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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  4000 Miles - ALL Perfect - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Gerrard - May 21 - 2:10 am

  4000 miles and not a glitch. Great experience. The Looks still get heads turning, and strangers asking about this new LEXUS

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  Loving my Hyundai - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Eugene Oberfrank - May 20 - 2:28 pm

  This car has been flawless in its handling and maintance. A top quality car. Service rates a 1. Mileager has been 33 mpg on trips.

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  Northwest Opinion - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Sid - May 20 - 9:21 am

  Always fun to drive. Plenty of pep and a comfortable ride even for a 6 1" 190 lb guy. I enjoy all the "bells and whistles" with my Limited. A rear window shade is an unusual and useful perk. The electric operation of side view mirrors is excellent.

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  good buy - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By mariogp - May 20 - 9:16 am

  So far this car has been performing as expected. Im geting around 33-34 mpg city/hwy mix driving. Im having a hard time finding a comfortable sitting position, sometimes it feels lke the back of the seet is poking my ribs. the rear window view is not so good. there is a blind spot on drivers side mirrior. The car drives very soft, the stearing took me some time to get used to but its ok.

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  So much for so little - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By mechanic80 - May 20 - 7:36 am

  Less than a year ago I was carying on about my new KIA Amanti... that was than and this is now. The Azera is perhaps the best blend of quality, style, execution, performance and value ever offered to the American public. (a little over the top? I dont think so!) A handsome automobile, roomy and comfortable for thousands less than other makes that only meet, not exceed these levels of build-quality and manufacture. An awsome car that Im proud to own.

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  An update from Stush - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Stush - May 19 - 10:43 pm

  Just an update after owning the Entourage SE for 6 months now. The only problem that we are having is that the check engine light comes on periodicaly. The owners manual says to check the tightness of the gas cap. So when it comes on, usually at about a half tank, I get out and unscrew the cap and retighten. Then by the next morning, the lights off. Some day Ill get my butt in gear and get it to the dealer. But other than that, the van has been nothing but fantastic. The kids love the DVD and the fact that the windows on the sliding doors go up and down. The wife loves the heated seats now that winter is coming and I love the horse power and smooth ride and the back up warning sensor.

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  Great SUV..Until over 90K miles - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Melony - May 19 - 1:20 pm

  I really enjoyed this vehicle, and hoped it would last a lot longer; I certainly wasnt ready to see it go. I had one of the 89 Hyundais, standard transmission, and the trans went out at 60K, so I knew it was short lived...I only had it in the shop a few times, and at 97k miles, the check engine light came on again, and I had a gut feeling it was bad. I didnt take it to repair, I drove straight to the nearest dealer and traded in (not another Hyundai). The dealer called the next day wanting to know what the trick was to starting it. Evidently they couldnt start it (I hadnt had that problem) when they went to wholesale it. Long story short, BAD NEWS, the engine evidently bit the dust

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  Great New Car - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By rew67 - May 19 - 10:58 am

  We bought this car after reviewing Mazda, Toyota, Nissan and Honda. We test drove the Elantra and the Civic and after careful consideration of interior size, safety features and performance, we chose the Elantra. We love the Elantra. We received better performace and interior space than the Civic and just as quiet a ride for much less money. Gas milage has been around 26 - 27 in all city driving. It is also very fun to drive with crisp handling and excellent breaks. I could not find a vehicle with all the features of the Elantra for $3000 to $4000 more than I paid. If you are looking for a car in the compact to mid- size sedan class, you must test drive an Elantra.

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  So far, So Good! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Jimbo - May 19 - 10:33 am

  Had my Tibby for a little over a year, and its been a great little car. Like the features for the price - lots of fun to drive. Have no sunroof or manual tranny, so I dont foresee any problems.

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  Great Value and More Fun than Expected - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By MarcL - May 18 - 11:40 pm

  Dumped gas hog SUV for 2007 Elantra. Wow, why did I wait so long. First several tanks averaged 33 mpg in mixed driving. And what a fun car to drive. Great on the highway (cruises smoothly at 75+ with no noise or discomfort). Around town has plenty of power, much more than I expected after driving V6 or V8 SUVs for years. Interior has plenty of room for family of 4 and the trunk is huge. It is amazing that Hyundai can cram this much usable space into such a small vehicle. And it has a tremendous list of standard features for such an inexpensive vehicle ($14K purchase price). I went looking for a gas saving small vehicle and found a great driving family car - what a pleasant surprise