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:

• 

  Best economy station wagon ever !!! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Steve K. - March 2 - 10:00 am

  All of the car manufacturers have stopped making big, low priced family station wagons. Definitely buy this "SUV" without hesitation if a big station wagon is what you really need. You will not be disappointed! And dont assume that you need to upgrade to a six-cylinder engine just because all of the "professional" reviews say so. If you cant live with the base four, you probably didnt want a station wagon to begin with.

• 

  Best Value For The Money - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By rtgeleynse - March 2 - 10:00 am

  What can I say, it is a whole lot of car for the money. Its fast, its fun, it gets good gas mileage, and I only spent 16k on it. Watch out Honda! Hyundai is taing over...

• 

  Great Car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By stoddsmith - March 2 - 10:00 am

  Was a little hesitant buying a Hyunda, didnt know much about them. But what I could get for what I wanted to spend drew me into the dealership and the car itself hooked me. The car performs like a higher priced sedan for about 15,000

• 

  Why not - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sonata GLS 4 cyl Aut - February 28 - 7:56 am

  I purchased the car with mats, mud guards,wood trim, power seat $16,252. I am finally after 11k miles starting to get good mileage. On a recent trip I hit over 34mpg then drove some in the city overall avg 32. Normally 24- 25 around town. I baby it. It is smooth. Wife says it glides down the road. I still have my 02 Elantra with 160k I am a big Hyundai fan now they just need something super economical.

• 

  03 Sonata Review - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By dukefish33 - February 26 - 6:43 pm

  Great car for the money. I bought this 03 Sonata (6cyl AT) new in 07-03. I now have 30k miles on it. It looks as good as an Accord or Camry but costs about 8k dollars less. My car has had NO Problems. I do regular oil changes and tire rotations and thats all I have needed to do. The car has adequate power and when you need it too it will rev up nicely. The ride is great and whenever I haul passengers around they always ask me (after 5-10 min. in the car) "What kind of car is this?" The back seat will hold two full size adults comfortably. The trunk is huge. Mileage is average for a midsize car with a 6cyl.Overall a great value.

• 

  One of the best I have onwed - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Rosebud - February 26 - 2:16 pm

  From the first time I drove this automobile I was suprised and happy. Lots of folks asked what kind of car was it ? Most guess Lincoln, a car I used to own. This car ridea very quite and smooth Have to wath how fast I am going as it seems like I am driving slower than I realluy am. Over all this car is the best value on the road for todays dollar I am satisfied with this car overall.

• 

  edmunds reviews have head up something - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By alex h. - February 26 - 12:10 pm

  17000 miles and we LOVE our XG300 The power is fine, its EXTREMELY quiet, very easy to maintain, and drives smooth. Comfort is excellent, heating and cooling are fast, tires squeal before they lose grip, traction control and ABS are solid working. Auto heating cooling is excellent, though requires a quick read of the book. The shifttronic is very cool, with built in overrev protection.

• 

  You cant buy a better car than this - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By wayne - February 25 - 5:06 am

  This car has the best of everything that you want in a car.The other car companies and I mean all need to take a good look at this car.To sum it all up this car is SUPERIOR TO ALL

• 

  Best Compact SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Powman - February 23 - 1:26 pm

  Excellent compact SUV. More room than a RAV4. More features than any of the other compact SUVs. Easier to drive on the road than a Jeep Liberty. Off road capabilities? Dont know and dont care since I stick to paved roads. Love it and am still very happy with the purchase four months later.

• 

  An excellent value and excellent car! - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By MikeB - February 23 - 6:00 am

  The car is clearly not under-powered by any means, in fact the V6 is quite fast. The styling and the comfort of the car are amazing! This car stacks up VERY favorably versus the Camry and Accord. Hyundai has truly become a quality auto manufacturer.