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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  Genisis R-Spec - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By Paul St Jean - February 28 - 6:09 am

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  blacksilver - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By blacksilver - February 27 - 9:46 pm

  Overrall i like the 2006 hyundai. my biggest cry is that the leather seat covering with just normal wear already has noticeable blemishes, the gas mileage remains consistant at aorund 21 miles/gal. i can never seem to reach that estimated 26miles/gal. promised to me,i can feel the slight roll motion navigating a curve under what wolud not normally be an isuue in most suvs. however,i like the comfort level and the relativley smooth ride of the vechicle...but if i had it do do again, i would probably choose something different.

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  Finest Vehicle Ever! - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Fred G Fowler - February 27 - 3:41 pm

  My last van was a Town & Country and I was planing to purchase another one, however, after test driving most of the vans on the market including the Hyundai Entourage, I believe the Entourage is the finest vehicle I have ever owned. The smooth ride, very powerful engine, I love everything about the vehicle. I purchased the high end Limited model with the ultimate package. The leather seats are very comfortable. The second row captain seats move back and forth. The third row seats can be folded into the floor. The five speed automatic with overdrive allows great gas mileage around 25 MPG with the engine at around 2 grand on the tack at 75 MPH. A very fine vehicle, bar none. Thank you!

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  Couldnt be happier - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By brianjm - February 27 - 2:22 pm

  I have owned the 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS for about 1.5 years now. Since I commute to work and school every day, I have put about 45k miles on the car for less than two years. So far, never had any problems with the car. Only went to the dealership for regular oil changes. Nothing has fallen apart or had issues mechanically. Maintanance costs were very affordable and staffs were super friendly. Been getting approximately 25~28 mpg for city and up to 38mpg for highway. Car is comfortable, picks speed up at the freeway pretty well. Overall, I give my car a 5 star. Previously, I have owned Hondas, Mercedes, Toyotas and Volkswagens, but I would have to say, I am very happy with my Hyundai.

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  Bad Investment - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
  By brian rawson - February 27 - 9:43 am

  I bought this car used and had nothing but problems with it from the start. It had 62K on it, and about every 3 months something would be going wrong with it. From hub bearings, to cv joints, cheap brakes & electrical problems, this car was a hassle to own. I did all the standard maintenence, fluid/filter changes, belts etc. It still ran terrible. Then at 90k the transmission started to give out, and I finally traded it in with 115k on it. Very sad that a car I kept so well maintained couldnt even make it to 100k before breaking down. Theres a reason they sell you the 100k warranty, with cheap cars like this you will definitely need it. What do you expect for under $10,000?

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  Verdict still out - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By blue17 - February 26 - 10:37 pm

  Fun to drive and overall nice looking van. Reliability is the question? Van did not start six times this winter. Found out there is a TSB on the junction box/fuse assembly. Just brought in for the second time for this issue. Dealer replaced battery. Hope this does the trick as I really like the van(when it starts).

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  LOVIN MY HYUNDAI - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By nmccat - February 26 - 6:33 am

  I love driving my hyundai...enjoy the smoothness of acceleration,transmission and turning radius....the color red and the upholstrycoche Premium sound system is not...a great disappointment....Blutooth not so great....I keep my cars for 10 yrs but this baby may see a new owner much sooner due to a crummy air- conditioning system....its slow to start and i dont believe it will cool our summer days--hasnt done well now in the spring...gas mileage at 24 mpg with 10 percent city90 highway long trip did make it to 28mpg

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  lots wrong - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By red tib - February 25 - 10:23 pm

  i like the look of the car and the pick up.. i dont like the tires why does it need a v rating? i had it up to 148mph but i got a aem cold air and a 2 1/2 catback. i hate the cup holders and the room in the back. i had alot of proublems with it i had 2 replace the lights a couple times and the motor in the window. the moonroof had a leak. and when i got the music up somtimes the window wont go up or down... its not that smooth of a ride and it makes alot of noise even though i like the car at times i would never buy one again and i wouldnt let any of my friends get one either

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  Cant beat the warranty - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By MTL - February 25 - 9:06 pm

  The transmission self destructed on our 1998 Sienna XLE. We werent planning on a new vehicle purchase so another Sienna XLE was just plain out of our price range. We found an 2007 SE with nearly all of the bells and whistles of the Limited. It landed right in our price range. We will miss our Sienna (it is going to be donated), but the Entourage is bigger, faster, quieter, and has tons more safety and convenience features, while getting the same or better fuel economy. Lastly, it is nice to have a warranty that outlasts the payments. We even upgraded the bumper to bumper to cover the bells and whistles. At the price we got it for ($7000 below MSRP), we could afford to.

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  Great Car - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Tipton4 - February 25 - 4:56 am

  Love my Genesis Coupe; I purchased the 2.0T premium last August and upgraded to leather heated seats (love em). I was in a head on collision this week, hit a SUV that came across my lane at about 50 mph - I got out of the car and walked away w/out a scratch (people in SUV had to be taken by ambulance). Very pleased with the safety. I will be looking for another one. Fun to drive - some road noise on highway but that is the same with most sports cars. Highly recommend the Genesis Coupe.