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 - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By brucew8 - November 22 - 10:00 am

  What a surprise to own a car that is fun to drive, plus the 10 year 100000 warranty. After looking at the Toyota and Honda line of cars we shopped for the Hyundai as one of our friends has two. We fell in love at first sight and walked out of the dealership for $4000.00 than the others we had looked at. We give it a 10.0 because of the no hassell from the dealer, the $2000.00 rebate and the quality. One should look at one. You will be surprised.

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  I Love It! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Derekwc - November 22 - 10:00 am

  I finally bought my dream car. It has body design like No other SUV on the market - not boxy not square but sleek and bubbly. It is a fun light midsize suv for anyone. Hyundai has become my hero as far as make is concern; this is the second Hyundai I have purchased and am even more pleased with this than the first. Well build, Excellently priced, fun, stylish, and everyone asks me how a guy like me can afford such a nice car. I named him Deshawn.

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  Good car for your dollar. - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By NORDBERG - November 19 - 10:00 am

  This car is the best value in its class. After many months of shopping around and after test-driving the competitors, (civic, focus svt, protege 5, cavelier ls, etc.) the Hyundai GT was best in terms of value, OPTIONS, and fun! Speaking of options, this car comes standard with just about everything but a driver! Speaking of fun, taking the above-mentioned competition from a stoplight is easy. Press hard on the acceleration from a stop and you will be pleasently suprised. No racecar, but again, good for the dollar. Top off all of that with the extended warrenty and youve got one great package.

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  Excellent car for its money - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By edward - November 18 - 8:58 pm

  At first, the car didnt really turn my head, but after driving it for a month, WOW, its automatic and it gives me more than 30 miles per gallon, its a drive so friendly and soft, you think youre in a car of a better class. And I found out the reasons why: independent suspension on the four wheels, CVVT fuel injection. Plus nice room and cup holders for every one, pretty nice stereo, all this for a low price. Driving it through curves and hills is very easy, though not a fast thrill, but it really drives like a small premium car.

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  the best - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dave - November 18 - 8:46 pm

  Easily the worlds best SUV. Destroys everything from a Toyota to a Hummer. The Santa Fe may be the greatest vehicle the world has ever seen.

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  Great Car - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bob Ault - November 18 - 1:33 pm

  Purchase this Santa Fe used with 25k. The only problem I encountered was a defective rear seat hatch which was covered under the factory warranty. At 54k it still has 30% front and 90% original factory brakes. It rides like a car, gets acceptable mileage and very easy to get in and out of.

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  What year were we talking about? - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By R F - November 16 - 5:33 am

  This was made in 2003. Go primitive. No Bluetooth, USB, Wifi, or SD cards in the original head unit. Still has the Infinity six and a sub in the GT V6 models. Bet you could install something...

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  Awesome Car - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Elochukwu - November 15 - 9:05 pm

  Ive owned this car since May 2015 and overall I love it. My wife owns a 2012 Toyota Camry and I get equivalent mpg on both cars. The only thing I have reservations on the Sonata is that when I play music through Bluetooth it does not show the track title and artist on the screen, just the name of the phone while my wifes camry does. Otherwise I love this car. Addendum: Its been over a year since I got this car and Im still loving it. I changed the tires and this made the ride a lot quieter.

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  I love my Tibby - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Trish Lane - November 15 - 2:16 pm

  This is the second Tibby I have owned. I love the warrenty that even covers light bulbs. There is plenty of power in 5th going across the two mountains to and from work daily. Next car in another two years will be the same model.

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  Talk of the town - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Joyce Hare - November 15 - 10:00 am

  Married for 20 years, we have always drove Fords. We have only owned this car for 2 months; have found people everywhere love it. Someone is always asking what kind of car it is and telling us how beautiful the styling is. But we love our XG350L and are very proud owners and will definitely buy Hyundai from this point on!!