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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  Love at first sight - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By hyundai lover - January 25 - 5:10 pm

  We owned three hyundai vehicles and this lovely minivan is our 3rd one. We have this van since September, 2006. We love every single feature of this vehicle. We owned a Toyota Previa before (a rear wheel drive). The horsepower is only rated at 142 hp. The Entourage has so much power to spare. The gas milage is slightly higher than the Previa but it has 100 hp more. What more can you ask for? I am very happy with the gas milage when comparing to my old Previa. The Entourage is definitely on par with the Hondas or Toyotas minivans but costs a few thousands less. We strongly believe Hyundais reliability is better than the Janpanese made and we installed a hitch for our new trailer.

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  So far, so good - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By whiteowl - January 25 - 2:46 pm

  Just passed the 1200 mile break in period. Present mileage is at 20 mpg, combined city and highway. Not sure however as I have not had a complete highway trip yet. Like the interior, instrument cluster well designed and easy to access. The 2.7 liter has more pickup than engine size would lead you to believe. Minor problem with seat belt retractor, corrected by dealer.

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  I LOVE MY SANTA FE - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Vikki Neff-Tolbert - January 25 - 12:10 pm

  I purchased my Santa Fe in 2003, I now have 145,000 miles on it. I replaced the tires at 95,000 and the timing belt at 125,000. My wonderful little SUV sees the dealership only at scheduled maint. as I have not had any problems with it at all. And as my daughter says ... I will drive it until the doors fall off. If I had to purchase another car it would be another Santa Fe!! Very roomy and comfortable on long trips.

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  Fun to drive, reliable if taken care of - 1998 Hyundai Accent
  By GyroVorbis - January 25 - 11:39 am

  The Accent was my first car. It has been through tons of abuses. It recently started acting up, so we took it into the dealer to find that the spark plug wires had been wrong and the transmission fluid was wrong for over a year. The car had held up pretty well for quite sometime even with all this crap wrong with it. Its pretty impressive actually. Its a small car, but it delivers plenty of power for the fuel economy. I have no problems going over 100mph in this rig. Its one of the most fun cars Ive ever driven. I just hope to god my transmission issues will get fixed.

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  way to go, hyundai - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By pete w - January 24 - 8:50 pm

  actually my model is a front wheel drive limited. i took months to choose. i wanted a small footprint car but ultimately justified a suv because it would get me out more. just back from 4,000 mile roadtrip within a month of buying it. it handled well--light on its feet, agile compared to my 2002 a4 audi sedan which i was trading in. it now seems higher and wider in the interior but shorter. i find i drive slower feel safer being higher. mileage varied 19-26 mpg on the trip. couldnt be happier. i think it looks better than any other suv on the road.

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  Best SUV EXCELLENT INITIAL QUALITY AND LONG TERM F - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Joe virball - January 24 - 6:34 pm

  I put on many miles, owned it since 2007. It owes me nothing...and has always performed reliably. Very good power and transmission. In 2007 it was ahead of its time with a 6speed automatic. The engine senses the octane level of your fuel and adjusts to obtain maximum performance. The manufacturer has always proactively kept the safety of my family, the maintenance of its vehicle, foremost in its mind.

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  Great car, not just for the money - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jojo - January 23 - 11:33 pm

  We purchased this car to replace my 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. After doing a lot of research we decided on the Sonata. I couldnt be happier. The ride is smooth, but not floaty. The 2.4 has just enough power, and gets terrific mileage. Interior and Exterior design are awesome. This is one well built, well thought out car.

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  Reliable, trouble free so far! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By madmaxooohhh - January 23 - 11:57 am

  I just turned 95,000 miles on my 2004 Santa Fe. No problems so far except normal maintenance: windshield wiper blades every 2 years, tires every 4 years-usually worn out by then, change oil every 6 months or 6-7000 miles for conventional or 7-10000 miles on synthetic. I changed the transmission oil twice (drain and fill) at 40k miles, and again at 80k miles). Oh, I changed both front bulbs after one of the bulbs burned out at around 70k miles. Replaced front and rear brakes and rotors at 85k miles. I will do the timing belt sometime soon. No problems! Best car I have owned so far.

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  "Korean Car" No Longer A Pejorative - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ron - January 23 - 10:36 am

  This is not quite the cruiser my 2003 Accord V6 is, but it handles extraordinarily well, is extremely comfortable, has a great sound system and is beautiful inside and out. The engine is raspier than a V-6 off the line, but is among the quietest in its class at speed. Factoring in inflation, this car cost about $1,500 less than my Accord seven years ago, yet is better equipped. One thing I find quite interesting is that this car feels a little too flashy and floaty to say it emulates Japanese or European design. It is too well crafted to say it emulates American design. It is distinctly its own -- Korean. And after 25 years of selling in the U.S., that is finally a good thing for Hyundai.

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  07 Santa Fe AWD - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rshook - January 22 - 8:33 pm

  This is our first Hyundai product and having owned Toyota and Honda, were sold! Drives and rides like a luxury SUV, most people cant believe its a Hyundai which still has a somewhat negative connotation associated with the company for some reason. We even drove a used Lexus GX470 in the same price range and found the Hyundai to be more comfortable and much better fuel mileage. Great Car thus far.