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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  My first Hyundai-whats not to like? - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Alan - February 2 - 3:20 am

  My sister has owned two Hyundais, a Sonata and now an Azerra, which she loves. After reading so many glowing reviews on the new 2011 Sonata, I went to the dealer for a test drive, and really liked it. I am 64" and was surprised at all the leg and head room. I couldnt drive my 6 speed manual tranny 2007 Corvette due to medical reasons, and traded it in on this car. Going from an almost super car, I was very surprised I liked this car so much. I bought the automatic due to my physical restraints, and like its seamless shifting.

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  My Sante Fe - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bar20rider - February 1 - 9:06 pm

  A fine automobile, stylish looks, inside and out. Proud to be seen driving it and love to sit behind the wheel. Excellent sales and service at the dealership. Comfortable passenger and and seating areas on longer trips. Handles well in all types of driving conditions. Make running boards a standard feature instead of an option. Comfortable interior for longer trips as driver and/or passenger. Average MPG.

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  Great Car - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Walt K. - February 1 - 12:06 pm

  Had a Cadillac for 9 years, but decided to get a smaller car and engine. My wife and I were surprised at the roomy interior and the excellaration when needed to pass, for a V6 it did great.

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  I love this car! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By MrTib - February 1 - 2:00 am

  I gave up a 95 Grand Prix SE coupe for this car and I dont regret it. It is tighter inside but much more fun to drive. It is still in the break-in period so I havent pushed it too hard yet but the V6 is fast and the car handles well. I am 47 years old, the kids are out of the house and I didnt want to drop 50k on a Vette.

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  Very Haooy - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By SteveCat - February 1 - 2:00 am

  Great car for a low price

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  EXCELLENT! RIDE!!! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By PBear726 - February 1 - 2:00 am

  I LOVE this vehicle!! Reasonable price for an SUV!! Safety ratings are very good, especially for an SUV!! VERY IMPRESSIVE, STYLISH Appearance! People on first glance think it is a more expensive SUV!! Very comfortable riding! I cant stop, saying enough GREAT things about this vehicle!!

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  Never would have gotten one before now. - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By New owner - January 31 - 12:46 pm

  The new sytle is what got me into the dealer to begin with. Great car lots of power behind the 3.3 litre. Inside qual not as good as a Toyota but you are not spending as much and yet still get a bunch more. Drives very nice and I see a good future for Hyundai with this new car.

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  Buy one - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By demcowboys9 - January 30 - 3:20 pm

  I love this car! I bought the base package (no sunroof, leather, push button start, nor brembo brakes) and still found it to far out weigh anything else in value. Comes standard with a 6spm, bluetooth, and tons of other features. My only complaints about the car is that it can be a bit noisy. At about 10k miles, there are a few rattles and small things that annoy me. Also, the car feels like it needs more straight line speed, however if u really want to enjoy this car, get out on a back road and just gun it. The handling is so smooth and responsive. Tuners will have a great empty slate with this car. I bought for $21,600! Payments only 286mo!

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  Impressive in all respects other than highway mileage - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By hybridrocks54 - January 29 - 7:28 pm

  I have one of the first base sonata hybrids sold in central new jersey and still on my first tank of gas with over 600 miles on the car. For $5000K more, I figured I could get my own GPS and Ive no use for leather seats (the cloth ones are better looking and theres some cow out there ecstatic that its still munching grass) or dual moonroofs (I"m 6 2", so I would rather have more headroom, thanks). Ive owned an Insight and Prius and I would never know I was driving a Hybrid--there is no indication in drive feel whatsoever and the body style certainly doesnt scream hybrid (but the nameplate and the head/tail light treatments definitely let others in the know figure it out).

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  Great CUV, great value - 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By sir_timbit - January 29 - 6:57 pm

  We were cross-shopping a Santa Fe against a Toyota Rav-4. Just bought a Santa Fe base model, FWD, V6. Considering the price and standard features, plus longer warranty, the Santa Fe has so much more going for it. The base model we have has a V6 with plenty of grunt, yet reasonable fuel economy, standard Bluetooth, heated seats (were in Canada), USB iPod hookup and a good stereo to match. Huge amount of storage in the back, nice hidden storage underneath too. Lots of standard features. The rear hatch swings up instead of to the side like on the Rav. Excellent visibility all around, unlike a lot of competitors with their tiny windows. No wonder they push rear view cameras!