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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  Great buy! - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By omega521 - February 25 - 2:00 am

  The drive is great - the style is extreamly elegant and the base model is loaded with features. I have yet to find anything I didnt like about the model.

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  Autocross Wolf In Sheeps Clothing - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Corban - February 25 - 2:00 am

  I purchased this car last August and have been very pleased. I was trying to find a different sports car that was in my price range. The Tiburon is just that. First off, this car isnt really a drag car and really shoudlnt be compared as one. Where this car wins is on the road course track or AutoX. I have been AutoXing this car for the last year and have won serveral times with people in amazement that it is a Hyundai. If you like to AutoX this is a great car to have.

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  great car for the money - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By bullet99 - February 25 - 2:00 am

  i just bought my 2003 elantra a couple of weeks ago. it has been a nice suprise. i love the power accessories especially the moonroof. i do alot of driving and it is so much fun to drive.

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  Best value SUV for the price - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ericmalcolm82 - February 24 - 10:41 pm

  I live in the midwest and our winters are brutal, so I had saved up about $4,000 to buy a used SUV that I could drive during snowy treks. Found this SUV with 100,000 miles for only $3K, with minor issues (heater didnt work, check engine light). Heater was easy fix, I passed e-check with some Seafoam, and have been driving for two months and love it. Snowed real bad last night, and felt very safe all the way home from work. Interior is boring but everything you need, handles well, fun to drive. Looked at older CRVs that had higher miles and that cost about a grand+ more. Very happy with this vehicle, and hope to drive it for another 100,000 miles.

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  Great Value! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By In Texas - February 24 - 3:46 pm

  I cannot believe this much car for under $25,000(I have Limited w/Nav.) Dealer sold for way under invoice. Car is beautiful, rides well and my gas mileage is unbelievable. Id recommend the 2011 Sonata to anyone who appreciates a great value in a 4 door family sedan. Impressed with Hyundais quality and new designs. Researched and drove the Accord, Altima, Fusion, Camry, Mazda 6 and Malibu. Only the Altima came close to equaling Sonata overall.

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  Correct - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By Marie Jocelyne Lundi - February 24 - 11:17 am

  The driving of this car has been normal.It has been reliable wherever I wanted to go with.

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  Engine Issues - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By prof - February 24 - 1:20 am

  The Elantra is a nice car with a great interior and decent performance. I was surprised to find out the engine uses a timing belt whereas the competition from Toyota, Honda, Mazda, gm, ford, chrysler have graduated to timing chains that never require replacement. Worse than that, the engine is a "interference design", meaning that if the timing belt ever breaks, the valves will crash into the pistons and destroy the engine. Interference designed engines were phased out by most manufacturers in the 1990s. A broken belt leading to engine destruction is a gamble that we dont have to take in 2008.

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  05 Elantra GLS - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ajax - February 23 - 7:43 pm

  This is an excellent car for the money. The warranty is exceptional as well

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  Great Car - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Doc - February 23 - 1:08 pm

  The Azera is definitely a model I would buy again. It is comfortable, decent gas mileage, and very quick acceleration. It is a pleasure to drive.

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  Dont Expect too much - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By rob_from_ks - February 23 - 9:36 am

  It is a prettier and cheaper SUV than the main two alternatives we were looking at, the CRV and Rav4). However, after you drive the Tuscon a while, you begin to notice more and more reasons for the lower price tag. It starts out with just cabin noise, then you notice the very poor quality sound system. The slightest touch from another car produces a ding. Sometimes for no reason, I am unable to lock the car doors when exiting. I assume it thinks the key is still in the ignition but that is not the case (electrical?). Now I notice that the picture on the back up camera is blurry but the dealership tells me that it is operating as designed and Hyundai consumer affairs agrees.