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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  I didnt pick the colour - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By GeneB - August 28 - 10:00 am

  Needed a new vehicle and this seems the most reasonable choice. Didnt really like the style, and my wife picked the colour, but am very happy on how this vehicle handles. It is comfortable and fun to drive.

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  No need to look any further. - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By TSM3 - August 28 - 10:00 am

  Having been a former Service Manager for Dodge for 16 years, I am very picky about the vehicles I drive. Extensive researched prooved far and above that this is the best in its class for the money (and then some). Never dreamed I would own a Hyundai, but their quality has drastically improved over ther years- warranty cant be beat- great overall vehicle!

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  my elantra - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By nelg - August 28 - 10:00 am

  Was etremely suprised at how comfortable and powerful it is. It is a lot of fun to drive. Loaded with options.

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  2007 GLS Decent Value - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By jackny - August 28 - 1:36 am

  Just bought a GLS and it seems good, but Im used to Luxury cars. Was sick of used cars, so bought a new economy car instead. The only thing so far is that there is a plastic engine cover that vibrates while idling, causing annoying flapping noise under hood. Great stereo system though.

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  Great Car - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By Sherry - August 28 - 12:43 am

  This is a great car. Fun to drive and great gas milage. Mine is an automatic and it gets up and goes. I get around 38mpg on the road and around 34 in town. Im not afraid to go anywhere in my car. Read other reviews, not getting good gas milage. Dont understand why.

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  Not a Bad Little Car - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By EricD - August 27 - 11:25 pm

  Ive owned it for 5 years now and for a 10,600 price tag out the door I cant complain. The only problem has been a recurring censor problem that causes the engine to putt and not shift, followed by check engine light that stays on for about 2 days. When the problem occurs I restart the engine and the car is fine. A little over 72,000 miles on the car and its been happening sporatically since about 50,000. Only changed the battery, tires, timing belt, water pump, brakes obviously and fluids. Up until now preventive maintenance is all. Air conditioning and heat work well and the gas mileage is good on the automatic although I did expect better, much better on gas on highway.

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  fun ride - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By wdyctycop - August 27 - 5:53 pm

  I like the comfort and all the extras that are standard. The quickness makes it fun to drive, I jump from zero to forty in seconds.

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  Not too bad - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Not that bad - August 27 - 3:04 pm

  Bought the car for a daily commuter w/ some road trips in mind as well. Ive been pretty pleased with the car, but it is in the shop right now at 42,000 miles to get the rear brakes replaced. Seems way too early, especially since I have the manual and use my brakes sparingly. Dealer seemed mystified as to why only 1 brake pad was worn badly... Tires were completely bald by about 32,000 miles. Clutch is pretty pathetic too, definately not a sport- machine. Sloppy gearbox sometimes leads to a gear grinding here and there (roomate has the same problem with his Accent). Probably going to be my first and last Hyundai, Id rather pay a little more for better quality.

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  Best Car Yet I Have Ever Owned. - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Lynette Hart - August 27 - 1:50 pm

  I Have owned many cars before but when i tried this car out on a test car and found that the power was outstanding cornering was exeptional and comfort was past comparison to anything I have owned before. I was sold before I exited the freeway, I will buy another sonata again without a doubt. Its about time a good car was made and to high priced.

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  Happy - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Scat - August 27 - 1:23 am

  Great car for the price. More bang for my bucks than the competition. Its been absolutely reliable. Not a thing to replace. OEM tires were decent. A bit much with interior noise.