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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  Fun and Unique Looking Car - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By gmtsinger - April 7 - 11:30 am

  I love this car and it certainly gets alot of looks. It rides well for its size and gets about 30 MPG mixed street and highway. Its noisey (hear the wind), when the sunroof is open but otherwise it is relatively quiet. I only have 2700 miles on it so its difficult to rate its reliability and total quality at this point. My only concern is with Hyundai service. Will the technicians be up to speed on this car when it comes time for service and troubleshooting issues, and will the dealership and hyundai honor their warranty. I also purchased the extended warranty as I tend to keep my cars long. The built in navigation system is challenging to use at times.

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  10,000 and Going - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MEBLa - April 7 - 10:00 am

  I have never had a vehicle more enjoyable to drive than the Santa Fe. I find the ride to be very comfortable. Noise level much lower than others I tested. This is my first Hyundai but this is not the Hyundai of the 80s and 90s that I remember. All I can say is just try it and give it a chance a try and forget about the past reputation. It has changed and glad I did.

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  A Big Improvement - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By coupeman - April 7 - 10:00 am

  I drove both a V6 6-speed and a 2.0 5-speed. The cyl GT is a better value, but the 2.0 is better looking. The high spoiler on the GT coupe ruins the appearance of the car, and I would not buy one with it. The saleman actually offered to have it taken off! The base car is the best looking of the lot, but the low spoiler on the 5-speed V-6 GT base model is tolerable. I have to admit that I was tempted by the good looks of the Tiburon, but the interior is not up to the exterior, and in the end I opted for a Mercedes C230 Sport Coupe. If they had a Sprint model V-6 with the low spoiler, I might just have taken it.

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  Unbelievable! - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By new GT Owner - April 7 - 10:00 am

  Just bought an Elantra GT 2002 pewter with automatic. Great control in corners, the car follows very well the road. Good acceleration, even with automatic. The car feels very solid and is far from Civic, Sentra or Protege. Body lean is better controled in Elantra bacause of the suspension. I drove before the Sentra and Accord for about 1 year each. I like Elantra better, especially for its price and features.

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  The Hyundai Sonata, driving is believing - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Happy so far - April 7 - 10:00 am

  The Hyundai Sonata, driving is believing. Ive had it for 1 week- I have the slate grey, which in MA is hard to find in GLS or LX. Its very stylish - I added Sunroof and wind deflector. Car rides nice, quiet and smooth. I didnt get the ABS, didnt feel I needed them. Was driving a 99 Corolla- what a difference. I got the car for a good price- about $2500-3000 less than the CAmry, Accord and Altima. If youre looking for luxury but cant afford it- the Sonata is for you- drive it, and find out fore yourself

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  A Nice car - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Kaan Berk - April 6 - 11:21 pm

  I am very happy with the performance but inside door panels should not been made from plastic bcs when the buckle of the seat belts hit those panels scratches occurs. This gives an ugly look to those plastic panels, like 06 accents panels should be covered by cloth or something else.

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  Another Look - 6 Mos later - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bob - April 6 - 4:23 am

  This is a followup to the original review done shortly after purchase. I continue to like the peppy engine and comfort, but a major weakness has been the construction, I have never owned a vehicle that dents so easy, sheet metal as soft as soup cans. The vehicle is garaged, does not go to work with me, and is parked away from other cars. I have paid out over $200 in dent removal, with my next move to see the Hyundai rep. It has been very disappointing - and only has 3000 miles!

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  one month review (7000 km) - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By altaazera - April 5 - 9:35 pm

  nice to look at fun to drive lots of excellent features for price problem with michelin tires having flat spots and shimmy. seats not as comfortable as 1999 volvo xc

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  Cheap to buy, cheap to feed! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Bill - April 5 - 3:26 pm

  We wnated something affordable for my commute downtown - this car has been great. Cheap to buy, cheap to feed (gas), cheap to keep. Not luxury, but a good, comfortable, servicable car, that handles very well (suggest buying good tires)in traffic and on open road. Great room in back seat and trunk. Have had a few problems after 60K, but nothing serious. Negotiated extended warranty as part of deal (bought a demo) and it proved useful when radiator went. Had problem with tie rods, but dealer handled. Would like to stop hearing "thats just what happens with these cars" from dealer, however - thats the one thing that will make me compare elsewhere for the next car.

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  The Buzzing Tucson-We Cant Hear It - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Disappointed in PGH - April 5 - 11:13 am

  My Tucson has been a nightmare since I bought it. Within the first thousand miles,I noticed a loud buzzing/whirring sound from the engine. At idle it was very annoying. I took it back to the dealer on two occaisions and was told:"We cant hear anything like you describe". I even requested that a new Tucson be started alongside my Tucson for comparison. The difference was dramatic but I got the same response:"No difference here!". I tokk the SUV to an independent mechanic who used a stethescope and made a diagnosis of a timing belt problem. The dealer refused the diagnosis of course and basically said:Youll get that". Not worth the hassle of going through customer service.