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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  Awesome Car! - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By cswank2000 - October 25 - 7:45 am

  The 2012 Sonata is amazing! I have had 3 Toyota Camrys in the past and intended to buy another. However, I decided to compare vehicles, so I test drove the Camry and the Honda Accord as well. The Sonata was definitely the best pick! I love the styling (inside & out), the ride is quiet and comfortable (and its just plain fun to drive), interior room is incredible, the warranty is great and the gas mileage is awesome (averaging 34.9 MPG). I also like the Bluetooth and the new Blue Link feature. Its not only a great safety feature, but it gives you alot of other perks. Highly recommend this vehicle!!

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  first car - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By bo - October 25 - 4:40 am

  It is my first car. It is fun to drive. The engine is not powerful enough, anyway, it is 2.0L.

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  I LOVE MY TIBURON - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Susan - October 24 - 1:46 am

  I just bought a black on black V-6 with 9,000 miles on it. This car is SO awesome. It is fun to drive, handles great and looks so much more expensive than what I paid. People flip out over it, when I stop at a red light, everyone in the cars around me check it out. I am even getting pretty good gas mileage. I like the Tiburon so much better than the new Genesis Coupe. This car was really hard to find. I found a new one in my area, but the dealer sold it before I got a chance to buy it. I was lucky to find this one with low mileage at a great price.

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  2005 Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Mary Kay - October 23 - 5:26 am

  After looking at every small and midsize suv out there, I found the Tucson by accident. I went to look at the Santa Fe, and saw the Tucson. I didnt need to drive it off the parking lot and knew it was the one I wanted. I have been estatic with this purchase. What a vehicle for the money. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Has great pick up, no outside noise when windows are up and driving 55 mph. Has best headroom I have come across, even better then the exployer which I have also owned. Best purchase I have made.

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  Economical Choice With Style! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Kee - October 23 - 2:00 am

  The engine is quiet and the ride is smooth. We have taken this car on a long distance trip with for adults. One adult is 5"10 and was better off in the front than in the back. The ride was comfortable. I have given up my minivan for this Sonata! My minivan has been put in the garage because the Sonata is perfect for around town driving as well.

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  great car for the money with a lot of st - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Mrs. gibert - October 21 - 6:13 am

  the vehicle has a lot to offer. i shopped for a CRV and the RAV4. the tucson has soo many features to offer with a lot less than honda and toyota. the best value out there

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  "Do not test drive this car..." - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Johnny from Montreal - October 21 - 5:40 am

  Im a huge car fan and the biggest BMW fan. Test drove everything out there. Being an Insideline.com fan, was reading on the Genesis and how impressed everyone was. Went to test drive it at the Dealership & that was it. I was hooked like a drug. Could not take it off my mind. Waited a couple of days went to test drive it again and was still stunned how well it drove and how great it made me feel. I just had to have it, a total no brainer for me - got the 4.6 Tech. If you can test this car and go buy something else for the same money or even more, good luck. Bravo Hyundai, what an amazing job you guys did with the Genesis. Thank you!

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  An Elantra to call my own - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Steven Graybill - October 21 - 2:00 am

  I am so excited about my Elantra that I thought I needed to let people know why. I looked at several cars in this "genre" before I made my final decision. I bought me a new Hyndai Elantra in 1993 so I was already familiar with the company and vehicle. I did look at the cars that everyone looks at ie Honda and Toyota. Price for price and pound for pound I will put my 2004 Elantra up against the Civic or Corolla anyday. The financial incentives were awesome, saving me $2500.00, which was what the 5 year extended bumber to bumper warranty cost so I went ahead and got it. Now I can rest easy knowing that for the next 10 years my Elantra is covered bumper to bumper no questions asked.

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  Tried it and liked it - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Rod Rodriquez - October 20 - 10:00 am

  I had a Toyota Van before I got my Hyundai, I miss the room in the van, but once I got use to driving my Santa Fe, I found out, I had lots of room once the back seats are down. I like the 16 inch tires, makes a big difference when traveling. The one problem that I have is the gas miliage, its not quite the same as with the van, I get about 15 city and sometimes 23 on the open road.

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  03 Tiburon GT-V6 - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By dmcdaniel - October 20 - 10:00 am

  Very nice car. fun to drive! lots of power. get lots of comments about car.