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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  Great Car, Fun to Drive - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Aung - July 17 - 1:57 am

  The car is very fun to drive. Handling is Great. Braking and cornering are very confident. The car always has good grip on the road. The engine gets noisy (rev) around 3500 rpm but I think its kinda sporty. Fit and finish is excellent despite a few negligible low-quality material, IMO, better than Corolla and Civic. Blue ambient lighting is very cool. Controls are well placed and ergonomic. Seats and headrests are comfortable. Steering wheel audio controls are convenient though I keep using the dial on the center its a habit. Regetta Blue looks awesome. I heard its a rare color. The ride is very smooth and comfortable. Those multi-link suspensions on front and rear really helps a lot.

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  Great Buy - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Vicap - July 16 - 8:43 pm

  Having rented a Hyundai twice while my Nissan was being repaired I was very impressed with the Elantra. I finally decided to buy one. I was even more pleased with the price. Dollar for dollar, this is by far the best car Ive ever bought

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  best car owend and driven - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By casper - July 16 - 3:23 pm

  great car and speed econmy grouth gas miles was greatprice gas went up car ran like champ it had power to go with it speed was un stopable snow didnt even face tcs came trough like a champ tracktion was there at all types of weather and for crash test it did wat it was suppose to do bring my family home great car

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  Hit and Miss but still a great value - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By campoly - July 16 - 11:30 am

  Some love the suspension-some hate it. Im one of the latter. The suspension was good for the first 3-5K then started to feel wore out. Hyundai replaced the shocks and it felt good for another 5K but now back to feeling wore out. Hyundai issued a TSB knowing that the shock were crap but the replacement shocks are still crap. The suspension is noisy and the car wallows and bounces over less than perfect pavement-makes for an annoying ride. Hyundai USA CEO was quoted as saying the Azeras suspension was designed with the Korean market in mind. They should have researched US drivers preferences before marketing in US. This car has a lot going for it but the suspension is not one of them IMHO.

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  best deal - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By matt b - July 16 - 4:49 am

  I spent a lot of time on line researching the purchase of a second car. Hyundai warranty is very persuasive. Had all the intentions of getting a 09 sonata limited with the navigation option. After a very satisfying demo of the sonata, I made the mistake of sitting in a 2008 leftover azera. This car wowed me right away. After some negotiating, I was able to purchase the azera limited, with the ultimate nav. Option for an " out the door " price of $27,500. This made it about $2,500 more than the sonata, and it is very well worth it. It is a beautiful ride, and you really need nothing more.

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  Its a great deal - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Hisham - July 16 - 4:00 am

  Although I just bought the vehicle, I can tell that it is a good choice. Unlike some suggestions, it felt very stable on the road at speeds over 90 MPH. The standard features and looks are great, as is the price.Add all this to the warranty, and youll find yourself getting a great deal.Compared to competition, Hyundai offers more for a reasonable price. Compared to the Corolla, it has better looks, options, and is more sophisticated. Compared to the Mazda3, it is a smoother ride and also has more options to offer. Finally, I found the Civic quite pricy and the looks on the Elantra are better. Add all this to better safety features and warranty, and youll find that this is a good choice.

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  Better than a Jeep - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Barrie Hobbs - July 15 - 11:43 pm

  I have had 4 Jeep Grand Cherokkes in 5 years and finally woke up to how much money I was wasting my last Jeep an 04 Grand Cherokee Overland lost 50% in 1 year thats more than the Santa Fe cost, mine is a 2.7V^ is great to drive has lots of space and is great fun, the build quality is better than Jeeps and the cabin is better finished the only down side is the radio and lack of power folding mirrors

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  So far so good - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By starsky - July 15 - 9:13 pm

  The car has a little over 10000 miles on it since bought new in january. The wife gets 22.5 MPG mixed city and highway driving. I get around 26 MPG driving it highway to work. A recent leak in the power steering is being addressed by the dealer. The rack is being replaced and the dealer provided a loaner car over the Labor day Holiday. We have been treated very well by everyone since the car purchase.

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  Best Car I ever owned.. Love it!! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Linda - July 15 - 8:56 pm

  As far as the driving its quiet and comfortable and we just love it.. It still is as quite as the day we bought it. And the dealer, they are just as nice as the day we bought it. Very kind and considerate. Would buy again from them.

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  Well see how it goes from here - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ozzie - July 15 - 5:06 am

  Bought it after reading a lot of reviews and test drives on Memorial weekend. I knew that many people are complaining about suspension noise and cracking noise from dashboard due to temperature fluctuation. But the price was unbeatable, I have option package 2 and I paid almost 6K less than Accord LX. I put only a few hundred miles, so far I no problems other than cracking noise coming from the dashboard when I turn on A/C.