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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  Excellent little car for money - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Rick Kanehl - February 15 - 3:21 pm

  I drive about 75 miles per day to work and love my accent. My only trouble is that the transmission went out at 80k.

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  Bang For Your Buck - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Valubuyer - February 15 - 10:00 am

  Ive owned my GT Hatchback for 30 days now. I have found it to be a fantastic car. I realize there are a significant percentage of buyers out there who will not be satisfied unless they have paid a lot of money for their vehicle. Try as you might, you will be unable to pay more than $14,000, so you folks will need to look elsewhere. I went with the hatchback vs. the sedan trim based on the distinctive style. A word of caution however; the hatchback model with ABS/moonroof package seems to be a pretty rare animal. Be prepared to wait for delivery.

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  What a car!!! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By RikerWT - February 15 - 10:00 am

  Excellant vehicle! I would recommend this car to anyone. The dealership has been great to work with and the car is everything that I had hoped for.

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  I love my Sante Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By phylvanem - February 15 - 10:00 am

  This is the first new car that I have ever bought that hasnt had to be taken back to the dealer to fix incidentals. Nothing has ever been wrong, or unfinished. I am from Detroit, so this is my first foreign car.

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  Shopped for 1.5 years - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Joe Sadlier - February 15 - 10:00 am

  I got th FW drive and the 3.5 Liter engine. I discovered that the FW drive can tow more weight than the 4WD. I dont plan to go off the road anyway and if the snow gets to deep Ill wait till it melts. You cant beet the warantee. 10yrs OR 100,000 miles power traine.

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  unbelievable car and value - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dustin walters - February 15 - 10:00 am

  my hyundai santa fe has impressed me so much that i now own two hyundais. more options for less money. since i have purchased my car, j.d powers and assoc. has done nothing but rave about the entire product line that hyundai makes. that really makes me feel good about the cars that i own.

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  Love My VeraCruz - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Cameron - February 15 - 2:46 am

  When we bought the VeraCruz we had looked at probably 15 different SUVs and the VeraCruz was the best for you money. I was very very surprised how much power the car has, It can get up and go. Love the 10 Speaker infinity Sound system with Cd changer, Nice looking wheels. I drive this SUV alot on the Highway and get about 23-24 MPG. I love the turn signals on the mirrors. Also love that the dash lights up blue. I used to be in love with my Explorer but we I got this i fell in love all over again and my 03 Explorer just sits.

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  Azera, the Lexus beater!! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By mayorjim - February 14 - 3:33 am

  I once owned a Lexus RX 300 and I can honestly state that the Azera beats that Lexus hands down. The engine is so quiet that twice I tried to restart the car because I thought that the motor was not running, wrong!! I do not think that they can make a more luxurious interior than the all leather interior Azera. The fit and finish is perfect, no blems, tight seams, very high quality materials. The suspension soaks up road blems and you get the sensation of riding in a limosine. The 10 speaker radio is a real killer. Such other extras as rain sensing wipers, electric rear window sun screen, auto on headlights, heated seats, the list goes on and on. This car has everything you could want. Buy one. I havent even mentioned the great warranty, 10 years and 100,000 miles.

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  gt 2006 - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By barnebooze - February 14 - 3:26 am

  2nd tib, needs more after market stuff. i am waiting for a turbo modle or supercharged from the factory. i like its handling and proformance but is lacking the responce i desire. i am trying to figure out how i can make it rear wheel drive, that makes me look at the 350s engine and drive train. and comments?

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  Deadly DCT! - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By SusanInFL - February 13 - 10:05 pm

  I bought my 2016 1.6L Turbo DCT Tucson Limited w/ Ultimate package the night of May 16, 2016. First incident: within 300 miles, stepped on the gas pedal & it didnt move; kept stomping on the pedal; it finally lurched forward, into oncoming traffic, then didnt move; kept stomping; it jerkily and slowly starting lurching forward; the engine was revving high through all the gears, but it didnt "kick in" until about 5th gear. Second incident: backed out of my driveway and put the car in Drive; it revved through about 5 gears and hadnt moved yet. Third incident: stopped at a red light; light turned green and car wouldnt moved; shifted through all the gears (Park, Neutral, Reverse, Drive) about 6 times before it finally peeled out and sped through the intersection (sure am glad the light was still green, because I wasnt looking). Headed straight to dealership. They discharged the capacitor and "re-taught it the system". Mine was not the first Tucson brought back to the dealer. Thought I noticed a failure to accelerate within a day or two, but was confirmed when... Fourth incident: Turning left, after stopping at a Stop Sign; mid-turn an oncoming car was approaching rapidly so I stepped on the gas pedal; it revved over 4K RPMs, but didnt accelerator; oncoming car swerved to miss me; frightening as hell! My Tucson has been at the dealership since June 24th. Ive been told many stories: waiting on a back-ordered part; part due in 7/16/16; manufacturer instructed dealer not to install part because it isnt a "fix"; filed complaints at carcomplaints.com, NHTSA, Hyundai Corporate, and now here; as of yesterday (8/1/16), Ive been told a "fix" was discovered last Friday. Its supposedly going through the approval stages and should be disseminated to the dealerships within 2-3 weeks. I know I didnt get to drive my Tucson for very long, but, what I did have the opportunity to experience (interior, comfort, & technology) I fell in love with, or I would have gone through the Lemon Law and gotten rid of it. There was even talk of a "buy back", but I really wanted to wait for my Tucson. I dont have buyers remorse, I just have great disappointment that Hyundai sold me this 2016 Tucson in the first place, knowing they are death-traps that they cant keep on the road nor fix, and knowing they are releasing 2017s with the same faulty DCT. If there is not truly a remedy in the near future, I will be squeezing that Lemon.