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 Car - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Steve Dobbins - June 5 - 3:07 pm

  103,000 mi as of 6/05. Has been extremely reliable. Looks great inside and outside. Recently had failure in power steering hose. $400.00 incl. labor for a hose? Air bag warning lite on, $1600.00 for an air bag sensor? They have to rip and send out seat because sensor is under upholstery...needs to be sent out to upholsterer. Engineering is said to be brilliant I have a hunch from now on is where the money will really go out because of the "brilliant" engineering of a 10 foot long power steering hose, etc. P.S. When my 11 year old daughter moved the front seat forward the warning light went off. I wonder???

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  Love my Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dombrolo - June 5 - 2:20 am

  Bought this SUV after our Aztec & S10 got flooded in Hurricane Wilma. We had to find something quickly and the supply down here in the Keys was very limited as all the dealers lost all their stock also. About a week and half after the hurricane, I was driving past Niles in my rented car and saw this Santa Fe on their lot. It had been shipped in from a sister dealer in Tallahassee. I always had wanted a Santa Fe, I love that is wasnt boxy like most SUVs, and it was exactly the color that I had wanted. We test drove it that evening and were able to keep it overnight. We bought it the next morning and have never had any regrets. I get about 22-23 mpg which is great for SUVs. I love it!

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  Limited 4cyl with Navigation - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By howard.mergler@theme - June 5 - 2:00 am

  Narrowed down my purchase to a Jetta or the Sonata and the Sonata just blew the Jetta away with features and lower cost. I also found the Sonata to be extremely comfortable with a very smooth ride. The iPod connectivity is great although there are some quirks with the software that could be improved. They also need to make the center console just a tad bigger to be able to hold a normal iPod well. The one area I have not been impressed with is gas mileage. I have routinely gotten about 22 MPG even with a good bit of highway driving. Not as good as I hoped, but still much better than what I had before.

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  Well Satisfied - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Don L - June 4 - 3:06 pm

  I purchased my Hyundai Tuscon about 6 months ago. I have been nothing but pleased. The vehicle is fun to drive, roomy and certainly is a good value for the money. No other SUV can match this one for features for the money and sporty appearance. The warranty is a big plus though havent had even the first problem.

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  Real World Drivers Car - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Franknspeed - June 4 - 4:40 am

  Picked it up last night. Sharp looking car, sporty driving (still need to break it in properly) and commuting are possible without sacrifice. Plenty of power. Perfect ergonomics, lots of room, good visibility. Handling is great, good feedback, brakes are wonderful. Drove both the 3.8 and the 2.0T and found the turbo to be more than enough, actually prefer the sound of the 2.0 over the 3.8. Suspension is tight, but not bone jarring. And the price was right, too.

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  THIS 2010 TUCSON ROCKS !! - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Robin - June 3 - 11:33 pm

  This SUV ROCKS!! I love the workmanship of this SEXY vehicle. The interior is very well built. The new style is unique and sleek. The power is Amazing!! It brakes very well. I really enjoy the smooth ride it gives. I have the Kiwi Green one and I so love how everyone on the road stops and looks at my TUCSON..

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  a decent size car thats decent on gas - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By drew - June 3 - 7:36 pm

  This is the first Hyundai Ive owned and I can say I may very well own another in the future. This S.Korean company has made many improvements since the infamous Excel, but this little coupe has good pickup and good handling in the rain. (unlike a Mustang) Turns are a different story, esp. at a roundabout but it is very good on gas and when pushed the right way has good acceleration on the highways. The 4 cyl engine lacks some horsepower but it is a small car so dont expect the performance of a Miata.

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  2005 Sonata GLS - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By ms.python - June 1 - 5:26 pm

  The cars engine runs wonderfully. I feel a little surging with the transmission and may have to bring it in to see whats up with that -it could still just be breaking itself in... I dont know. I had to bring it back about a week after I bought it because one of the front passenger map lights wouldnt go off (they replaced a fuse...the service is quite prompt) Other than that, its a well made vehicle and Id buy this car again if I had to do it over again.

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  Just a great car compared - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By kyle - June 1 - 10:56 am

  Im new to the mid-size sedan segment therefor completely unbiased based on history. I drove EVERY competitor and nothing stacked up close to the sonata! 3 months and 6K miles later I still absolutely love it. I get 30 mpg COMBINED and routinely 40+ mpg on the highway. 200 HP is PLENTY of power for this light car to get up the hills (I live in Colorado) No quality issues so far, actually Im very impressed with the quality. No rattles, no squeaks, very quiet, very comfortable, Im 6ft and can easily fit sitting behind myself. I got 10 yr 100,000 mile BUMPER-2-BUMPER warranty out of the deal. I cannot say enough great things about this car. Bluetooth is fast to connect, XM is great. VALUE

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  Excellent - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By c.manea - May 30 - 8:00 pm

  I was impressed with the Santa Fe the first time I saw it, bought the Limited version, based on the good reviews on the internet. Now I work for a car rental company and I drive all kind of vehicles. I realize the Santa Fe is hard to compare to any of these. The Japanese competition is at least 1 step behind. You wont regret buying this car rather than a more established brand that costs much more. Read and compare the reviews and youll see that not even a 100.000 dollars Porsche is not perfect. And they had no recalls for the Santa Fe and if you watch the crash test videos, youll really want one. If you buy one in Edmonton Alberta get it at the West End Hyundai.