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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  A nice second car - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Claystin68 - March 23 - 2:00 am

  Bought the car for going back and forth to work. Occasionally picking up the children.

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  Azera is a Good Automobile - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By Jim Cole - March 22 - 5:34 pm

  I have driven my new Azera for 3 weeks. So far,I love it. Powerful,smooth,noiseless ride. I wanted the white ,But not in stock. I purchased the Titanium Blue. How lucky was I??? The blue is soooo rich looking. To own a car for 10-20000 dollars less than I was expecting to pay is a huge bonus. Hyundai makes a fine product. I ...Will write a comment in about 6 months,after the break in period.

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  Worse car Ive ever owned - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tim G - March 22 - 4:39 pm

  So many problems I hope I can remember them all.At 33k miles I started having problems with the vehicle shutting off when trying to accelerate from a complete stop.Not a great problem to have when turning in front of oncoming traffic.After many days Hyundai finally found a pin loose under the dash and also a bad catalytic converter.At 45k the fuel level sensor went bad causing a inaccurate fuel gauge.At 49k a new stalling problem started.When slowing down all the engine and all electrical would shutdown forcing me to drift to the side of road and attempt to restart.That was the last straw in my Hyundai nightmare.I promptly traded the lemon in and couldnt be happier having something reliable now.Will never purchase a Hyundai ever again or suggest buying one to a friend or family member.

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  Hate This Vehicle - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Robin - March 22 - 3:33 am

  Purchased this vehicle new off the truck. Thought I was getting a good deal for the money, but have had nothing but problems with this vehicle. Had to put new tires on at 18,000 miles, along with new rear brakes. Hyundai would NOT even speak to us about it. "Wear Items". Now at 25000 miles it has been in the shop 4 times for throttle sensor issues. Actually had the dealer I purchased the vehicle from deem the car UNSAFE to drive out of their repair shop at 18,000 miles. RIDICULOUS. Never owned such a undependable vehicle. Will NEVER purchase another Hyundai. Currently getting ready to contact an attorney in regards to this terrible vehicle. SAVE YOUR MONEY!

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  Been solid as a rock - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Doug - March 21 - 4:52 pm

  The dealer had quite a number of 03s left as the 04s were coming out, so I felt the "deal" was good. Looking at all the cars in this price range, Edmunds comment was it was a "good commuter car". I drive a hundred miles round trip to work and back, they were 100% correct. It still averages almost 30mpg. Ive been very pleased. Never been back to the dealership. Change the oil ever 3-4 thousand miles. Original tires tires lasted about 45k. With 68,000 miles on it (I drive a Mustang convert most of the summer), Im looking for a new one.

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  Love my Sonata - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Darla - March 21 - 2:22 pm

  This is the third Hyundai Ive purchased and OMG have they come a long way from the 1986 Hyundai Excel. This car is quality all the way around for an extremely reasonable price.

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  New CEO is a genius! - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Scourge - March 21 - 10:00 am

  Hyundai used to suck...bad! Then they got a new CEO and viola! Major changes took place. If this vehicle is any indication of the rest of their lineup, Hyundai will be a major player in just a few more years. We have approximately 10,000 miles on our Santa Fe already and not a single problem to note. We tested the Escape, Liberty, and others. I then convinced my wife to test the Santa Fe just to be thourough in our research. We were both floored by the quality of the vehicle, the price, the warranty, standard features, etc., etc. IMHO, there is simply no better value out there.

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  Didnt think I would ever own a Hyundai - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Converted - March 21 - 10:00 am

  My wife talked me into looking at this vehicle. To avoid a conflict, I gave it a token look. It blew my negative expectations away. I went back several times, each time looking for something negative. I simply couldnt find anything wrong. We also looked at the Mazda Tribute. The interior of the Tribute looked like a Ford pick-up from the 80s compared to the Santa Fe. I am very pro Honda and Toyota, this is right there with both of them. So far I am still in shock at the great sense of value I get each time I drive it. While I was waiting for them to clean my new Santa Fe up to take it home, the salesman threw me the keys to a 2003 Tiburon. Wow, that just may be my next purchase.

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  Value in Hyundais Elantra GT - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By timtriolo - March 21 - 10:00 am

  The most standard features @ the best price in the market. Interior detail is sensitive to comfort, design, performance.Others comment my GT looks like a SAAB!Quiet and peppy powertrain. Warranty is untouchable.Drawback=lackluster trade- in value.Dealers say this is changing, but so is dealer attitude:theyre becoming arrogant. Some said my researched figures were bogus,or tried to short--change me on my trade. Found and honest dealer and got a fair trade+$500 under invoice on GT.I bought discontinued Cranberry Color(replaced with weak Chianti Red).warranty is untouchable.

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  An intelligent buy - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dave Martin - March 21 - 10:00 am

  Civic and Corolla better? Maybe a little, but this car is a gem for its price. The base features are amazing. Design is a little conservative, but not lame. Build quality seems excellent. 13,000 miles and no problems at all. If you are looking for a really good car at the best value out there, buy this.