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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  Best Kept Secret - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Greg Rogers - August 6 - 7:06 pm

  I decided to give the tiburon a try and I have not been disappointed. After looking at other similiar cars in this class, the value, styling, and handling of the tiburon was hands down the best choice for me. This years styling, both interior and exterior, is what caught my eye. It handles well, its comfortable, and fun to drive. Its not your high performance sports car, but it definitely has the look and feel of one (without the high price tag). Ive lost count of the compliments and the number of people who want to know what Im driving, its like having the best kept secret around.

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  Did you drive it? - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By BJB - August 6 - 5:43 pm

  I noticed on some reviews that there was great complaint about both the transmission and mileage on the 3.3L 5A equipped Santa Fes. As a recent purchaser of a Santa Fe I have to say, if you people did not test drive the vehicle shame on you. I for one have no complaints. The transmission does not "slip" it is shifting into overdrive before shifting into the next gear. And so far in mixed driving I am averaging 17.4 MPG. There are no filed issues with the DOT or any other agency on the Transmission in addition to no complaints with Consumers Reports. I have a feeling those of you who are complaining have a case of buyers remorse.

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  2016 Tucson DCT - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Bob - August 5 - 11:15 pm

  The DCT is an accident waiting to happen. There are reviews about the transmission on NHTSA, Hyundai Forum, and other web sites. It only took one time to happen to my wife that I decided to get rid of this car. As expected, dealer couldnt replicate the problem (because it is a design flaw that needs to be addressed by Hyundai). Decided it was too unsafe to drive off the dealer lot. With only 3700 miles on it, decided to trade it in on a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. Had 2 Santa Fes before with no problem.

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  Best Car Ever - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By JJ - August 5 - 8:13 pm

  This is the first Hyundai that weve owned. We are long-term Honda and Toyota drivers. It was my 15-year-old daughter who urged me to test drive a Santa Fe. Boy, am I glad she did. I was trying to convince myself that I really wanted the new Honda CRV,but the road noise was so bad and the ride so uncomfortable, that I was not happy with it. The Rav4 wasnt impressing me either. Then I drove the Santa Fe, fully expecting that I wouldnt care for it. Well, was I wrong. I was sold the moment I drove it off the lot for the test drive. It was so smooth, so comfortable, so quiet. My dealer was great. And the best part, because my daughter urged me to try it, she got a finders fee ... sweet.

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  Fantastic Upgrade!! - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By Austin Dailey - August 5 - 9:47 am

  I love it!!!! I was trying to get out of my 14 Sentra SV that I felt I was over paying for. Only 1.5k miles on the car and I love the change to a larger sedan, I get almost the same gas mileage as I had with my Sentra by driving on the freeways a bit more that surface streets. It has the power for me to navigate traffic with ease. I also ended up getting the sport edition with quite a few of the additional packages, and I love everything I got, and its definitely worth the ~$100 difference in my payments. My only wish is that the BlueLink last longer, or was less expensive to renew. Its definitely worth looking into, its about 10 times the car other manufacturers were trying to sell me.

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  unhappy - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By jverjano - August 5 - 8:50 am

  Ive had my veloster for about a year now and 17800 miles. I am always having transmission problems my local dealer doesnt do anything about. Ive been dealing with Hyundai Corp not much help either. my steering wheel Ive changed two time already because the leather keeps peeling off. My radio gives me issues at time to.

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  Replaced my Ford Windstar - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By vhowell - August 4 - 10:35 pm

  Bought an Entourage to replace a 1999 Ford Windstar that died on us with only 99,000 miles. Entourage gets about the same gas mileage as our old Ford, but has tons more features for the money, smoother and quieter ride, handles much better too. Broke in the first 1200 miles on winding mountain roads and enjoyed every minute. Was looking at Toyotas but liked the warranty and the lower purchase price. Absolutely no problems to report.

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  Shes a Beauty - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By MsAzzyinDC - August 4 - 9:32 pm

  This is a great car with a great ride. The little touches of luxury definitely make you take a second look to see what car youre in. I get many compliments on my car and Im glad I made the purchase.

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  Runs as good as it looks! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Peter Orapello - August 4 - 11:00 am

  I had my eye on the 2006 Sonata from the first day I received a promo in the mail. After reading many reviews I was conviced this was the car for me. Lots of room for my family, including my 17 month old, her car-seat and all the extras a little one needs. The car is very well built, stylish, and sporty, not to mention a blast to drive. I would have spent close to 30K for a compairable model from Honda or Toyota instead of the 24K I spent for this baby.

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  Great car great buy - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By deverell17 - August 4 - 10:00 am

  Ive had no problems at all with this vehicle - it has a stylish exterior design and a very smooth ride. Its fun to drive and there is room for that perfect 4 person family with plenty of room for cargo too. The side airbags and high safety rating are reasurring.