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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  Best That Out There - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By KIDKID - November 15 - 10:00 am

  This is by far the best SUV out there for the price you pay. All the extras that you love, with out those you dont need makes it a really great buy.

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  2004 FWD GLS 3.5L - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SantaFe - November 15 - 10:00 am

  This is a great midsize SUV.It is solid and drives like a car.I would recommend this to anyone.The 3.5 FWD engine is highly recommended,smooth and powerful.

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  Worth the Ride - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Ed Dwyer - November 15 - 9:31 am

  Great car that fits my needs exactly. Sporty spitfire with built in economy and relatively comfortable environment. I dont see many SEs on the road but I get a lot of compliments on it.

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  Most reliable, fun, sexy car - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Morgan - November 15 - 5:33 am

  I bought the car at 54k miles, and it got totaled at 80k miles in one year. I drove their car for 32 hours straight from Jonestown, PA, to El Paso Tx. My "Tibby" had nothing wrong with it but general maintenance. The person who owned it previously took as great of care of the car as I did. Once you own one, it is hard to replace it. My Tibbys battery was beat for 2 months, and I just pumped the gas a little, and it never once refused to start for me. The car turned heads wherever I went, and the engine is very well built. I had plans to add pink interior lights, paint the emblems pink, and add a windshield "Tiburon" decal in pink. My car had after-market rims, and a sweet sound system.

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  BETTER THAN CAMRY AND ACCORD FOR LESS - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By DR.BERK - November 14 - 11:33 pm

  I didnÂ’t think they could improve the Sonata this much but they did. Its huge inside; lots of trunk space and a lot of power -- 235 hp. How do they get better gas mileage than the last yearÂ’s model that is 65 less horse power? I love my new car!

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  Love my Sonata - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Kelly - November 14 - 5:56 pm

  Reserched my new car purchase for several months. Was in the need for a safe, realiable car to drive clients around in and wasnt in the position to spent $30-$40K on a car. I love driving my new car and my clients are impressed with the way it handles and are more impressed how comfortable it is. Thanks Hyundai.

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  Love this car - 2010 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Tbs0711 - November 13 - 3:29 pm

  This is a great vehicle. I wish the 2018 had some of the same nice upgrades that my 2010 has. Its crazy my 2010, is nicer on the inside then the 2018.

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  2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By jons2 - November 13 - 7:05 am

  If your looking for a fuel efficient full size car, this is it. We bought our Sonata last year based on consumer reviews and now have +17K miles on it. We just drove it on a 3000 mile tour of New England and averaged over 35 mpg with mostly highway driving, at 75 mph....close to 600 miles p/fill up. Truly amazing!!!! Even thru the hills of Vermont and New Hampshire, it had plenty of get up and go when I needed it. The combination of the direct fuel injection, the 6 spd tranny and the aerodynamics I believe is the key factor for the performance of this car. My wife has been able to achieve close to 30 MPG in suburban driving back and forth to work.

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  Great car for the money - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
  By Joe D - November 12 - 5:51 pm

  I bought this car in 1999 and we love it! It is still fun to drive after 6 years and we have had no major issues after 70,000 miles. All we do is change the oil. Still have original brakes, just changed the tires once. Great options, and the upgraded stereo system is great. Overall, we could not have asked for more from this vehicle.

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  Excellent Car - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Andre - November 12 - 4:56 pm

  This is my 3rd Sonata. I had the 2003, 2006 and now have owned the 2009 for 9 months. You cant beat the price for such a quality car. I get 33 mpg on hwy and 29 combined city/hwy. The 2009 is superior to both 2003 and 2006 for that. The ride is quiet and comfortable. The oil filter is placed right on top of the engine, which makes it easy to replace... A brilliant idea!