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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  IMPRESSED - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By suprised texan - December 9 - 1:18 pm

  Great car, awesome handling, teriffic gas mileage! I have never recieved so much buyer satisfaction with any car I have ever owned. Compare other 5 door hatchbacks, include all the bells and whistles (leather, moonroof, cd, front bra, front and SIDE airbag protection) and you WILL NOT FIND A BETTER DEAL OR A BETTER VALUE! While all of my friends pay OVER $350/mo-$450/mo for their gas-guzzlers/clothed-autos, it makes me feel wonderful about the decision I made the day I decided to test drive the elantra GT hatchback. I fell in love with this car as soon as I opened the drivers side door.

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  Must Buy - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Drew - December 9 - 10:53 am

  This car is the the most underated vehicle in the market. A must buy if you are looking at 4-door sedans. It has everything you need at a fraction of the cost, plus a great warranty. One word to describe this car...... SMART!

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  Great Car, too bad there have been so many recalls - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mary - December 7 - 11:44 pm

  I bought this car 1 month ago with about 85,000 on it for $11,999. I love how it feels and the acceleration and braking are exceptional. I bought one with Black Interior/Exterior color. It has a very sharp look and it definitely makes you look twice. The black Exterior is metallic and sparkles. I do notice a fair amount of light scratches in the paint but it is only noticeable if you are looking very closely at it. I like the heated seats and the Satelite radio. The stereo system is okay, have heard better thou. There is a considerable amount of rattling noise from the passenger door and the passenger seat has more vibration from the road then it should. I have to re-adjust the seat to stop it from rattlein. I live where the roads are rough and the cars suspension does not ride well on them. Im going to replace the tires with ones that are not high performance. I hope that will soften the ride. My car has had 8 recalls and the last one was in April and has yet to be repaired by the dealer. They are waiting from Hyundai on instructions on what to replace. It is the STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM recall. The power assist could fail without warning and make it hard to steer the car. If you buy one of these cars make sure all recalls have been taken care of. Which one should do with any car they buy but exceptionally the Sonata. My car is one of the cars that was assembled in Alabamba. A large number of engines have metallic metal shavings in the engine that can cause it to seize up. I had mine checked and they say it is not affected but still warranty the engine up to 125,000 miles or 10 years. I love this car but do wish I would have checked for the recalls before I bought it.

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  My XG350L - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By donaghadee - December 7 - 10:00 am

  Great ride, lots of bells and whistles for the price.People have actually asked me "what is it". When I tell them it is a Hyundai they have comments like "I didnt know Hyundai made such a nice looking car!

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  Fun Car_No issues with speed - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By attaymik37 - December 6 - 4:20 pm

  I researched the Veloster so when it was time to look they were just coming in and I didnt want the base model. Being my impatient self, I bought a Genesis Coupe (big mistake--different review) in Oct; just traded it in yesterday for the car I should have had in the first place, a black Veloster. The ride is smoother, more comfortable and the amenities are outstanding for a car in this class and price range. No disrespect to the Genesis (Coupe) but this car suits me so much better and I couldnt be happier!

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  Super Buy - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Stan - December 5 - 9:10 am

  Compared to Toyota Camry, the Sonata LX is a super buy. Has all the added feature of the Camry at a much lower price.

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  Best vehicle for the money. - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By SAMSON - December 4 - 5:43 pm

  I recently bought my vehicle and other than having a slight noise on the window while its going up and down I must say Im quite satisfied for now.

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  GREAT VALUE ACCENT GT - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Tom Thompson - December 4 - 1:42 pm

  Impressive little car for the price that is economical, has side air bags, a long warranty, excellent build quality, a good radio, great headlights at night and it is stable in the wind.

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  Its a car.... - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By jbpdx - December 4 - 11:30 am

  This is a simple 4 door car. Came with a stereo that worked, does good on gas, and is reliable. For the money it can not be beat. The warranty is like icing on the cake...

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  neat car - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By jvan - December 3 - 11:53 pm

  have 2k miles on car it handles beautiful-very well built-i drive it sometimes just for fun-my first non american car-had 22 new u.s. cars over the years got tired of them nickel diming me on repairs after 50k miles or so.i enjoy this car almost as much as my 67 gto{restored}-thank you