taking the vehicle home and owning it for a few days has been extremely satisfying. The dealer was upfront about everything and gave me a really great deal considering its a new model. It drives great, feels much more expensive than it is. (I can say that my opinion is educated considering my previous car I traded-in was a late model Toyota Camry.) When you go down the very long list of standard features, you see just how much of a superb value this SUV is compared to the others SUVs. I was particularly dissapointed with the Nissan X-Trail (not yet available in US). The Tucson was smoother, more roomy and had a much better ride. Way to go Hyundai!

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  I love her my Apple Red Elantra - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By andrealan - September 13 - 9:29 am

  I had an disappointing afternoon at a Dealer nearby.Turns out I was lied to about price,stock and color of a cute little car I wanted. Me and hubby then set out and drove many other cars that day and into 8pm. that night. I was tired and wanted to go home. Hubby said "you still havent driven the Hyundai". He said-"remember the Rental I had in Florida? It was the new Elantra". I wasnt excited. every car I drove that night was a disappointment. A good ride but cost too much or a bad ride in my price range. I requested An apple Red Elantra GLS. She was so comfortable, roomy, good performance and I was having fun!! We drove it home that night at 9:30PM. LOL, I really bought her in the dark!

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  2007 Azera Limited - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By chuck - September 12 - 3:37 pm

  As compared to other vehicles I have driven or owned, this one is exceeding my expectations. Features such as fit, form, feel, function and comfort when compared to similar vehicles is what I consider to be best in class and a value standout. Hyundai is/will be an OEM to contend with. Theyve raised the bar to the benefit of the end user.

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  pretty good car - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By JoeDon - September 12 - 1:10 pm

  I bought this car because it was the first "Nice car" I could get. I had driven beaters until this car. It handles pretty well, I live in the country and Ive only lost traction once on a turn. Power is pretty good, but for the size of the engine it should have much more power. I love the looks of the car inside and out, styling is great. One aggravating thing is the 4 gear auto transmission, whenever driven on the highway it could much better if it had a 5th gear, and probably much better mpg. Bad choice of only 4 gears. Recently hit a deer at 55 mph and car held up well, only had to replace a headlight and the hood. All in all, a decent buy for a cheaper sporty car. Mpg on highway is great

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  I luv my SUV !!! - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Michigan - September 12 - 9:53 am

  I bought it a year ago and, even when I see the new Santa Fe on the roads, Im very proud of my last years choice ! Nice, safe, excellent warranty and quality, needs only to get the scheduled maintenance and it runs forever... Its nice to have the automatic 4X4, in this way everybody can have it without even think about "when to switch it on" or "how to do it"... its just there, only when you need it !

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  BANG for the BUCK - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Peter Ginakos - September 12 - 6:00 am

  I have owned and driven many diferent European and American makes, this is my first asian purhace(although this car is made in the states),the 2006 Sonata Clearly is the BANG for the Buck in its Category.

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  Out of round tires - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Nighthawk50 - September 12 - 3:36 am

  Upon delivery in Sept 2008, my 2008 Sante Fe had a very obvious shimmy on the highway. After failed attempts to remedy the defect by the dealer, I was sent to a Nissan sister dealer, where they determined that the Bridgestone tires were out of round. The selling dealer then exchanged all tires with tires from another new Sante Fe and the problem was solved after much time wasted by me. In my judgment, the car should not have been delivered to me with a shimmy which was noticeable. Dont they test drive cars before delivery to the customer? I cannot address an unresolved rattle here due to restricted space for this comment. Will submit another review for that.

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  Quality is suspect - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jeremy - September 12 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car after two other Hyundais with VERY high hopes. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. From the moment I took delivery, the infamous glove box squeak. Rattles, out of place trim pieces, and other ungodly noises from everywhere. With upgraded audio, doors rattle at volume. Ride is EXTREMELY rough in this vehicle at all trim levels. The positive? It does extremely well in an an accident. I rear-ended a girl going nearly 40 miles per hour; the airbag deployed and the front-end crumpled exactly as designed. I walked away with ZERO injuries; not even a scratch. Those that have come to appreciate Hyundais value-oriented quality will be disappointed by this car.

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  Great value - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By boomer - September 11 - 11:26 pm

  This is the 3rd Hyundai I have owned since 1999. The first 2 were great cars. I got the GLS 4 cylinder with the 5 speed manual trans. Even though this is the cheapest model it still comes with all the safety features as standard. The car drives great, quiet and smooth. Very comfortable and roomy. I am getting 32 MPG with this car, I guess the 5 speed helps here. I averaged 35 MPG with my much smaller Elantra. This is excellent economy for such a large car. Pretty quick for a four cylinder too. I love the stereo, burned a CD with 125 MP3s and the stereo played them perfectly. Just a great value in a mid size car.

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  Hyundai rocks - 1996 Hyundai Accent
  By herb - September 11 - 8:25 pm

  This vehicle has been low maintenance...aside from typical wear and tear...brakes, tires, etc. Gets about 35 miles per gallon. Very reliable. Owned for 12 years