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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  Love, love, love it! - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By pam - November 29 - 9:39 pm

  Bought with 23,000 miles on it and in two years, have not had one single thing done to it except change the oil. Has started every single time - even in 20-below zero weather. Like the style -too bad they changed it for 2006 - now you cant tell the Sonata from any other car out there!

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  just put in gas and go. - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bob - November 29 - 8:03 pm

  I am 6 ft. tall and have lots of room to be comfortable. Works fine but have not had it long. Moved jack handle off jack and not a rattle or squeak since. If it stays this way cant ask for any better. One very small crab....mileage indicator hard to read in daytime.

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  Great Car - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By sean w - November 29 - 12:12 pm

  Is an excellent point A-B and back car. If concerned about reliability and price it is an A+

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  A good car for the price - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By CN - November 29 - 10:17 am

  This replaced a Camry that had too much crash customizing. Overall, the car is well designed. With the rear seat down it holds a large amount of cargo considering the size of the car. There is adequate legroom for people over six feet tall. Sunroof tilts up to open as a no-draft. Less noise than opening a window. Still noisy though. Overall noise with all windows and roof closed is acceptable but not non-existent.

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  Commuting is fun again - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By William McMurtry - November 29 - 8:47 am

  I commute fifty miles per day and this car makes it an event to look forward to every day. It has a very smooth shift and makes driving in and out of roundabouts a real kick. The sound system makes it a veritable "jukebox on wheels". The ride is smooth with catlike response in the steering and handling. The intertor design gives the driver easy acess to all of the switches and knobs.

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  I cant stop looking at it - 2011 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By reggie - November 29 - 2:00 am

  I had it for exactly a month and a half. It is great! For the money, I couldve gotten a used BMW, G35, 350Z, etc., but I wanted a new car. Although I have the 2.0T model which isnt the fastest, I can still have some fun. The interior is extremely driver friendly in my opinion. Since not too many people are aware of this model, I get so much attention/comments when I get on or off the car.

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  Love it! - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By mtck95 - November 29 - 2:00 am

  I traded in a 2008 Mazda Tribute for the 2010 Hyundai Sonata. I wanted something with better gas mileage and a better interior design- I found it! I love my Sonata and do not feel like I lost much interior space going from the small SUV to a sedan. I ended up with a cheaper payment, better gas mileage, and a vehicle that I believe will be more reliable long-term. It handles well and is fun to drive! Im very happy with my purchase.

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  Not Much Wrong with this Car - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By bmac50 - November 28 - 2:20 am

  Less then 1400 miles, one of the first things I did was change the air filter to K&N, seeing 23 MPG in town, on the road I dont know yet but some mixed with mostly town 26. More than enough pick up to get out of the way and starting in 1st. Very roomy, good seats and driving position, wish the seat bottom was a little longer but on any car I do. Easy to read gauges, very strong brakes and great audio system. Of course the best warranty in the business doesnt hurt. Easy to get the steering wheel where you like with both tilt and telescopic. Wasnt really that hot about leather or the moon roof but Im finding I was quite wrong.

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  still satisfied after 20000 miles - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By steve - November 27 - 12:46 am

  I bought this vehicle in september 2006 and have over 20,000 miles on it so far. For an SUV with a V6 I can say it is pretty good on gas (overall 22 MPG). Still drives like a car and is very quiet on the road. I live in Massachusetts and my wife has never had any issues driving in the snow (we live in the second hilliest city in the US). I dont have any interior failures or defects as stated in other reports. I can honestly say that I have no complaints with this SUV and was looking at the Pilot and highlander also at the time. I wish I had purchased the 3rd row seat.

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  1 Year with My 2016 Azera - 2016 Hyundai Azera
  By Joe N. - November 26 - 11:24 am

  Im now one year in with my 2016 Hyundai Azera Limited and I still love it! This a fantastic luxury automobile without the luxury price tag. Like others have stated, I dont know why Hyundai has not talked about this car. Ive never seen an ad for one and actually discoverd the Azera when I visited a Hyundai dealer a year ago to look at a Genesis. The salesperson recommended the Azera because I could get all of the Genesis luxury features at a significantly lower price point. Of course now that Hyundai is launching its luxury Genesis brand seperate from Hyundai they are not bringing the Azera back for 2018. This decision allowed me to buy my Azera at a deep discount which was a win for me. This car has everything you could ever want in a luxury sedan and its beautiful inside and out with sleek styling and a very well thought out cabin of comfort and conveniences. Living in hot Texas, I love my ventilated seats and automatic sun shade for the rear window. I dont think I can ever drive another vehicle that doesnt offer ventilated seats! My only gripe with this car was the oversensativity of the lane departure warning system. Luckily, the car gives you option to deactivate lane departure warning which I did. I mightve liked that feature more if it actually corrected the stearing rather than just beeping at you. Blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic control with the backup camera are terrific features. I would also have preferred the front seat adjustments to be placed on the side of the seats as in most cars rather than on the doors and slightly difficult to reach and adjust while also sitting back at the same time. You wont find a better luxury car in the price point.