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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  Lil Black Hyundai - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Luap - January 12 - 8:00 pm

  Very pleased, looked at Venza but reviews on 19" tires killed it. Tucson good get up and go, comfortable and nice tight handling. NAV system a real pleasure and easy to use. Most important is my wife likes it, her car! Back up camera nice feature,very useful in parking lots. Really liked the design and this was deciding factor vs. others in this size. Rides well, its firm which my wife and I prefer, and for this type of vehicle is pretty quiet on all roads. No sqweaks, rattles etc, well built. Transmission extremely smooth best Ive ever experienced. I have an Elantra and if the Tucson is comparable I have two great cars. Gas averaging around 24-26 all around, will take on a trip soon.

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  01 Elantra - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By fhar - January 12 - 12:43 pm

  Great Car, rides great. Great gas mileage. Roomy interior for family of four.

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  Good Bang for Your Buck! - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Nicole - January 11 - 9:53 pm

  We love our new Veracruz!! Weve done a lot of research on crossover vehicles, and test drove several cars before deciding on the VC. Its super comfortable and has so many extras that the competitors charge much more for. This is a great vehicle for the money!

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  happy camper - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By happy camper - January 11 - 8:53 pm

  I have had my Veracruz less than six months. Before buying this car I researched a number of cars. My plan all along was to buy a toyota. With my comparsion of cars I tried to throw the Veracruz out of the group.After driving the Veracruz it was a done deal.The one and best feature of the Hyundai is the warranty. No one tops this and it speaks for the car. Remember when the Toyota came into our market we were not sure it was as good the U.S. made cars. Hyundai is now in that space. I am here to tell you after owning two toyotas the Hyundai is its equal and one step better with the warranty.

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  Best SUV Ive owned - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By coyote prosapio - January 10 - 5:10 pm

  We live in the "outback" of New Mexico, a mix of bad paved roads and dirt. Ive owned a 4-Runner, a Tundra, a Subaru and a mix of Detroit bummers, this small SUV is at the top of the list. We got about 27mpg in the Subaru along with a tough ride. We get a great ride in the Tundra, but truck mileage. In the Hyundai we get 30 on the highway and a Tundra ride. (and a Tundra sound system, AM/FM/CD/Cassette.) I hope this one is as long lasting as a Toyota cause we intend to keep it as our main ride. Ive read the comments about "ungainly ride" but that isnt my experience at all. In fact this one rides as well as the Tundra which is like a limo.

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  Hyundai Sonata - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ferguson - January 9 - 10:00 am

  This is a great care for the money. Good features and one of the best warranties. Made an outstanding second car.

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  Classy inexpensive quality car - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Don Vogel - January 8 - 6:00 pm

  Ive driven the car for about a month and a half now and am very happy with its performance. The cloth bucket seats are roomy and comfortable. I normally do a lot of short stop and go driving back and forth to work and Im averaging around 23 mpg. Ive got nothing but good things to say so far, so Ill leave it at that.

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  Great Car for the price - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By lexigirl - January 8 - 9:56 am

  Have only had a little over a week. Love the way it drives and looks. Paid $14,990 with sunroof package. Only complaint is the alarm system goes off for no reason quite often. Brought to dealership & was told its fixed, but when we arrived to pick up the car, alarm was going off in parking lot. Made another appt to bring back. Had to have the brakes looked at as it was vibrating when braking. This they easily fixed by shaving the rust that had built up sitting on lot. Brakes are fine now. Warranty is outstanding! Looking to sell my SUV & get another one.

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  Best kept Secret - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jim - January 7 - 4:01 pm

  This midsize sedan is highly underrated due to the earlier history of Hyundai automobiles. Ive owned 2 Chevrolets, 2 Plymouths, 1 Rambler, 1 Dodge, 1 Mustang, 2 Pontiacs, 3 Buicks, 1 VW, and 3 Oldsmobiles. My company cars have included 4 Chevrolets, 2 Fords, and an Oldsmobile. My Hyundai Sonata LX V6 is as good or better than any of the new cars mentioned above, and at a fraction of the price. Sonata has been a well kept secret, but the cat is out of the bag. Like the ad says, "Drive it and youll buy it!"

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  1 week rental left us very impressed - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By mouse n lkwd nj - January 7 - 2:00 am

  while on vacation we rented a elantra and were pleasantly suprised by its all round performance. we put over 1100 miles on it with 4 adults and it made a great impression on all of us. we all found it comfortable to drive and the rear seat is very roomy, it had multiple seat adjustments, a/c, power windows etc. it drove very smooth and was more refined then cars costing thousands more. we averaged about 28mpg with mixed city/hwy driving w/4 aboard