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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  Disappointed - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By mark b - March 2 - 4:07 pm

  After much research and test drives we chose the Entourage because of its comfort, long list of features but most of all, the safety rating for our 3 children. After only a short time we began having problems with front end knocking and vibrating. The brakes wobble, the rear end squeaks and the check enging light frequently comes on as does the air bag light. Ive lost count of the amount of times the van has been in the shop but the condition of the van is the same and getting worse. Its obvious now why there is 100k warranty. You definitely need it with this very undependable vehicle. The dealership is useless and the service department is awful.

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  nice - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By jimmy - March 2 - 4:36 am

  If the kia was rated the 5 stars, I could only imagine how high this minivan will be rated. It is an upgrade to the kia with more standard features.

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  Perfect Balance - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By cfzum - March 2 - 2:00 am

  Just purchased the last 2002 on the lot. This car is amazing! The 3.5L V6 will throw your head back when you punch the accelerator especially if you make use of the shiftronic(awesome toy). It has all the options you could want combined with spaciousness and comfort. The salesman Vic K. at Fox Hyundai in Grand Rapids, MI was outstanding. He made the experience much more enjoyable than any of the other dealerships we visited. Thanks Vic!!! Do you self a favor and save $10K-15K for a comparable car. I cannot imagine these Hyundai deals will last forever.

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  Happy to own Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Karen P. - March 2 - 2:00 am

  Just bought the V6 car more than a month ago. Ive done some research before I bought the Santa Fe. Now, I know I make the right decision. Good price deal with so many standards/options. Well-built, comfort- interior, and smooth-drive. The whole family like it much.

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  great car! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jonah - March 2 - 2:00 am

  We just got our Elantra GT hatchback recently, and so far its been great!! Its fun to drive--peppy, responsive, and tight. It feels very sturdy, looks sweet, and has an extremely smooth and quiet ride. Going uphill with the automatic: it has a little lag before switching gears (common, I believe, in many automatics). We took it on a 600 mile road-trip two days after getting it, and it glided along the highway like a dream. Very comfortable in the back as well as the front. Were hoping the car stands the test of time but got the 10/100K extended warranty, just in case!

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  Bang for the Buck - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Fe Fan - March 1 - 6:06 pm

  We bought this vehicle as a demo unit (it had about 2800 miles on it). 10,000 miles later and several trips and weve found it to be a very useful car that has a different look and some impressive features for the price. The gas mileage seems a little on the poor side (it gets worse mileage than my 94 GMC Jimmy which has a bigger engine) but the overall ride is satisfactory. The AWD is impressive and although I wouldnt take our Santa Fe for any serious off-roading, I would trust it to handle most mud and gravel driving without serious problems. Parking in the city with this car will take some getting used to as it doesnt turn sharply...which weve found to be the only major handicap.

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  Sante Fe - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Monica - March 1 - 10:06 am

  Love driving it. Handles very well and a smooth drive. Doesnt feel like you are driving an SUV...has more car feel then any other SUV Ive test driven.

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  Looks great, cant beat the warranty - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By redwestcoaster - March 1 - 7:10 am

  I thought Id buy a Honda and be like other good moms driving an Odyssey. But they wanted about $6K more and a 36K warranty? This family uses the van, were talking miles, last van-4 years-116K miles. Mileage folks! When we test drove, we parked at a mall to look things over, right next to a family with a top-of-the-line Honda van. The mom keep looking over and asked, what van is that? The Hyundai looks almost like the Honda but I think a little shaper. So far only a couple minor fixes, computer chip, pulley. The original dealer was less than stellar after the sale. But around DC none are known for customer service. Overall a good van and good value for the money. Good warranty.

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  4th Hyundai - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Bob - February 29 - 3:22 am

  This is my 4th Hyundai, 1 Sonata and I just bought my 3rd Tuscon Limited. There is a reason for that. Most people only write reviews when they have something to complain about, not many write when everything is good! When a company sells thousands of vehicles and you get less that 100 complaints, Thats pretty good! Most of the people that complain are chronic complainers. I know first hand. I owned a couple ice cream stores, youd be surprised of the frequency of chronic complainers. Anyways.....Back to the review. With all the Hyundais I have owned. The only things I have had to replace were tires and windshield wipers. Thats it. They have been great and I for one WILL continue to buy them.

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  Great car, hard to beat - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By jebaril - February 28 - 6:36 pm

  Whats not to like: I scored build quality a 9, because Ive owned Mercedes, BMW, MINI, many VWs and the quality is one notch less, barely. That said, I just sat in an 09 C- class and the Hyundai equals it. To get the most out of the 4 banger you must use your manual shift option-- especially in the mountains, but it makes it a must more involved driving experience.