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 - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By kiwiegrrl - April 13 - 2:00 pm

  I bought the car about a month ago, and Ive enjoyed every minute of driving it. It handles much better then other small compact cars that I have driven. The gas mileage was the biggest reason for purchasing this vehicle. 38mpgs highway, you cant beat that. Its a very fun and peppy car to drive and the Mellow Yellow color just adds to the fun. The only thing i had to get used to was the blind spot. Very large blind spot. Overall though, very impressed.

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  Azera Rocks - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By lhalstrom - April 13 - 4:00 am

  Had it for 2 days and it drives like a dream. The gas mpg seem to be doing better than advertised too. On a short trip through the mountains on the freeway, the display said my average mpg was 33.3.

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  Cant beat it, for the price. - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Mark - April 12 - 11:04 pm

  I bought my GS Accent NEARLY new. It was 6 months old with about 10k miles. It is the bare bones model, no AC, not even a radio. I only paid $7,500 for it though. For the money, its as good as they come. I made a few upgrades, put in a stereo (it had speakers, go figure), tinted the windows, put some 16" alloys on it, and presto! Its a sweet little ride! It has significantly more power than my 2001 Honda Civic, but the gas mileage is not nearly as good as my Civic. They really should throw a 6th gear on the M/T as the RPMs are 4k at 80+ MPH. This might help with gas mileage too. I can accelerate up a hill in 5th gear, which tells me it needs a 6th. Quality is comparable to the 01 Civic.

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  Love this vehicle- two year second owner - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Dan - April 12 - 6:20 am

  I gave a lower reliability score because a front seal Transfer seal setn out and led to having to replace the casing, not a cheap fix. Im second owner to the warranty was not valid for me but the dealer/manufacture kicked in for a third of the cost. I dont understand the lower ratings on "performance" but my 2.6 v6 really gets with it when merging into a fast freeway on ramp. It is really fast which surprised me on the test drive for an SUV. This vehicle has 8o,ooo on it when I bought it and the previous owners had kept really good care of this rig, it was like new and still is and, unlike the new models it still had the combo CD/cassette radio and a rear window that opens (love it).

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  Reliable, but some maintenance woes - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By drew_c - April 12 - 5:42 am

  Just paid off the car. Let me start by saying that the car runs like a dream, is exceptionally roomy for a compact, and maintains speed very well (a must when I drove it across country when I moved from the west to the east). Bought new for the warranty, but everything that went wrong was maintenance parts. Dont get me wrong, It is a fabulous car. You just need to know that you have to replace the headlights every year and tires every 1-2.

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  Its a squeaker - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By pafundi - April 12 - 3:47 am

  My 07 Entourage is a squeaker in the back end. Nothing the dealer does fixes it. It has actually gotten worse since their last fix job. I think it is a design flaw.

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  Very poor instrument panel poor fuel - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By BERNARD HAUSFELD - April 12 - 12:20 am

  The instrument panel lighting is so poor in sunlight cant see odometer or trip meter or Cruise set indicator. Tires have vibration. Poor fuel 23 mpg. Transmission does funny things, as if it does not want to release when coasting. Should have bot another Buick Lesabre, 27 mpg over 68,000 miles.

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  This Car is HOT! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By stjeerdsma - April 11 - 11:20 pm

  This car is sweet! The engine is snappy, the transmission smooth, and the ride is great! Way to go Hyundai, the best one yet. This car looks like the Acura TL in the rear, especially the LX, with the dual chrome exhaust, and the tail lights look similiar to the Accord. The interior space is great, largest cabin in the mid-size sedan class. The trunk is HUGE! We have the Deepwater Blue with Beige interior, it is absolutely beautiful. And who can resist a pretty car with new styling inside and out, a new 3.3L V6 engine that averages 26 MPG combined city/highway? Same features or MORE than Accord and Camry for $23,300 rather than $30K for similiar trim....and the warranty, that sold us!

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  Under the Radar - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Roger - April 11 - 6:00 pm

  Traded in a Deville Cadillac for the Azera and havent missed the Caddy at all. Although the ride isnt quite as comfortable as the Caddys the handling is superior and there is more than enough power. After one month, there hasnt been a problem to surface. This vehicle is compable to a lot more expensive vehicles. It came down to a choice between the Avalon or the Azera and delighted that we settled on the Azaera. The only downside is the gas mileage isnt what I expected, on average 24mpg for all around driving.

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  Truly a pleasure! - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By An Orlando Mom - April 11 - 5:20 am

  After a year of research, we purchase this van in late June. I am thrilled with my decision! What solidified my decision to purchase this van was the crash-test ratings from iihs.org. Finally, an automaker made a van I had real confidence in. After looking at the Kia Sedona, we decided on the Entourage simply because of its sporty look- I preferred the brushed metal to the cheesy looking faux wood. We bought the LIMITED edition with the sunroof package; ours came with floormats. This van is a dream to drive, the fit and finish are top-notch, and I look even smarter because I saved a bundle! I am little disappointed with gas mileage (15 MPG vs 18), but my daughter is safe, so its forgivable.