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:

• 

  ugly duckling grows up - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By commuter2work - June 28 - 12:33 pm

  Sonata is by far the best value for the money. I started out looking for everything else but a Hyundai, but on a whim I test drove the Sonata. It is hard to believe that the Sonata is built by the same company that sold the Excel... The 4 cyl is a bit weak but for an everyday commuter it works well.

• 

  Tiburon is great! - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By TIBURON IS GREAT - June 28 - 8:20 am

  Originally, the Tiburon was selected and purchased by my 20 year old son. He liked the car very much, but he got excited in buying a high performance 4WD truck, so instead trading in the Tiburon, I decided to keep it. Now, I am enjoying driving the Tiburon every day. It feels and performs great. I am 60 years old, but I feel young again driving the Tiburon. Just before, I was driving a Dodge1500 Van Conversion, which is nice, but definitely too big for one person. Tiburon is nice looking and a very fast car. I am very happy that I took the decision to keep the Tiburon for my self.

• 

  No sedan can ever compete with new azera - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Abess - June 27 - 11:15 pm

  New azera 2007 offers a new class of luxury, comfort, performance and safety. while driving you hear no voice. one of the posetive points is the shift trounic gear box and the only negative point is the lack of gps. 7 mounthes before buying my 2007 azera , i used to own a 2007 3.5 xle camry but the the performance was owful , cabin wax noisy, seats were not ergonomic , performance of gearbox was odd. of course it had some good points like gps but the dvd was awful.If i was supposed to decide again between camry & azera i would certaily choose azera again.

• 

  Great Minivan -- Great Buy! - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By zachunderwood - June 27 - 12:39 pm

  Overall, I think the reviews are spot on. Ive put about 500 miles on our new Hyundai Entourage SE. With the power sliding doors and other standard features. I dont think its most beautiful vehicle Ive ever seen, but for a mini van, it gets the job done -- nicely! I got a great price for the van and coupled with my $2500 rebate, I got the car for $3000 under invoice not including tax and license.

• 

  Satisfied - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By Accent fan - June 27 - 7:36 am

  I got the 5 spd manual 2003 GT model and added the cruise control after the sale for approx. $200. This car has been great, the only problem I had was the muffler corroding, and this was replaced under warranty. With the manual version I dont find any lack of power unless the A/C is on. The car is comfortable and has all of the features that I need in a car. So far I have only driven 48k in the car, but I far prefer it to the Sonata that I also own. Having got the sports version, my only real complaint was the fact that they put premium tires on the car that had very little traction. Driving on snow and even wet streets was difficult until I replaced the tires.

• 

  Its worth all the money - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Lattdogg - June 27 - 2:00 am

  Hello, I own a 2003 Tiburon GT V6.I am the son of a retired big-time car dealer. I am 27 years old, married both my wife and I work. I have been a mechanic since I was 16 in my fathers shops. When I was looking for an inexpensive sports car the Tiburon was my choice for a few reasons. Try to find another V6 with leather, premium sound, and a hellacious warranty for around $20k. This car is the best car I have ever owned for the money. I also drive a 2003 GMC Yukon.

• 

  The Perfect Car - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Noelle - June 27 - 2:00 am

  This car is perfect.

• 

  Awsom so far - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Al Padilla - June 27 - 2:00 am

  So far we love our new XG350L we have owned it for about month.

• 

  good value - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By hooper - June 27 - 2:00 am

  albeit there are a few downs, overall this car is great value for the dollar. good power great comfort, sound system, lights, long term cruise, etc. could use better traction control, overhead sunroof/lights control switches lighted for easy use at night. tire size limits performance and winter options, but on the whole for the price it is a great car that convinces folks it is a higher end product than they expect from hyundai. 10 year bumper to bumper for an extra $800. How can you beat that?

• 

  GREAT LITTLE GAS MIZER - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By anthony1223 - June 27 - 2:00 am

  I BOUGHT THE CAR A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO AND LOVE THE OPTIONS. I HAD TO TRADE IN MY 99 GRAND CHEROKEE FOR TRAVELING REASONS AND AM VERY HAPPY WITH THE WARRANTY.