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! - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Joe - June 10 - 2:26 pm

  I never bought a Hyundai before, just tried it based on word of mouth. Car gets very good gas mileage (30+ mpg) and has a smooth ride. It does have a little trouble accelerating on steep hills. Also, turns and quick maneuvers are a breeze. I would highly recommend this car.

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  Air Bag Did Not Deploy - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By NJCommuter - June 10 - 1:13 pm

  I had a 2005 Hyundai Elantra and stupidly rear-ended someone. After the impact I sat there staring at the “AIR BAG DEPLOYED” flashing light and wondered where the bag was. Thank God I didn’t need it. Can you imagine if I had needed it what would have happened. Beware and get this equipment checked. I’ll never own another Hyundai. The Elantra was my second and had two bad experiences. Never again.

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  Rattle Trap - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By mrmll37 - June 10 - 5:32 am

  I have owned my Hyundai Accent SE for less than two months, it is under 3000 miles and has already been at the dealer twice for rattles from either the rear suspension of the hatch. The dealer cant seems to fix it, took it to a body shop with no avail. Driving 80 miles a day, the noise is VERY annoying. I was told if they cant correct this time, I would have to "Deal With It". Not acceptable.

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  my tibby - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By scandal - June 10 - 2:00 am

  fun car, no power, looks good, overall a good value

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  Good car for the price range - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By walt7873 - June 9 - 11:15 pm

  We purchased our car in 2002 with 50000 miles on it. We havent had any major problems with it. The engine still has lots of pep after 78000 miles and the AC is ice cold. Our Sonata has tons of features that other cars in its price range cant touch. The interior feels classy and it rides smooth. It has been a great car for us.

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  A GREAT car! - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Sara - June 9 - 9:36 pm

  Awesome car! Beautiful interior, many friends say the exterior "looks like a Jag". The ride is incredibly smooth to the point that it feels like you are on air. A great buy. This car is such a treat to drive and own.

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  Great Starter Car!! - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By DOtarola - June 9 - 6:40 pm

  Honestly, I was set on buying either a Nissan Versa or Sentra but now I see that my Hyundai Accent was a great choice and is a great starter car for me because of the great gas mileage it gets and it is compact with all the necessary options. I especially love the radio because of the bigger screen and the XM. Most of all I feel safe driving it even though it is smaller than most cars. It has great control and sustains the bumps and potholes on the streets. Overall, I would recommend any student driver to purchase this car because it is affordable and has mostly everything you need.

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  gotta love a lemon - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By debm - June 8 - 10:32 am

  All Ive ever heard was how great these cars are. Once you buy one youll never buy anything else. Ive had nothing but little issues with her since I bought her. But theyve been constant. The horn stopped working. The left blinker doesnt go off by itself. It has an intermittent ignition issue (hesitates badly only a few days out of the moth and then shes fine). The list goes on. And just recently I realized I was filling my gas tank up way to often. So I clocked it. Im only getting 20 miles per gallon! How is that possible?

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  Love it! - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By Karen Reeder - June 8 - 10:04 am

  An awesome car for an excellent price!

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  What a find! - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By jazzyldy - June 8 - 10:00 am

  Hyundai is not a joke anymore! I was astonished while doing research for a new car that had many luxury car features without the luxury car price, that the Hyundai XG350L kept popping up. I had never even considered a Hyundai. One drive led to another & then a purchase. I am very pleased with this car. It is very quiet, has great pickup, is extremely comfortable, and has all the things you would expect in a luxury car except the high price tag.