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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  Sonata LX Overtakes the Pack - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bob H - April 16 - 11:06 pm

  Had 1999 Sonata GLS for 5 yrs. 120K Excellent vehicle w/ minor cosmetic defects, e.g., turn signal falling of by itself, visor latch doohickey breaking off, etc. & odd declarations that really didnt diminish performance, "wrong HP advertised" (advertised @ 171 was really 161 hp.) But still a quick car. Bought the 06 Sonata LX. 235 horses... interior "supersized" w/ nice leather interior, seat warmers, dual AC/heat controls, huge trunk, and pulling every bit of the horsepower to make this a top end thrill drive. Really fun ride, dependable and good gas mileage (20/30 mpg); my avg. is 28 - 29 in city traffic. W/ gas hitting $2.50/gal, great car, great performance, great value.

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  worth every penny - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By AIBRA - April 16 - 8:47 pm

  Best value in its class (large sedan). Smooth and responsive. Very well finished in and out. Long list of safety and luxury features. Comfortable, and relatively quiet. No regrets, Id buy it again and again.

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  Much More for Less! - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Gusyar - April 16 - 5:36 pm

  I own a Canadian model of the XG350. This basically means it has all of the features of the base XG with most of the "L" extras except the wood-grain steering wheel. Its the only model available in Canada. In short, I love the car. I first drove a 300 when they came out in "01 and wanted one immediately. It took four more years, but the 350 has been a great car. Ride, handling and comfort for thousands less than the competition. Last week I stretched it out to 205KM/HR and it had lots left. I hope Hyundais replacement,the "Azera" is as much value.

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  I just live the car - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Edd - April 16 - 10:00 am

  Nice car to drive, It hasnt given me any trouble at all at least so far. Ive put a couple of after market parts on it , and im very pleased with the looks and performance of my tibi.Its very fast and at the same time is very economic on fuel.

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  UNDER RATED AUTO BY EDMUNDS AND OTHERS - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By PETER LAPLAC - April 16 - 10:00 am

  THE 350XGL IS VIRTUALLY FLAWLESS...THOUGH IT DOES NOT RECEIVE RATINGS ABOVE 5-6 BY AUTO EXPERTS. THIS IS NOT FAIR AND HELPFUL TO POTENTIAL BUYERS. THIS CAR SHOULD BE COMPARED TO LINCOLN, BMW, VOLVO, INFINITY ETC., AND NOT RELAGATED TO CHEAP NISSANS, HONDAS, ETC.

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  I was surprised by the quality... - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By kjones65 - April 16 - 10:00 am

  I purchased this car a year ago as a company car to make daily trips and occasionally haul some equipment. I have been pleasantly surprised that the quality of the fit and finish over the year has been just as good as my passat. Hyundai has developed a solid product line in design and quality since it partnered with Daimler Chrysler. I would rec. this car for anyone looking for a great value.

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  Excellent buy for the money. - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dredd3505 - April 16 - 10:00 am

  After owning an Accent since 99 and very happy with reliability, we went and picked up the Santa Fe. Initially test drove the AWD 2.7 but found it hesitated ond pickup was a little slow. Opted to give up the AWD and upgrade to 3.5l. Very very happy with the handling and performance of this truck. The hardest part was keeping it under 55mph during the break-in period. This truck wants to be driven. Very sporty, very comfortable interior with all the creature comforts included as standard equipment. Leather/heated seats, auto temp. control, 6 speaker 6 cd changer auto dim rear view, heated side view mirrors, and on and on.

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  Great Second Car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Stevete - April 16 - 10:00 am

  I had a Porsche Boxster S and a Mercedes S430 when I bought this car. Sold the Boxster S and use this car instead. Sound system is much better than the Boxster and the car is 10 times more reliable than the Merc. I could have bought 7 of these for what I paid for the S430.

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  Good Car for The Price - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tony - April 16 - 9:02 am

  Like the styling and color. Performance is good for a small V-6 on the highway.

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  Would not buy another - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By surrah - April 16 - 5:06 am

  Bought this car used with 72,000 miles on it. Totally unreliable! I am always scared to take it on trips because something is always going wrong. Right after I bought it the engine light came on. Spent $2,000 trying to find out what was wrong with it. Clutch went out another 2,000 miles later. $1,200. A/C went out just barley with 79,000 miles. $150. Tires blew out also on my way to catch a flight $900 (expensive tires with NO warranty!) Awful car I do love the outside of it though I am always getting head turned. Dont really care that the back seat is small because no one rides with me. I realize I bought this used but not worth the money Ive put back into it