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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  Better than my 2007 Honda Civic - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By hyundai12 - April 15 - 9:08 pm

  This car lives up to all the claims made by the company that built it. Great fuel economy solid build. In case any of you are complaining about the engine or road noise, I strongly suggest that you take a 2006-2007 Honda Civic for a test drive. Those models have more noise from the engine and road noise from the cheap tires from the factory. Oh yeah didnt Honda try to downplay the roadnoise with a commercial that played a Holiday tune when you drove on that specially grooved road.

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  Best luxury car value - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By robcar1 - April 9 - 10:38 pm

  Looked at BMW, Mercedes, and Audi, then I drove the Hyundai Genesis. Found everything I wanted for $20,000 less in the Genesis! The Hyundai Genesis is truly amazing. For not much more than a fully loaded Accord or Camry, you get a luxurious car with the interior space of a BMW 7, the exterior size of a BMW 5, at less cost than a BMW 3. And you get a 17-speaker Lexicon sound system that is found on only one other car in the world: the Rolls Royce Phantom. The Hyundai Genesis is far and away your best luxury car value.

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  This isnt Your Fathers Elantra - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By newhartford - April 6 - 11:44 am

  Fit and finish are excellent. The doors close with authority. The cabin is roomy except for headroom in the back seat. Even without the adjustable lumbar support the seats are comfortable. Interior materials are nice. The trunk is roomy as well. The car has adequate power but I dont find myself speeding with it. Always feels like you have to push it a little. The automatic tranny shifts up and down smoothly. The ride is firm not floaty. Dont have a problem with the steering drift that others mention.

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  Amazing car & incredible price - 2011 Hyundai Equus
  By phil109 - April 2 - 4:12 pm

  I was on my way to buy another S class Mercedes when I hear about the Equus. Try one signature then bought an Ultimate two days after. The car had all details and options you can find on a Mercedes or Bmw, but more convenient, more smooth and more useful, all for a better price. Driving this car is as easy as possible, my only concern will be braking distances who tend to be a little bit longer than on my previous car. I was stunned by the 5y/60.000 miles valet service/maintenance program, a big change from the $400 Mercedes oil change. My local Mercedes dealer have mostly arrogants sales people, I was treated in a better way when I bought the Equus.

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  Huge value for your money... - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By techie1234 - March 30 - 11:07 am

  This car is simply amazing. I looked at 50 cars and test drove a dozen before buying this car. I had my list down to the A6 and Genesis. While the A6 is a great car, a comparably equipped Genesis was 20K less than the A6 (in fact the Genesis has a cooled drivers seat which is not even an option for on the highest trim A6). Ive had my Genesis for a month and no trouble at all: its fast and smooth. The only reason not the buy this car over BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, Jaguar, Infiniti, Acura is brand name. Im not that vain, and dont care what my neighbors think. If the Hyundai logo on the tail bothers you, you can replace it with wings for $100, it makes the car look like a Bentley.

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  Elantra Rocks - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By elantrarocks - March 28 - 9:54 pm

  I recently went to Pensacola Florida. I rented a mid size Car. When I went to pick it up I thought they gave me the wrong car. It was sleek and very stylish. I am a 61" man about 280lbs. I could not believe I had enough head room and the seat was sturdy and felt very comfortable. The cars not perfect but its close. I then drove from Pensecola to Tallahasse and got 42 miles per gallon. WOW! I did all kinds of milage comparisions while I had the car for a week. In general it gets 32mpg mixed driving. At 75 mph hwy it gets about 35-37mpg. I drove a 17 mile stretch of flat road and it aveaged 55mpg. I was driving a Mazda RX-8. Now I bought a new Elantra for 18,000.00. I would have paid more!

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  Fuel Mileage - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By tigger69 - March 26 - 4:03 pm

  I have read the reviews about the fuel mileage and dont seem to be getting the mileage in the 20s like people are reporting. In town I am getting 12 mpg I dont have a lead foot and dont do a lot of highway driving. Does anyone have suggestions as to what I can do to get better fuel mileage? Any idea as to what this "download" is that is mentioned in the review?

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  WOW! What a nice car - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By bsmith7859 - March 26 - 1:06 pm

  I have had it for 2 weeks now and 1000 miles. The car got 37mpg on the highway from the dealership and Im averaging 32.5 on country roads. The mpg should pick up more as the car gets broke-in. Fun to drive on twisty roads, and from a start it actually takes off well. It is a lite car and on rough roads you get moderate road noise and the bumps are noticable, hey its not a 5000lb caddy, your going to have that. The seats are so comfortable and I love the bluetooth and all the other goodies. Had some snow on the roads and gave me a chance to play with the traction and stabilty control, I would purposely put the car in a slide and the car would quickly straighting itself. I love this car.

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  Love This Car - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By tkbeyedoc - March 24 - 9:23 pm

  I have had my 2011 Elantra Ltd with Navigation package for about a week now. I have averaged almost 37mpg (75% highway driving 70++ mph.) I use the car to drop 4 kids off at school and then to make a 50 mile round-trip work commute. The cars drives very nicely (and just for comparison, my previous everyday driver was an 05 XJ Vanden Plas!) Of course, there isnt sports-car power, but ride, handling, and noise are excellent for this category. The only thing I notice is a little motion in crosswinds. The features are just incredible. Being able to stream Pandora on android phone via Bluetooth is just too cool. I honestly have ZERO regrets about this purchase. Now my dad wants one!

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  Oh Hyundai...Youve come a long way - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By asb81689 - March 19 - 11:33 pm

  This is my second Sonata, my first one was a 04. I have a LX with leather, and I must say, what an excellent car.. Im beyond happy I bought his over a Accord. Its been a problem free car and rides like its on clouds. My friends are amazed at the ride quality, how smooth and quite the 3.3 V6 is. Its not the fastest sedan out there, but it gets the job done. I really do like the styling of each Sonata generation, starting from 2002 and up. My Sonata is almost at 70K miles, and feels new. A teenager texting on his phone rear ended me, he had to be going 15-20mph, his air bags deployed, yet mine didnt (Thank god), and the best part is, there wasnt a dent on my bumper! Just a paint chip