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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  Gotta Love it !! - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Relli - March 13 - 6:46 am

  Nice SUV. Test drove Toyotas and Hondas. Bought Hyundai Limited Santa Fe. Make your best deal and also 2k cash back. Just about a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty. Some small items not covered bumper to bumper, they would be covered for 1 year or 36 mos section of the warranty. Car drives great and quality is very impressive. I never thought I would buy a Hyundai but now I love it and my wife wants one also .... Really nice car for the money, - much more car for your money than Toyota or Honda, - they have just about priced themselves out of the affordable marketplace. Car is a real pleasure to drive, I will have to keep it longer before I can write anything about reliability.

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  Not bad - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rob - March 13 - 4:23 am

  Had car for over 3 years, and with a lot of interstate driving around Chicago, I am on my 4th front windshield. My front fog lights have burned out twice, replaced 1 headlight, and on my second set of tires already. Gas mileage isnt bad. Definitely better than my wifes Lexus. Added aftermarket Sirius(hate XM) and aftermarket in dash GPS/DVD. Other than usual maintenance, it gets the job done. It isnt flashy, and of course you see them everywhere now, so thats good I guess. Front of car is making sounds now, coworker said it may be struts?

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  My new Touring 2009 - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By scottygirl09 - March 13 - 2:46 am

  I have had the car for over a week and so far it is alot of fun. The car is easy to get in and out of for a tall person 59. Handles well around corners.

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  Happy Sonata owner - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Paul - March 12 - 10:13 pm

  I bought Sonata about a month back, and every morning I feel happy that I made a right choice. I compared Camry, Accord, and Sonata. The base model GLS has all essentials and lot of premium features. Safety features like ABS, ESC, 4 wheel disc brakes, Traction control are all standard. The sound system is of premium quality and has mp3 decoder built in. Interior is specious. Trunk space is huge.The night driving is comfortable due to bright head lights.I own a 2000 Camry, and the Sonata sounds little bit noisier due to wind noise. I get about 28 mpg with 60% freeway and 40% local driving. I have 1100 miles yet and I am hoping the mileage improves from here. Its great value 4 money!!!

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  Decent Daily Driver - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Blue-GK - March 12 - 8:06 pm

  I bought my Tiburon to serve as a daily commuter. The performance isnt overwhelming, but the V6 offers the torque delivery that makes the car feel much more relaxed on the freeway, and more responsive at the lights. The styling may make it look a lot more potent than it is, however, as its not a fast car by any means. Notably, the rearward visibility in this car is low. It can be quite difficult to back out of spaces simply because you have to take a leap of faith to do it. Overall, Im not disappointed. I test drove an automatic, which was incredibly slow. The manual was the better choice, in my opinion. Ive had a few issues with it, but nothing excessive for a 6- year old car.

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  great suv - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By happy - March 12 - 11:53 am

  This is a great suv for the price . i love it

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  Fills a new need - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Mike Leahy - March 12 - 7:10 am

  Last year I bought a retirement cabin in the woods of North Carolina. A few of the neighbors had Subarus and I found them to be very high in price. So after doing my homework I decided on Hyundai Tuscon for my mountain living. I also have need of a pick-up truck at times. This Tuscon I hope will fill both needs. I live almost 500 miles from winter home in Florida to cabin in woods. So good bye to the big family sedan hello Tuscon. So far I havent missed the big family sedan with low gas milage. I may sell my pick up soon.

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  Incredible value - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By George - March 11 - 11:56 am

  This SUV purchase was a no brainer! After test driving Murano, CX-7, CR-V, and RAV4,and doing a price and options comparison we went hands down with the Santa Fe. Not only we got a very well made vehicle fully loaded,(limited), but we got a killer warranty along with it for added peace of mind. 10k more for the Murano was not justifiable,6k more for the RAV4 for 4 more mpg, didnt do it for us with less equipment, less warranty and a Jeepy style, CX-7 didnt have the right engine, and the CR-V cant even compare. The Santa Fe drives like a luxury car, very quiet and great ride. Standard equipment list is impressive. Very good fit and finish. For us, the clear winner at the end of the day.

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  2016 Genny 3.8 Tech RWD is a price performer - 2016 Hyundai Genesis
  By acurat - March 11 - 1:16 am

  I leased my Genesis 6 weeks ago on a very attractive 36 month/15K mile program. With dealer discount, competitive coupon and $3K lease cash, I was able to knock $7K off the $47K sticker price. Compared with Lexus or the Germans, an incredible value. Most of my research was online and via a major consumer magazine. My main focus in evaluating cars is value for the price, with safety, fuel economy, driving experience and luxury as secondary goals. Though I could afford it, I cant justify Lexus price premium and dont dig the lack of driving dynamics. Ill never have another European car. So that leaves only a few choices. Coming from Acura, this is a real step up. Very impressive exterior styling, interior comfort, drivetrain, ride, handling and technology. For me, the 3.8 Tech is the sweet spot of price versus goodies. That last $3500 of MSRP for the Ultimate trim level did not make sense to me. My car had a serious fuel system issue at 225 miles that required 3 weeks to diagnose and fix. The dealer provided me with a brand new 2016 Genesis Tech as a loaner. Mine does seem fixed and it is hard to stay mad at this great car. I am glad its a lease though. If I still love it in 2019, I can buy it for $25.5K plus tax. Pros: --Drop dead gorgeous on the outside --Serene and very lux on the inside --Major oomph in the V6, on regular gas no less --Decent fuel economy, 22 in mixed driving, high 20s pure freeway --Love love love the smart cruise--it starts and stops by itself in heavy traffic --Auto Hold is a cool feature --Autonomous Emergency Braking (see below), blind spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert --Comfy and very adjustable drivers seat with ventilated leather --Great color flat screen display and pleasing instrument cluster with nice switches on the steering wheel --Composed ride and predictable steering --Real-time traffic on the nav, essential for SoCal driving --Very good (though not great) Lexicon sound system --Big trunk Cons: --Ugly front grille --Autonomous Emergency Braking alerts too late --Horrible voice recognition --Wimpy steering wheel, should be thicker --Confusing controls and odd layout --Hyundai service department--its not exactly a luxury experience --A new car should not have a fuel line/fuel pump failure at 225 miles! Overall, despite a bumpy start, the Genesis 3.8 RWD Tech sedan is the best and most refined car Ive enjoyed in 40 years of driving.

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  Great Car (When it Runs) - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Joseph - March 10 - 8:13 am

  Very nice, sexy looking car inside and out. Pretty good power for a little beast, with good gas mileage to boot. Nice sound system (compared to the vehicle I was driving before). Unfortunately thats about all I have to say in the positive. Around 90,000 miles this thing started to take a turn for the worse. I replaced the transmission (under warranty). It took a month to do the repairs. 6 months later, another transmission (warranty). 4 months after that, another transmission ($2400). 2 months after that, an engine ($3600). Now it needs suspension work, brake work, and electrical work ($1500).