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:

• 

  perfect suv crossover - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ecruz - January 14 - 6:00 pm

  Ive had the chance to drive both the new 2008 Honda CR-V and the 2008 Hyundai Santa-fe and personally I would for Santa-fe the ride isnt bad and handles NYC pot holes like a charm its more roomier then the CR-V with more cargo space then CR-V. The Santa Fe also has a powerful v-6 engine compared to the CR-V and gas isnt too bad in the city as long as you dont the manual drive feature in the city. Its perfect for the high way. Over all if you want more room and features then the Santa Fe is you.

• 

  Accent-u-ate - 2016 Hyundai Accent
  By gary dirisio - January 12 - 4:11 am

  Its a good car for getting from point a to point b. Its solid but does have vibrating issues due to light material used. It gets great gas mileage. Not fancy but a good value for the money. Plus great warranty

• 

  Excellent Value! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By SpringTX - January 10 - 10:00 am

  This has been an awesome car so far. The value for dollars spent is great. All of the options the car came with exceed my neighbors new midsize that was almost $6k more!

• 

  Terrific Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Matt - January 9 - 11:20 pm

  The car is smooth riding, very quiet, and has a lot of pick-up. Accelerating is no problem in this car, as it gets up to high speeds with no problem. The steering is good, although there is a little bit of understeer at higher speeds.

• 

  Poor interior quality - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By chuck - January 8 - 10:00 am

  The interior, door panels, arm rest, glove box door, leaves marks that can not be removed. The factory is looking in to this. It is a big factor and poor quality.

• 

  Decent Car - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By BBuff - January 8 - 10:00 am

  All in all this is a very decent car. It is roomy and comfortable. Satellite radio and sun roof for a very affordable price. The gas mileage with the 4- cylinder is great and performance is at least adequate. The road noise is louder than I would wish, and there is a big THUMP when you slow down as it shifts into first gear, especially when you first start it, at first I thought the brakes were catching, it is such a sudden phenomenon. I love the warranty, but having said that, quality-wise, it doesnt compare to my previous Toyota or Lexus, but then, it didnt cost nearly as much as my Camry or Lexus.

• 

  Surprised Owner!!!! - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mr USC - January 8 - 9:13 am

  I was thrust into the car market by a car thief. I had some fast research! This car has exceeded my expectations! I challenge you to find the quality and value for a new car with all the features - Leather seats, front & side airbags, sunroof, V6, luxury interior trimmings, outstanding warranty program, road service, special rear view mirror and just pure value that the Sonata offers! Good Luck! If you are in the market for a mid-size sedan (Toyota Camry or Honda Accords or Civic) my personal recommendation is to take a Sonata V6 for a test drive, then use the money you just saved to take your new car for a cruise up the coast!

• 

  Great Car..You cant ask for more - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By rmiller - January 6 - 4:20 am

  Had to trade my 02 Celica and did a lot of research.Found my Sonata w/30k miles and cant believe what a great car it is. Im 54 and have owned about 20 cars, foreign and domestic and love this one. First trip was 200 miles thru a blizzard and it soldiered right thru,nary a twitch. The four cylinder engine has plenty of power and gets close to 40 mpg. Electronic stability control, supportive seats, satellite radio, plenty of airbags, smooth/quiet ride and lots of room. What more can you ask for? My friends who own Accords and Camrys were stunned...especially when they found out how much more they spent.

• 

  LA Zoomin! - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By oliman06 - January 4 - 3:43 pm

  Coming from a BMW automobile, the driving dynamics of this car simply does not compare, but as far as fit and finish, features and horsepower, this car trumps many cars in and out of its class. 274hp, sexy lines and spacious trunk. The dealership experience at Keyes Hyundai in Van Nuys, California was a sigh of relief for me... sleazy tactics but they did have an "add on" cost on top of the sticker price but I was able to get the deal I want without the headache.

• 

  HOT***HOT*****HOT - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Captain M - January 4 - 2:00 am

  Everyone interested in cars looks at this model and admires it. Took a trip on the open road ran it between 70 - 80 mph and gas mileage was 20 mpg. Not great but not too bad. Problem with headlights going to hi beam and then shutting down all in a split second. So far the dealer cant seem to find the problem.naturally, it happens very INTERMITENTLY....