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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  The more I drive it, the more I love my Veloster - 2015 Hyundai Veloster
  By Edward Wronsky - April 29 - 11:19 am

  I would advise a potential buyer of a Veloster to lower your expectations and appreciate the car for what it is, not dwell on what it is not. My car has all the bells and whistles of my 2012 Optima in a smaller package. It is comfortable, easy to maneuver, convenient for schlepping, and great looking. Someone wiser than I once said its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. My only reservation is the iPod shuffle performance. It must be reset about once a month, and likes to default to "reading" about once a week. Other than that, I am delighted with my purchase.

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  So Far GREAT car!!!!!!! - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By kaitanker66 - April 29 - 6:27 am

  Have had car for 5 days, so far I cant complain. The car is GREAT. Fun to drive for a larger car. Traded in a Mazda Miata so I know FUN in a car. Gas mileage is right were Hyundai claims, in fact on the freeway I am averaging 42 MPG on cruise control at 67mph!!! Comfortable, smooth ride. My kids amazed at all the Gee Wiz gadgets. They think I am actually conversing with the CPU when I use the hyundai bluelink. LOL. LOTS of Gadgets, great gas mileage, cool looking car, all for 21K!! Like I said, cant complain so far.

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  Hands down best deal for the price! - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By EZ2SMLE - April 28 - 9:26 pm

  I have owned my SE for almost 5 months and I have had no problems other than I drive it too much. Gas consumption could be better but other than that, this is the new car of the future. Looks like a luxury sports car, has all features come standard. Could use minor improvements but overall a best buy for anyone. People look at me like Im in a Porsche. Go buy one for yourself.

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  my elantra - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By keith - April 28 - 12:23 pm

  Overall, I love my Elantra. At first I was skeptical of Hyundai, but I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed. It took me a while to get used to the brake feel- no feedback, feel was not progressive, so they were difficult to modulate. This was just a matter of getting used to the car, the brake feel is not a continuing issue.

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  Impressive......So Far - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By JChatt - April 28 - 9:00 am

  3.5 V8 5 speed Shiftronic. Had the SF two months now, put 4K on it. Fuel Economy not the best, with a lot of freeway only 18mpg. Went to dealer for oil change, and warranty work, Rt/Ctr air vent not working, and a piece fell off the turn signal. Also had the TSB done to stop the lurch when taking off. It seems to have worked, much smoother acceleration. So far... dealer okay. After the TSB, fuel economy did improve to almost 20 mpg.Hopefully that will continue up. Dealer said it would take the computer about 7000 miles to adjust to how we drive. Was the first new vehicle we could afford in over 15 years. Excellent value, if the reliability is as good as they say it is. Time will tell......

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  MPH, Comfort, Price...... - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By oldjakd - April 28 - 5:32 am

  So far no real complaints..1st tank of gas only got 25mpg..2nd tank got 30mpg..3rd tank got 28mpg..I removed the cargo cover/shelf, because, I kept forgetting to put it back down..Smooth shifting.. Likes to go between 40 & 60 mph.. good braking.. Lots of room, Not too noisey.. Easy handling.. Lotsa airbags.. Great price..

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  To replace 98 chev lumina - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By DARRYL - April 27 - 10:40 pm

  Just took a 2500 mile vac trip and had good millage thru out. Total ave. was about 29 mpg. I was disappointed with the harsh suspension due to the narrow profile tires it has. You do feel every pot hole. The drivers seat should have more back travel for leg clearance to exit from the car. The arm rest could extend forward a little farther for comfort. The blue trip scan gauge is very hard to read when lights are not used during the day and it is real bright out side. Color should be either orange or green. Slight hesitation on acceleration is very annoying.

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  Saved my life - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By tweetybeets - April 27 - 8:13 pm

  Traded in my 2002 Santa Fe for the 2007. 6 days after purchasing I was broadsided in drivers side door and front tire by a large landscape truck towing a trailer with lawn equipment going 45+mph who completely blew a red light. I was thrown into a bridge, cut out of the SUV and lived! I have every fireman I know who was at the accident stunned by my survival. They said if I didnt have that car I probably would not have lived. I suffered two broken vertebrae, broken sternum, internal bleeding and multiple contusions. Sounds bad, but could have been much worse. Needless to say, I am extremely happy with the safety features.......and it looked nice too. :)

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  The Best Affordable Lux. Sedan Yet!!!! - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By Gtouch0484 - April 27 - 10:00 am

  The XG 350 Is the best lux. Sedan Huyndai has every come out with. I Love this car for every thing its worth

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  Elantra Fair For Price - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Snod1013 - April 27 - 10:00 am

  The Elantra offers a powerful alternative to loud, lackluster four- cylinder performance. A few complaints: trunk very light but latch hard--takes twice to close trunk unless you slam it hard. If you dont alarm goes off. Seat belt springs weak, belts dont fully retract, and belt end flops onto door sill and can get caught in door. Seat belt buckles too close to interior, hard to latch. Steering wheel at bad angle if you are 6 feet tall or taller. Pedals close together. Otherwise, fine.