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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  Were so glad! - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By The McKinney Gang - March 17 - 11:46 pm

  Its been four weeks since we bought our fourth Hyundai, and I still cant believe how much were enjoying it. Whisper quiet, smooth power and handling without being vague, incredible gas mileage, supreme comfort, endless features, dual exhaust. Showed it to Nana, and she went right out and traded her Civic for a four cyl. Sonata! You can complain, or just buy a Hyundai and be happy.

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  Great car so far - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By wolfrat1 - March 17 - 9:17 pm

  This will be my third Hyundai. We have come up the line from elantra,sonata and now the azera. This is an excellent riding vehicle. Very quiet. There is some road noise but Im attributing that to the tires. Not a lot of people who rated this car like the michelin mxv4 plus tires. I will be taking them off. It handles well,great pickup from the engine. Very,very roomy. Great trunk space. The basic stereo system could use more power. The XM portion doesnt come through very loud. The steering wheel volume control are kind of hidden. Still these are minor problems that wouldnt stop me from buying another azera. It shouldnt stop you either. Take one for a spin.

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  great ride! - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By show-off - March 17 - 4:08 pm

  Im 23 and I like my 08 azera. It is a nice pearl white but very hard to keep clean. I like the power of the 3.3 liter 234 hp engine. Spins its tires easily. Love shiftronic is good for redlining it.0-60(timed myself) is 7.8 seconds. Ugly alloy wheels.

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  Lot of Fetures for the Price - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Carole W. - March 17 - 10:56 am

  Since this is my first experience owning an SUV I wanted to be sure I chose the right one. After doing alot of research, I have to admit I am thrilled with my Tucson GLS. It has many standard features that everyone wants in a car. Most importantly the EBS(helps eliminate rollovers) and the side airbags.

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  Loyal Hyundai owner and sales rep. - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jason9240 - March 16 - 1:43 pm

  My family and I have owned Hyundai for years and will continue to do so because of hyundais reliability and quality. The Tucson just sells its self do to the standard features you normally would expect from a vehicle several thousand dollars more.

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  My first SUV Experience - 2009 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Fernando Furtado - March 16 - 9:03 am

  Until now it is been a sort of dream. May be because it is my first experience of a SUV, but even though I like it, as I have some good experience on other cars, like MAZDA 323, Renault 21, KIA Rocster ( actually this is a SUV, so I am a litle bit experienced now, and Sephia II, also known as Pectractor, in some Countries.

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  Pleasantly Surprised - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Mattman - March 16 - 8:30 am

  Purchased my GT hatch with 62K for $5600 and after a routine dealer service (rather pricey) have had absolutely no mechanical issues in almost 20K of driving. Mileage is great and theres plenty of highway passing pep. Interior space is incredible. I fit two solid plastic 8X4 ft. folding leg tables AND 8 non- fold hard plastic table chairs in the back and was able to fully close the boot. Who needs a truck? Only annoyances I have are the standard rear seat drip leak & the factory CD player doesnt play burned CDs. In the grand scheme no biggie. The Excel days are CLEARLY over and with their model linup expanding I can easily say Hyundai will again be in my future.

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  Junk! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By jamiedsmith - March 16 - 4:11 am

  My Tiburon was a 2003 GT (2.7L V6) with the 6 speed manual transmission. The dual mass flywheel is a major design flaw that Hyundai refuses to acknowledge. I drove my car for four years and 40K miles and replaced the clutch and flywheel twice. Hyundai would not warranty because they consider this repair to be related to abuse. Ive driven cars with manual transmissions my whole life without ever having a problem! Im currently a part of the class action lawsuit against Hyundai for this issue. The plastic levers that let the seats fold forward were also constantly breaking. The lock actuators, outside and inside door handles, and window motors had to be replaced as well.

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  Good looking and fun, with many build quality issues - 2012 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By beamers - March 16 - 3:26 am

  I own a v6 GT (25k miles), and opted to go that route after driving the incredibly rigid track edition. The GT suspension is still quite stiff, but bearable. I like driving the car, its fast, responsive, and sounds good. Its also quite a good looking car, but interior build quality has left a bad taste. Ive had issues with my sun roof already, my drivers seat track had to be replaced, steering wheel leather peeled off, and the electronic brake switch has died 3 times ( which kills the push button start ) the dashboard has quite a few rattles, and the rear speaker rattles quite alot. After all that im still left with interior issues Ive had to fix on my own.

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  Simple Elegance - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By tracer - March 16 - 3:06 am

  I cant believe I bought a Hyundai. Ive got a mercedes, BMW, Honda, and now a 2009 Sonata. Ive got to say, after having the car 3 weeks, Id buy another one. This car is what my recent college grad calls Simple Elegance. Its got the ride and interior of a Lexus, and the fuel economy of a Honda. I bought the car because its got the best warranty in the industry, and the its built in one of the most (if not the most) technically advanced facilities in the world. Im proud to own a Hyundai!