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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  Very Happy Consumer here - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kevin G - August 11 - 11:52 am

  I spent the past 2 months doing tons of research and drove salespeople crazy in test drive after test drive. I tested repeatedly the Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla, and the Honda Civic. I am glad I purchased the Hyundai, I get what I feel is much more comfortable ride, and it fits me perfectly, Im 62. It comes with the highest safety ratings compared to the other vehicles, and all the bells and whistles as the others and for thousands less. My first drive home netted me 35.7 mpg, better than any of the other cars. Very well pleased all around.

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  A fond farewell to my Azzie! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Adrian - August 11 - 6:01 am

  With a bad hip from my 1st. sedan in a very long time, Im getting back to a small SUV, with more of a straight-up sitting position, the 4-cyl. H-Tuscon will prolly be my next vehicle. With average 24 mpg on my Azzie, I cant complain at all. This was my first luxury sports sedan, driving ~2500 miles monthly for a supermarket chain, all over 5 counties in Tampa bay area. The overall comfort, power to pass/merge, and styling are its strong points, not to mention pricing when comparing other imported large sedans. Got a sit-in recently in their new Genesis, very nice. But on this even larger car, they dont offer the power folding mirrors, my favorite cool-gizmo!

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  Great Bang for the Buck - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Terry - August 11 - 3:56 am

  I was in the market for a mid-size sedan. I considered all the usual suspects (i.e. Accord, Camery, Malibu, etc.). However, after doing a lot of research on the net and reading various articles, I decided that the new Sonata gave the best "Bang for the Buck". I picked up a LX model with a V6 for only 20K+. I figure it was at least $5,000 less than a honda or toyota. I have had it 9 months so far with no (zero) problems. It is both silent and powerful. My previous car was a 4 Cylinder Altima. I was afraid that I would get much worse gas mileage from a V6. However, I have been pleased by the Sonata. I am getting about 23 MPG around the city and almost 31 MPG during pure (interstate) driving.

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  Value over all others - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dave - August 10 - 11:57 pm

  Just recently purchased the Elantra and the deciding factor was cost. I own a Civic and the Elantra is just as good, if not better. Plus it costs about $3k less. The car is really responsive and is great with gas mileage. I have been getting about 31 miles in mixed driving, mainly city. There are plenty of cup holders (Civic has just 2 - go figure that one out) and plenty of storage space. The trunk is very roomy. I do not think you can go wrong purchasing an Elantra.

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  Fun, Fun, Fun - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By KJ - August 10 - 1:06 pm

  This car is a true beauty. Its quiet, powerful, elegant and full featured. This car is an unbelievable value. For around $25K, you get practically every luxury feature worth having. And to top that off it has the best fuel economy in its class. Im finding new reasons to jump in my car and just drive for no apparent reason other than the joy of it. Fun, fun and more fun!

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  Sonata Soars - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Waggle63 - August 10 - 10:00 am

  We love this car. I have 2 young boys 8 & 4 and they love to go for a ride in this car. It has good sight lines when driving. It is very comfortable for me (64" 250 lbs.) to drive as well as my wife 52". We will definately look at future products from this company as time comes to replace our other vehicles. It has a great warranty too.

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  second new car - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By kent e smith - August 10 - 10:00 am

  this is our second new car and it beats the toyota hands down in price and comferts im 6.2 and shes 5.9 with two kids and they all prefer this one the toy is gone soon and a nother santa fe will be here

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  what do you expect? - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By boofus - August 10 - 9:15 am

  Dont misunderstand my title, I love this car. But it does what it is supposed to well. If I expected heated mirrors, seats, navigation, chrome wheels, etc. I would have purchased a Cadillac. I wanted an inexpensive, comfortable commuter that gets good gas mileage. I love XM radio so that was a surprise and the fact it has curtain airbags is a surprising benefit. Thats extra with the other mfgs. I must admit you have to be very deliberate when driving it, 0-60 in 13sec. Does not a dragster make! But once up to speed it does fine.

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  Awesome sports car, look like Ferrari - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By hyundai ferrari - August 10 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned this car for 3 years now, and it had been driven perfectly without any problems. I just love the way it looks. I still love how it looks after 3 years. I dont get tired of its styling. And the performance is good. Gas mileage is also good for its output. Im getting average 25 miles per gallon on mixed city/highway.

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  Downsized, but still loving it - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dooly - August 9 - 10:38 am

  Went from a large SUV to the Elantra based on a month of researching fuel- efficient vehicles. This one is living up to its hype. Im saving $200 on gas monthly (was paying $100 a week with my SUV). I thought that downsizing to a car would be depressing actually (have been driving trucks/SUVs since 1995), but the Elantra is surprisingly great. Its loaded with features that you would pay extra for in other vehicles in the same class. Someone listed the front seat as needing lumbar support, but it feels fine to me. As far as room goes, I thought that would be a problem in this car. Man was I wrong! 5 people (plus baby seat) and all their luggage actually fit in the car. BUY THIS!