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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  Somewhat Disappointed - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Robert Goodwin - March 5 - 2:36 pm

  Very comfortable car with excellent vision and fantastic price & value. I average 18.5 MPH. I have experienced an oil leak and starter motor problems at 5000 miles. The dealship service has been excellent but did not expect these problems given the rave reviews by other owners.

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  Sweet Ride! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Billy - March 4 - 11:43 pm

  Finally picked up my Gen Coupe and its a blast to drive! Ive always wanted a rear drive coupe and have to say Im most satisfied. Got mine for $31,500 and is the best money Ive ever spent. Too much fun. Super smooth shifter, love the limited-slip diff, the Brembos are fantastic! You must get the track version if you get one! Why not spend a few more bucks and really deck it out. The car is so incredibly solid feeling. A friend of mine has a 350z and it already looks out dated. The Z is definitely a fun ride, but not for the price and the difference in technology compared to the Gen Coupe. Did anyone hear Hyundai spent around $700 mil and 100 engineers developing this platform?

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  Awesome Automobile - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Ed B - March 4 - 7:58 pm

  This is one excellent automobile, the sound system is the best stock system I ever had in a automobile. the ride and comfort are great.the build quailty is excellent I traded a 2006 vw passat (piece of junk )for this car and it was the best move I ever made.I absolutely love this car.

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  2005 Elantra - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rob - March 4 - 4:10 pm

  I compared & test drove many many vehicles including the Kia Spectra before purchasing the Elantra. For a communter car, the overall quality, reliability and pricing made this a no brainer. The only complaint I have is the gas mileage during local/city driving. I get great mileage on the highway but the city/local mileage seems to suffer severely. But I guess I should not complain too much because the gas mileage is way better than my Chevy Suburban. I did not get the $300 CD Player option, instead purchased an Alpine/Kenwood system & installed it myself for the same price. Overall I think this is an excellent value when everything is factored in.

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  Best buy for your buck - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By DarkTravesty - March 4 - 6:40 am

  I just bought this car and what a great car. Very well designed style and very sturdy, quiet, sleek and smooth. The underbody has a sprayed on coating to deaden any road noise.

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  Stay Away At All Costs - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Regretful - March 3 - 4:20 pm

  Of all the vehicles I have owned since the early 70s, this is BY FAR the worst. After having trouble with my previous car, I bought the Tucson soley based on its warranty. What I got was HORRIBLE MPG, 8-12 City with a best of 17 Hwy. Youd think for $23G youd get a power seat, but no, I get seat bottoms an 1.5" shorter than normal to give the illusion of more leg room and my back hurts due to no lumbar support. The supposed 200W stereo sounds like a tin can.

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  nice - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By brianmiller - March 3 - 12:53 pm

  i recently purchased in GS in July and was very satified with it, beings the fact i am only 16. i really wanted to get the v6 so i could keep up with my friends who own VW GTI VR6s. But insurance was crazy for me. The interior is very nice, more comfortable than any honda or mazda i have been in.

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  Buy It!!! - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By see - March 3 - 10:00 am

  This has been a wonderful vehicle. Weve owned it for since 3/02 and it already has 30k miles. Its been a comfortable and fun ride on 2 different road trips.

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  Great sports coupe - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By JKR - March 3 - 10:00 am

  The 6 speed manual V6 GT version is fun to drive and though its a little lacking in the power department there is still enough power and great torque. Seats are comfortable as well. Good styling, very good price and awesome warranty. Overall great buy.

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  GLS after 6 months - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By legomom - March 3 - 10:00 am

  After 6k running ok. Nice exterior - gets lots of looks and washes up nicely, especially bumpers. Initial acceleration is a little hesitant. Seats are somewhat hard and flat. Front interior is small for 6 ft. tall people. Back trunk has lots of room and easy access.