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 My Limited! - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By K - January 18 - 10:00 am

  Bought my 2011 Tucson Limited FWD with Navigation Pkg a week ago. Took it on a 300 mi mostly highway round trip last weekend and averaged 29 mpg. Its comfortable, quiet, and fun to drive. Learning the navigation package is a project in and of itself.

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  My Third Hyundai - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By L Bishop - January 18 - 9:19 am

  After owning an Accent, I moved up to an Elantra in 2003, and purchased my 206 Elantra as a new vehicle a few months ago. Great value for the money! Reliable, comfortable back seat passengers find it comfortable, too.

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  Im in love! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Aloha Robin - January 18 - 3:46 am

  I had just bought the 2006 Accord Ex and was happy, but kept seeing the Azera commercials on TV... just thought I would go see it at the dealership, well, I traded in my Accord and bought the Azera Limited off the show floor! I absolutely love everything about it! It has great performance, gorgeous sexy styling, and all my friends are envious. I am a realtor, and this sure impresses my clients! It is my dream car for half the price of a Mercedes or Jaguar! You need to get one!

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  Excellent Car! Sonata SE - Pacific Blue - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Oscar S - January 17 - 7:26 pm

  Okay so I drive a total of 84 miles to work 5 days a week. Before I got this Sonata I had to fill up ever 3rd day. "Believe it or not!" TODAY I can drive all 5days to work and still have about 40+ miles till empty, AMAZING. Oh and just so you all know the speed limit is 70 and I drive 76 mph on ECO gauge. I PROMISE you wont be disappointed in those highway miles. Take it for a spin and try it out, go with the SE 200hp its by far a winner in my book. Acceleration is ridiculous for this type of car, pass and go without a hitch.

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  Emergency Brake - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By stoneweave - January 17 - 5:09 pm

  I have had my Hyundai for 4 years now and just recently my emergency started freezing. A mechanic told me that the brake seemed fine, but the problem still continues. The other major problem that I had with the car was the paint. After one year the paint started bubbling in certain spots. I complained to the dealer and was finally able to get them to repaint the car free of charge.

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  This car is alright with me - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Tim - January 17 - 5:16 am

  I have owned my Tiburon for a few months now. I have to say I went into the market looking to buy a sports car that would just get me some looks. I spotted this car and decided to take a look. I liked it immediately and bought it. The interior room leaves something to be desired but all other features were definitely A+. It has power and I definitely get some looks. It is also lots of fun to drive. The interior is plain but easy to upgrade all by yourself. I definitely recommend this car to any single person who just wants to have fun, look good, and not be looking for huge financial responsibility.

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  great fun car - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By deborah mcburnie - January 17 - 4:10 am

  Just bought this car in April...love it!!! Great price, style, and comfort what better car to buy for your money. I think everyone should own one!!

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  Shake Rattle & Roll Continued.. - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By mother of 2 - January 16 - 11:50 pm

  I read 8/16th 2006 posting...having same problem...Entourage has been at dealer 12 days ..I ve owned car 20 days, Contacted Corporate and BBB autoline per warranty manual..This was the worst NEW car purchase ever..Stay away..They exchanged axle, tires & rebalanced tires & realigned steering...Still SHIMMY...Going back for 3rd visit..& pregnant 8 months..Like I have time for this AGGREVATION and drive back and forth do dealer...Enough is Enough..Hopefully they will take this back..I ve kept daily records...We shall see

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  Life is not easy! - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By joe - January 16 - 1:24 pm

  Im sorry for people that have gotten a poor quality Hyundai accent. I bouth this thing in Dec. 2001, ato commute and put almost 16000 miles a year. Now it has 81500 and still working. Just took it twice to the dealer to change the battery (at 5000) and then at 45000 miles to change the engine belts and check the front brakes, they did not do a good work on the front brakes. Im planning to take it at 90000 to change the belts again and to fix the rear brakes. The reason I do not take it to the dealer is because this thing has never given any trouble, i do not like it and Im not going to spend money on it.

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  Excellent SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By scott - January 15 - 12:40 pm

  Ive owned three Santa Fes... 01, 03, and 04. This is by far the best and most fun to drive. I just passed 31k miles and have had zero problems.