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:

• 

  Test drive before you buy! - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By Norm - July 5 - 8:41 pm

  This car meets or exceeds my expectations. I test drove several competitors including the Mazda 3. The Mazda 3 is probably a finer car, but not $7,000 finer. This is my 12th new car and I have never been more pleased with a new automobile. The gas sipping engine give plenty of performance for my pocketbook.

• 

  Very Pleased - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By droopy - July 5 - 11:42 am

  Have owned the Genesis for about two weeks and thus far have been very pleased. One of my co-workers stopped by my office the other day and asked, "How do you like the new Lexus?" When I replied that it was a Hyundai he had an expression of disbelief, as if I were making a joke. One of my wifes friends told her that she had driven by our house, had seen the car in the driveway, and asked if we had bought a BMW. She too was surprised upon being told it was a Hyundai. Our other car is a Lexus and I will admit that the Lexus has a slightly smoother ride however, the Hyundai Genesis has more comfortable seats. We feel that we have gotten a lot of bang for the buck with this purchase.

• 

  Fast purchase! - 2010 Hyundai Accent
  By 2010 Accent - July 5 - 12:33 am

  The warranty and "return if you lose your job or too sick to work" (up to 1 year) made this purchase a great deal. We test drove 2 at different dealerships and didnt hesitate on buying this. We got the 5 speed manual after reading many reviews. We drove it in city and on the freeway and it handled beautifully.

• 

  Luv and miss my Hyundai - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By twoods - July 2 - 11:44 am

  I got my elantra with 54,000 miles on it in 2007 and the only complaint I have is that I had to keep replacing the headlights. I loved my elantra so much. It was recently totaled in a head on collision and I walked away from the accident with just the pain associated with car accidents. My elantra did a good job protecting me. She took care of me like I took care of her. I will miss her. I never had any issues with my car. If I found a 2002 elantra with low miles on it for the age of the car I would definitely buy it.

• 

  Love My Sonata Named Rubi - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By PerfectPioneerCar - July 1 - 10:18 am

  Love my car. Very nice for the money. College student and I needed something larger to haul more people in comfort plus I needed something bigger inside as I am 66". I got 27 mpg in my Honda around town always, best I get in my Sonata is 24 and I cant even touch the gas. 22 is normal, yet okay for this large of a car. Power is good but could stand another gear as sometimes it can be lacking and the difference between 2 and 3 is too great. Cruise could stand improvement too. 78 mph highway and I also only got 28 mpg. The car seems to like premium. Im in love and very happy even though I just complained. The warning sounds in the car are super annoying, hence Rubi, my female named car. :)

• 

  Excellent Value - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By ChipA - June 28 - 4:59 pm

  Was looking to buy a new MB E350 but after test driving both the E350 & Genesis several times, doing alot of research, and for exactly $16k less, traded my 07 MB E350 w/65k miles (our 7th MB) for the 4.6/V-8. Every single aspect of the Genesis, except for the cruise control, exceeds the E350-new or old. The comfort of the seats, cabin noise level, ride, and navi/audio system are standout improvements & were factors that swayed me. My wife has a 10 MB SUV but we prefer the comfort of the Genesis. I drive a lot and hope the integrity, performance, & depreciation of the Genesis stands up to the wear/tear of the miles. Get past the brand issue-appears to be great value in a nice car!

• 

  Pure luxury without the extreme price! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By gameday22 - June 27 - 4:04 pm

  Only had my vehicle for a few days now and so far in comparison to my 2009 Azera Limited the two cars are night and day to each other in every way. I thought my Azera was a great car overall, besides the suspension being very bad on it and chewing up tires every 12k miles (2 sets in 4 months) with proper maintenance. The Genesis feels rock solid over all types of road conditions and soaks up the imperfections gracefully. Mine has the Tech package (04) and the Premium package (02) with a price of $41k less discounts. This car is in a class of cars costing $20-25k more with the impressive list of features on-board. So far a very happy owner, hopefully for many more years! :)

• 

  Better than E500 - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By rmkdj - June 24 - 10:24 pm

  This car beats the 2005 MB E500 I previously had, hands down. Simplicity of controls, power, navigation, stereo, seat comfort, gas mileage without premium gas. Absolutely no problems whatsoever. Dealer is great when I take it in for service, oil change and rotation of tires. You cannot buy a better car. Buy this car, you wont go wrong.

• 

  Long-Term Update - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By Drew2931 - June 21 - 2:42 pm

  This is a long-term update to my earlier report about 16 months ago when the car had about 20,000 miles. I now have about 60,000 miles on the car and I still love it. No question that this is one of the best cars - definitely the best value - I have ever owned. I have only had only one unusual problem - had a broken tooth on the timing gear, it was replaced under warranty. Otherwise it has been perfectly reliable. As you can tell, I spend a lot of time in a car covering al-ms in technology sales. I often will drive over 3 hours in a stretch and I arrive still feeling good as the car is so comfortable.

• 

  Great Car! - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By bunorra - June 18 - 6:34 am

  Ive had my little black accent now for 6 years. Im now looking to upgrade to a Mini Cooper for the only reason that I just want a newer car and a change. Im a little worried though about letting this baby go as it has been the BEST car EVER! Never had a problem. Im determined to find a buyer that loves it as much as I do and I will be very sad to see it drive away. If you are looking to buy an accent I would say DO IT!