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 great business class vehicle - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By Eugene Gojka - December 26 - 12:22 pm

  The Genesis is overall a great car to own. Very comfortable and easy to drive. Steering is a little loose and it feels big, only because it is. For a larger person, Im about 64 190lbs, I feel very free in this car. Maintenance is expensive but the service that Hyundai provides has been great. The entertainment system is one of the best Ive ever experienced! Bluetooth is difficult for the 2011 model because its an older system which will not allow you to listen to your music. Fuel economy is pretty good for a V8 and power is exceptional.

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  Outstanding Small Car - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Thomas - December 26 - 5:27 am

  Purchased for $12,000 used with 12,000 miles on it, and I love this car. Well worth every penny its quiet, stable, and solid. Handling is neutral and predictable, steering is effortless, and the brakes are very strong. I looked at a few of the "top" cars in this class before pulling the trigger on this car, and none could match it. The ride is good, interior comfortable and pleasing to the eye, and it handles better then expected. Good stereo, excellent ergonomics, classy looking exterior. Its an impressive small car in its class. Ive shown it to friends and family and they all think "wow nice little car!" Especially from those who expect junk from Hyundai. This car is far from junk.

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  good looks stolen from luxury cars ! - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By gogu teologu - December 25 - 9:16 am

  First, XG DOES have side airbags! It is a matter of personal taste, and thus a relative thing, but I did not find any other near-luxury car to have the good looks of an XG. Anything equally or better looking will cost at least $5000 more. Good for Hyundai, shame on them to have stolen styling features from Bentley and Mercedes, goo d for us that they did it. Of course, looks are not everything, but XG does handle quite well, has enough interior room, an adequate fuel efficiency (I get 30 miles/gallon on highway with 87 gas, which is more than in the specs). I do not know how reliable an XG is; so far, so good, but I expect it will not be as reliable as a Japanese car.

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  Happy with this car - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dave from CT - December 24 - 11:46 am

  Still new, I am really enjoying this car. It feels more expensive than it is. We were looking to stay small and cheap so we looked at Accent, Yaris, Rio etc. and then found out this car was not much more in price but much better for the money.

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  Nice car, but has flaws - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ahabgjb - December 23 - 7:13 pm

  When I bought this car, I found very few flaws in it to start out with. I enjoyed the great MPG that the car had, as well as the good design and comfort. However, as time went on, I soon found myself to be an enemy with one thing: the trunk. If you do make the decision to buy this car, NEVER open it on a rainy day, at the risk of waterlogging everything inside your trunk. The design of the trunk pushes all the water on top of the trunk straight down into your carpeted trunk, making it incredibly difficult to deal with. Not only that, but it frequently unlatches itself, making it a safety hazard if you leave valuables in your trunk. Overall Id say good buy, just be weary of the risks.

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  Great Car !! - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By Freddie - December 23 - 10:21 am

  Well I just rolled over 200K with mine. Bought this thing in 2001 with just a few thousand on it ( demo car) and have never had any trouble with this car. Never put me on the side of the road ( besides a broken belt twice) and has given me great MPG even though i tend to drive fast. It has been wrecked 4 times and even with hard hits in the back all that was replaced was a trunk and back bumper. If your looking for a used car with great MPG ( almost 30 )and reliability then I highly suggest this model.

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  Reliable Car - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Jim - December 22 - 3:32 pm

  A great basic reliable commuter. Not very attractive inside or out, but it does it job at a very low cost. I drive it 104 miles to and from work every day and after 125,000 miles have only replaced light bulbs and tires (amazingly, it still has the original brake pads!) This is a well built, rugged and inexpensive little car. It is not comfortable nor fun to drive. Acceleration is adequate and handling on dry rods is OK. Wet/slick road handling is very poor, however. Also, gas mileage is not quite as good as I would like from such a small car, but is in the high 20s. I do not recommend as a first car because of its poor wet/slick road handling, however.

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  MY SILVER JAG WISH U AR - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By LIL JAG - December 22 - 10:00 am

  DRIVES GREAT AND YOU GET ALOT OF LOOKS

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  Power and Transmission - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Smokeyridgerunner - December 22 - 10:00 am

  First it was not the engine I was told I had, it has a 173 hp. The lights dim when I turn the AC on. Whe making a turn the automatic transmission does not shift down to the next lower and when I press the gas it drives really slow until I make up the speed to shift to a higher gear. Sometimes it just jumps into passing gear and you would almost run into the car in front of you. If anyone is having these problems let me know because Hyundai said the auto is ok.

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  2001 Elantra - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Williamis the name - December 22 - 10:00 am

  Such a suprise to drive. One of the best if not the best I have owned yet. Well worth the price.