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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  Nightmare on Wheels - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
  By brian rawson - September 25 - 10:20 pm

  I bought this car almost 3yrs ago for 2500 with 62k mi. From the start it had a bad hub bearing, a few months later the ignition coil went, ive changed brakes at least 2 or 3 times and changed the spark plugs more times than i can count. Every time i turned around something else was going wrong. I did all the maint fluid changes etc and still at 90k the trans started to go. it has 117k on it now and is on its last leg. Dont buy this car, it was my 2nd elantra and i should have learned the first time. I will give it credit for still running after all its problems but hyundais are cheap for a reason theres a reason why you get the 100k warranty, dont expect more than that out of it.

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  Pleasure to Drive - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Photo1 - September 25 - 8:03 pm

  I was ready to buy a new civic...but this thing blew me away and forced me to change my game plan. Have owned many cars and currently have a 528i in the garage. The Genesis is an extraordinary vehicle in that it is smooth - driving it is actually almost a pleasure (I drive over 100 miles a day for work). It is not as tight as the 5 series, but has more power than the 528. Refined, many options, very quiet, awesome interior detail. Not sure it will hold its value over time but jumped on a great lease deal for the premium plus package. Do get the premium package at least on this vehicle or you will lose money when you sell it. This will not replace a BMW, but sure complements it.

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  I Love My Car! - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By MrsPiggy549 - September 25 - 2:26 pm

  I just love this car, so far. I have only driven about 2,000 miles, however, each one of them has been FUN!

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  Low Expectations to Begin With - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By NorthEast - September 25 - 1:05 pm

  Purchased for only $15k, so expectations were low. Few problems first couple years, little by little minor things started to break (visor, carpet clips, plastic covers for seat belts, trunk console hinge, pwr window components, door lock, exterior handle, etc.) With 55,000 miles, tires wore out, front brakes and rotors...not bad at all. At 58,000 miles, rear wheel bearing goes....mech inspected others and they are ok for now. $250 for repair. All and all, not bad in terms of how much I am spending, Im just amazed at how many things have failed on the car. I hear the newer models are made better....cant cost that much to make plastic components thicker to prevent breaking, etc.

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  soggodsofar - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By lovethecar - September 25 - 10:00 am

  I had a 1999 tiburon that stayed in the shop more than on the road. I traded for the 2003. I already can tell a hude difference. Barely any noise... can hardly tell when it is cranked. The car gets tons of looks... TONS. People stop dead in their tracks and look at the car, trying to decide what it is. It looks like a mix between all the best selling sports cars. It is great and a lot of fun to drive.

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  My Cheap SAAB.. - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By joffficer - September 25 - 10:00 am

  After a long search for my second New car the GT won! Ive owned over 20 cars (most used), but the Hyundai has been one of the best picks so far. Fit and finish are great as well as the options included. The interior is very comfortable for me and my wife, and plenty of useable room. Even with the auto it has good power, and Ive been averaging 25-30 mpg with mainly city driving. Handling is very good for a front wheel drive car, and the stock tires hold well in snow/rain and dry conditions.

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  Wow. - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By ColumbiaSCParalegal - September 25 - 4:10 am

  I fell in love with this car at first sight. I saw a red 2011 Sonata SE in the parking deck of my office building on a Monday and bought the very same car two days later. Compared to my 2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, I feel like I am driving a luxury sports car.

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  Great Car for the money - 1999 Hyundai Accent
  By Hector - September 25 - 3:24 am

  I bought this car on Dec 2006. It only has 9300 miles on it because its a rebuilt car and was sitting on the dealer for more than 5 years. So I bought it, set everything back up and put it back on the road. It had only 2749 mi when I bought it. I live in Las Vegas and took a three-week trip to visit my friends in Guadalajara, Mexico (three-day drive) in this amazing car and cant complain about anything. My girlfriend, two friends and I were on the car down to Mexico, the AC was on the whole trip and the car was just amazing, just did oil change down in Guadalajara. The best thing was cruising at 80mph on the highway with the car fully loaded.

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  You must test drive this car! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By blnewt - September 23 - 7:23 pm

  After doing extensive research on several comparable models I "discovered" the Sonata on Edmunds.com and Im sure glad I did! I hadnt considered a Hyundai, but I was willing to keep an open mind and give all the vehicles a shot. This car is very tight & solid, has great acceleration and is very pleasing to the eye. The doors close w/ a heavy thud, not a tinny feeling like some models. The interior knobs and buttons have a substantial feel to them and are placed in a logical order. The shiftronic transmission coupled w/ the V6 makes for a very fun driving experience. So many standard features for the price really make this a car you MUST consider.

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  2006 Sonata, a NEW Hyundai - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By dogstar - September 23 - 1:23 pm

  I had been in the market for a new car for sometime, and after driving most competitors, I tried the Sonata and fell in love, in so many ways I knew it was the car for me. The car itself is beautiful, a great exterior design and the interior is no slouch either with sweeping lines and a graceful center stack. The seats could use a bit more bolstering though. Everything works perfectly, as one hopes in a new car, but I foresee the quality holding up well. Maintenance is easily done, with long intervals due to advanced design. I love driving the car, its fast and easy to drive with elan. The transmission shifts slowly from 1st to 2nd, but it DOES improve in time.