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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  Tucson is a great value - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jim in Chicago - September 9 - 3:20 pm

  This is the third SUV Ive owned after a Ford Explorer and a Nissan Pathfinder. I am extremely pleased with the Tucson. The build quality, fit and finish, and overall quality is the best of all of them. No problems in my first month/1,500 miles with no squeaks, rattles or anything else to have the dealer fix. The safety features are great to have and standard too. An incredible value.

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  Hyundai doing better than LEXUS - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Maximus - September 9 - 6:10 am

  I never expected excellent quality from Hyundai until today. Well this one runs like a Lexus ES330. Well actually better than the Lexus. The top two Japanese brands - Honda and Toyota won their high reputation over the past couple decades. I think Hyundai will achieve the same high reputation within the next two years. This 06 Sonata OUTPERFORMS Toyota Camry and Honda Accord not only by the price advantage but also by its built quality and superior performance! Also check out the new AZERA (Premium package including 2 memory seats and a navigation). This model will be built to compete over the Lexus ES330, Acura TL, BMW 3 series and Infinity M35 etc.

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  IVE HAD LUXURY SPORTS CARS IN PAST. I F - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By RICHARD G. FLATLEY - September 8 - 10:00 am

  AFTER DRIVING THIS CAR FOR 10 MONTHS I FIND THE CAR AN EXCEPTIONAL VALUE FOR THE MONEY. I LIKE THE 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION. FIRST GEAR COULD BE A LITTLE MORE PEPPY. IVE HAD THE CAR SPEED OVER 160. ITS REALLY A KICK. IM IMPRESSED WITH THE NEW DESIGN. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

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  2004 GT hatchback - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By itazura - September 8 - 10:00 am

  Only have a few hundred miles on the car, but the driving experience so far has been very positive. We bought the GT hatchback, and the stiffer suspension does introduce road vibration -- but the precise control through turns and on windy roads is great. The automatic transmission has a lot of zip in first and the lower range of second, but bogs down a bit under acceleration at 40mph+. Rear seats are tight in terms of leg room unless the folks up front scoot forward. One nice improvement over the 2003 is that the childseat tether anchors are no longer back at the back of the hatch area...they are directly below the rear seat backs.

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  Good Car - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Frank Muscarella - September 7 - 10:46 pm

  Very easy to drive,park and maintain. Nice big hatchback. like it so much I am going to purchase a 2007 2door hatchback.

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  Glad I Waited !!! - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ed Jackson - September 7 - 5:44 pm

  I wanted a car with better gas mileage to replace my old 2003 Sonata. However, I also wanted a car with some creature comforts and not just a plain small econo-box. I started looking about a year ago and checked out all the 2015 compact cars. They were okay, but they all lacked the look I liked or the interior was wrong for me. I read the previews about some of the new models and since they sounded promising, I held off buying any of the older cars. Finally the new 2016 Honda Civic and Chevy Cruze rolled out. They received good reviews and the Civic received raves in some places. The prices for the upscale models killed them for me though. I wanted something nice, but not one that would drain my wallet to get one. I finally decided to check out what Hyundai was offering. I had not realized the old Elantra had been completely replaced by a new 2017 model year design. When I came across that news, I was interested to say the least. Hyundai always offers great features, long warranty (I already knew that from before), and decent prices. So I checked out the early reviews and they were positive to very positive, putting the Elantra in the top tier of compact cars. I then saw that Hyundai had a bunch of rebates in effect so I jumped at the chance. I had the find one in the color and trim and I wanted - Mineral Beige in Limited trim - hard to find. But find one I did and took it out for a drive and said to myself, I glad I held out as this is the car I wanted. I bought it right then and there. Pros: Excellent looking car. I think it looks better than most competitors in the class. The 17inch alloys are nice and makes the car distinct. Very good gas mileage. Most of my driving is highway with some city mixed in and Im getting 39mpg combined. Ride is composed, with good road feel. I would have preferred a little more give over bumps, but that is personal preference. You can corner going fairly fast and the tires grip well even though the car is not marketed to the performance crowd. Very little wind noise and engine noise. 147 horsepower is more than enough in this car. It passes on two lanes fast enough to hit 90mph before you know it. The leather seats are comfortable with really good side bolstering and with the power driver seat and tilt/telescoping steering wheel, it wheel gives me an excellent driving position. Excellent blind-side traffic detection and cross-traffic detection when backing up. These are must haves when buying a new car and Hyundais version works really well. Back seat room will be fine for most people and the seats are nice for the class. The AV Media and Radio system is nice. Upscale and works well with plenty of features for the Bluetooth and Wifi users. The standard limited trim has plenty of goodies for most people unless you really want rear heated seats and adaptive cruise control and other high end extras that you are willing to pay more for. Cons: Could have used more soft-touch materials on the door. The plain plastic around the power window buttons detracts from the experience in the limited trim. The trunk is a little small, but this is a compact car after all. The tires are noisy to my ears and intrude into the cabin. I wish Hyundai would have done a little better here. No remote start on the control fob. You have to use the Bluelink cellphone system and pay for the previlage to start remotely. You do get other features if you pay the Bluelink fee. To get the Homelink system with programmable garage door opener you have to add the extra technology package. The package includes other major goodies that some people will want. You can add the Homelink rearview mirror later on as an accessory, but I wish that had been part of the standard limited trim. Overall this is a five star car. Hyundai has really elevated the Elantra in class for 2017. If you dont need the a Sonata size vehicle, you will want to take the Elantra for a test drive and see for youself. Treat yourself to the Limited and you will not be dissappointed for years to come in my opinion.

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  Tiberon - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Pat - September 7 - 12:53 pm

  I drive mostly on the highway a good high speed car,rides and handles well

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  Another great Hyundai - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By D Fuller - September 6 - 10:00 am

  This is my 4th Hyundai, all great cars. The 09 has 45,000 miles now with absolutely no problems. The 4 cylinder engine has all the performance any normal driver could want. Gas mileage is excellent 44 mpg (imperial gallon) on highway trips. Very well equipped for such an inexpensive car. Move over Toyota!

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  Excessive Road Noise - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By RCarr - September 6 - 10:00 am

  We test drove the GLS automatic last week. Loved the car with the exception of the excessive Road Noise. Did not know whether its due to the tires, lack of sound insulation, or both? Has no one else noticed how noisy it is? Driving 65 mph down the highway, I could not hear my Wife talking (maybe a good thing after all LOL), due to the Road Noise. Even at 35 mph in town, it was noticeable. Only our Honda Civic is worse, but then it has low-profile, Bridgestone (terrible) tires. My 2003 Toyota Sienna van is very quiet in comparison. Unfortunately, the road noise was a deal-breaker for me unless they come up with a remedy.

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  A great car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By chris - September 6 - 10:00 am

  so far so Good the car has been pleasure all along. As much on the morning when I get to it and I look at the line than When I seat in it and appreciate the comfort as well as the great functionality of the car. You get every thing you need and even more I love that rear view camera.