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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  A Fantastic Perky Little Car - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Janine - December 8 - 11:50 pm

  My first brand new car, it has everything I requested. Awesome Retro Red color, very easy to drive and very comfortable ride to work and has excellent gas mileage. The passenger door is wide making it easy for my disabled husband to get into. For a small car this surprised me and was a plus.

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  Midsize comfort - compact price - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By ems1 - December 8 - 5:00 pm

  Traded a 02 Elantra for a 09 Sonata. Nice step up. Got a great deal on the Sonata. It has every thing I wanted in a car. 4 cylinder performance is adequate. Of course more power would be nice but why sacrifice the fuel economy? I rented or test drove nearly all the competition and found the Sonata, all things considered, to be as good as any of them. When I factored in the price and warantee, the Sonata comes out ahead of the competition.

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  Glad I Bought It - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Driven It A Year Now - December 8 - 4:46 pm

  Had this car just under a year and approaching 10,000 on the odometer. Couldnt be happier with the car: I average slightly over 30 mpg on the highway, its quiet as a cemetery and I havent experienced any of the minor gripes that Ive seen other owners contend with. Recent road trips of 500+ round trip miles didnt fatigue me at all. And call it luck or diligence, but I dont have a single ding on any part of the body. This is the first vehicle that Ive owned that I take to a hand car wash, and it looks as good as the day I drove it off the dealers lot. Wouldnt hesitate to get another Sonata, but Im going to wait til any kinks are worked out of the Genesis and get a 2012+ model.

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  I LOVE MY 2000 SONATA! - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By SuzQue - December 8 - 4:33 pm

  Original owner of 4cyl 5-spd model and get 32/45 mpg after 5 years/68,000! Interior is roomy & comfortable for long road trips handling is agile a/c is ice-cold. Timing belt tensioner failed when I was thousands of miles from home, but dealership in Buffalo, NY quickly took care of it under warranty and put us back on the road to finish our vacation trip same day. Local Houston dealer has handled recalls and other warranty matters very well. Price & warranty got me to try it (always a Toyota buyer before). Id buy another Sonata & have recommended to others!

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  Hyundai From My Son - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Reggie - December 7 - 4:50 pm

  Being the previous/current owner of 4 Accords, 1 Integra, 1 Pilot, 1 Prelude and a CRV I am a Honda Aficionado I decided to take a chance with a Hyundai. My son is a car salesman so he sold us a Sonata SE and adhered to the price range I told him to stick to. The car looks beautiful and the performance is phenomenal given its price-point. The fit and feel is on par with Mazda but not up to par with the Accords I have owned. The overall package exceeds the rival Accord or Camry. The engine is nice but needs just a bit more refinement. I am happy being the owner of a 2011 Sonata SE. I am also proud that my son and his dealership treated me and my wife like we were special. You go son.

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  9000 miles and great - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By cal - December 7 - 6:36 am

  Love the ride and comfort. Lot of room to carry stuff.

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  needs a better drivers seat - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By bob - December 7 - 6:14 am

  I bought this car for the price and now I will buy another, it is great, only down side on long drives the driver seat needs more cuhining, Other than that the car is perfect

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  Best Compact SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jim - December 6 - 4:33 pm

  The Tucson is the best compact SUV Ive driven, and I tested the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, and the Jeep Liberty. While not a sports car by any means, there is adequate power with the GLS 2.7 engine. Im getting about 20mpg on mixed highway/city driving...not to bad for the first couple of tank fulls! Cargo room with back seats up is adequate. I think Hyundai has a real winner with this car.

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  Hyundai Sonato 2005 - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pam Colina - December 6 - 3:48 pm

  driving is easy, ride is comfortable and quiet. good response with dealer and salesman. helpful on phone. feel safer with the side airbags.Air conditioning is great for here in florida.

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  great buy - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By v6 - December 5 - 8:18 pm

  after much reseach desidedon the gls- have not been disappointed -38000 miles and noproblems - fuel economy could bealot better