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:

• 

  Great Commuter Car In Tampa,FL - 2010 Hyundai Accent
  By brians2510 - February 18 - 6:44 pm

  Great car for heavy traffic areas. I get a little under 30 miles to the gallon due to sitting in traffic in downtown Tampa. Very comfortable and great warranty.

• 

  I LOVED my little red accent... - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By ks2282 - February 18 - 1:06 am

  I bought this car new off the lot as my first car for about 10k...super cheap for a car that lasted me about 7 years. I never once had a problem with it until someone side-swiped it last weekend and totaled it. I was so sad to see it go. I had over 110,000 miles on it,and i only had to replace the brakes once, and change my headlights once. Otherwise it was all sched. maintenance. BEST warranty ever too. A good first car for anyone, or even a commuter. Just maintain your oil changes and services, and this car will last you forever!.

• 

  Bouncing Ball - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By CA - February 15 - 3:19 pm

  If you like driving down the road on a trampoline then this is the car for you. The ride is horrible! The car looks sharp and has lots of nice features but if you get sick when you are driving the vehicle what is the purpose.

• 

  Great Competitive Car for price. - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By SonataTeri - February 14 - 3:29 pm

  This is a great car. It is probably the best value you can get for this midsize range type of car. It has all the features you need, great space many various compartments inside for storage, XM radio, mp3 cd player, safety is great I havent had a problem with braking system (like others hv...touch wood) it has been kept in great condition and drives REALLY smoothly. Styling is OK. Acceleration is fantastic and fuel economy is brilliant. So far it has been a very dependable machine.

• 

  Very Happy - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By Joe in NJ - February 14 - 11:00 am

  I bought an 08 Azera Limited yesterday so this is my initial review. Im very impressed with the cars ride, overall quality and appearance. I bought it with 16,500 miles. I paid $17K + my 2002 Sonata that was essentially a write off. Im very happy with the deal I made. $17K for a $30K+ car is awesome. Its comfortable, SAFE and classy. I dont see any reason to pay the premium for other brands. This is my 3rd Hyundai and there probably will be a 4th.

• 

  Feeling luck I guess.. - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Mr K - February 14 - 12:00 am

  I read some of the reviews and wonder if we are all talking about the same van. After 3 years of driving we had very few problems, just some minor things fixed under warranty...pulley bearings, A/C compressor clutch. Original tires lasted 50K miles, battery 3 yrs. Power doors and gate work perfectly, everything is perfect except the fuel consumption could be better. Mixed city/hwy driving: Wife 18 mpg, me 20.5, long trip mpg about 23.

• 

  Almost my last - 1997 Hyundai Elantra
  By CloseCall - February 12 - 4:42 pm

  This car pretty much drove me from high school through the Navy and nearly 6 years of DC area drivers. Its made long trips from Virginia to Texas and back. It spent good stretches just sitting parked for months at a time and nearly daily trips verging on 70 miles both ways. At 130,000 miles I had to finally get the transmission replaced after having let it sit nearly a year without getting the oil changed. I would still be driving it today if that where possible, but alas snow/ice/and a plow truck combined to take it away from me in rough wreck. It was good. not always comfortable or good looking but it served well.

• 

  Suspension Problems - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By Seanbird - February 10 - 7:58 pm

  The car looks good, drives nice, great on gas and is pretty comfortable. Basically its a good car for the price. The problem i have is the loud knocking noise every time i turn the wheel or go over a bump and the dealership cant figure it out even after taken the car to them three times. I guess thats what they mean by you get what u pay for.

• 

  Shifting Problems - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Ted - February 10 - 9:39 am

  My 2009 Genesis shifts from 1st to 2nd gear at about 4 miles an hour from a dead stop causing it to bog slightly, making it very irritating every time you start off. I tried to get Hyundai to do something about it but they said that even though if shifted quick that it was within their specs. The problem is that they are looking a numbers and I am driving the car daily, stopping and starting probably 25 times a day. It is very frustrating but there is nothing I can do about it.

• 

  Driving experince good. - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By mary nieves - February 9 - 2:06 pm

  my only complaint abut my hyundai is the paint on the door handles all chipped off, I was given a tub of paint for me to apply and it didnt work. I had to pay to have them really do over.