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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  Noisy Front Strut - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By earllex - March 19 - 11:00 pm

  My vehicle has a noisy right front strut, that is quite noticeable on bumps and rough roads. 2 attempts by dealer to correct has failed. Attempting arbitration to resolve issue.

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  BEWARE....FALLING APART - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Lori - March 19 - 7:32 pm

  Beware...this car is falling apart. Im reading all of the reviews and how happy owners are about their Sonatas. I am extremely UNHAPPY. I just took it into the dealer and it will cost me approximately $2000 to repair. The airbag light wont go off and cost $481 to fix-not covered under warranty. How is a safety device not covered under warrenty? They said theyare not sure why a belt is making all of this noise but they will have to take the engine apart which with permission is oveer $280 and then I need to replace the timing belt and any other parts. They said they cant diagnose the problem without doing all of this work. I still owe $10000 on this piece of junk!

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  Drive to Impress....AWESOME! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Ramadan - March 19 - 2:52 pm

  After doing some serious research I was narrowed to the Toyota Camry XLE, BWM 525 and the Mercedes C240. However, for the most bang-for-the- buck its been the AZERA hands down. The interior appointments are much finer, the handling superior incl. cornering and agile.

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  Transmission Trouble - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Craig Christiansen - March 19 - 12:50 pm

  We purchased the 2007 Veracruz and actually loved it for a while. After 10,000 miles, the transmission starts to have some serious problems. When traveling at 45-50 mph, the transmission automatically drops into a low gear, where it becomes noisy and starts rumbling and vibrating. We took the vehicle in for service on 4 occasions. The service dept would not even admit a problem until a corporate technician verified it. Even then, they said that there was nothing they could do to fix it. The reviews comparing it to a Lexus might apply when brand new, but not with 10k miles on it. We tested 3 other Veracruz models at the dealer, but the same problem was present in each (to different degrees).

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  This car is a dog - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Joe Doherty - March 19 - 10:56 am

  1- Dashboard hardware falls apart 2- Excessive tire wear even though dealer maintained - rotate and balanced. 31000 miles on car now and it is ready for tires 3- This is the third flat tire I have had 4- Windshield wiper mechanism fails often 5- For some reason tail lights burn out often, this is the second time. 6- Automatic side view mirrors do not operate well....they move but not enough. 7- I would not buy another Hyundai

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  Second Tiburon - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By rwruger - March 19 - 5:10 am

  The warranty on my 2003 V-6 Automatic T sold me on buying the 2006 GT V-6 Automatic. Ive never spent a dime on repairs for either T. The sound system is terrific, mpg is reasonable, comfort is as one would expect in a sports car, and I can drive it 300 miles in 4 - 5 hours without ruining my butt or back. I like the exterior and interior design a lot. I am a nitpicker and whiner, but cannot think of a complaint!

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  Just about perfect! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By craiggb - March 19 - 12:36 am

  It has been a year now since we bought this car - our first Hyundai product - and I must say that after having owned new Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans plus many other brands, none of them have been flawless like this Sonata. Power is excellent (and on regular fuel too, fer crying out loud), very quiet to drive, decent fuel economy, especially considering the size of the car - wow. I still like the looks and the V6 engine is great. The stereo was a bit tinny at first but I guess the speakers needed to break in because it sounds excellent now. Service has been oil/filter changes and that is all. Nice work Hyundai!

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  Too Early to Tell - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Pepper - March 19 - 12:03 am

  I purchased this vehicle because I really like the new body style on the 07. I looked at all the other comparable SUVs and thought I would take a chance on the Santa Fe because of the warranty. Really nice ride compared to my old Rav 4. Not too big but just right for my family of 4. I do alot of road mileage and am getting approx 24 MPG as stated for highway and 22 combined driving.

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  Good car could of been great - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By GregNice23 - March 18 - 11:23 pm

  I love the interior and exterior styling of the car. I wish the cars rear did not look too much like the 05 Accords, it needs its own identity. The front seats are very uncomfortable. The seat belt warning light does not turn off if you are not wearing one. The suspension is horrible, you feel every bump. It is not as silky smooth like an Accord or Camry. The steering wheel radio buttons serve no purpose, all they change is the volume and not your presets or cd track. It needs break away mirrors. This is a nice car but if they fix all my complaints this car beats an Accord and Toyota hands down, but it doesnt and this is why Hyundai will never beat a Honda or Toyota. It will always be # 3

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  New to Hyndai products - 2016 Hyundai Equus
  By Paul Griffin - March 18 - 8:59 pm

  Car is a real good deal for what you get in it. Ride is great and no noise while driving. Would like to get better gas mileage. Just had the car for 2 months.