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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  First Impressions 2002 Elantra GT - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By danyn_canyon - January 6 - 10:00 am

  WOW. This beautiful Carbon Blue GT AMAZING. Comfortable, loaded with features, and ride quality more like that expected from a luxury car. The car ride quiet; sits up tall, smoothe and silky compared to Civic EX. Amazingly, the GT $3-4K less than Civic EX . GTs ride is smoother, quieter, and the stereo better sounding. However, paint finish quality on the Civic superior. Considering other amenities like fog lights, digital clock, heated mirrors, leather seats, the Hyundai comes out ahead. Four wheel disk brakes--stopping power galore. Acceleration good. Car sturdiness and safety features (including side air bags) totally up to snuff.

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  I love it - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By SlowOkie - January 6 - 10:00 am

  I have only had my Elantra GT for a couple of months now, but so far it is everything I had hoped for. The fit and finish of the car is the best Ive found for the price. The only thing I would change is the power, which I may do with the help of a supercharger I have found that fits the 2.0 engine in the GT.

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  No complaints - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By pokey - January 6 - 10:00 am

  Just chugging along. Not real quick but a great commuter car. Handles very well. Shiftronic a must for getting on the freeway going uphill. Automatic shifts too soon. Transmission is the only part of the car that is a little primitive. Not real smooth or "smart". Otherwise very well built, quiet and rides very well.

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  Best Buy for a 4passenger V6 - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By BluesDriver - January 6 - 10:00 am

  The styling had quite a few total strangers stop by and ask ne what brand is it. Front view does allude to the classy "Jaguar" styling ... Problem with transmission in the first week (apparently common with Hyudai) Good stereo (sadly popular amongst car burglars). Fun to floor it and very comfortable 3-6 hr drives ... After 8000 miles: Aptly compares to most import I rode in... The V6 + Shiftronic help for "tightly timed traffic light" + winters... Max speed of 122 MPH easily attainable. 4 discs brakes need getting used to. V6 purrs (the 4 cyl has an high pitch whine on accelaration). VERY VERY HAPPY DRIVER !!! *3* Thumbs up!!!

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  2016 Sonata Hybrid - 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Susan Hicks - January 6 - 9:23 am

  Overall, the car exceeds my expectations. Being a hybrid, I expected slow a climb to reach the speed desired. I was shocked. It has power. The only negative I can say is about the cabin exterior sound quality. The car is very quiet. I can pull up to a car next to me at the light had hear everything being said in the other car. Sometimes even driving down the highway, another car will make a noise that gets your attention. Going what was that, then listening close you determine the source. My old Jeep roared and you heard nothing else. A new world of noises. It drives nice. I have not owned it long. Not even had the first oil change yet. I would like to have the option of power seats in the SE model. Currently, you can only get that with the Limited model and Leather seats.

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  Head Turner - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Herb Schlichting - January 6 - 5:40 am

  Test drove Nissians, Toyotas and every other foreign sports car in the $30,000 price range or less. When I drove Tiburon I first noticed that my 62" 245 pound body was actually comfortable and the interior design and the quality of workmanship from the padded dash leather to the REAL leather wrap steering wheel to the high quality soft REAL leather seating and the wrap around dash and console. The car in solid made you dont feel like you just purchased and sheet of plastic on wheels, Im very impressed with the exterior as well excellent front and rear design and lighting, excellent drive lighting as well. I luv the gas mileage also 6 cyl. 35 mpg. Highway, 22 in town

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  Piece of junk - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By jeremy - January 6 - 1:42 am

  I have had this car for a year and a half and have at best put 5000 miles on it. I have had to replace 02, mass-air intake, and tps sensors, a lifter, and now the timing belt went out with possible valve damage or some bent rods (still yet to be determined). Ive decided to just get rid of this car and not bother fixing it anymore. It seems that the check engine light was always on. Stay away from this car, it gave me nothing but problems.

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  Excellent with one exception - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Suetalk - January 6 - 12:33 am

  This vehicle is fun to drive and an excellent buy as long as you dont actually expect the Bluetooth to be functional. Youll hear your callers but they will have a horrible time hearing you as it picks up all road noise, etc. Dealership didnt believe me but I gave them the blogs from the internet. They checked with manufacturer who said they have received many other complaints and were looking for a software upgrade to solve the problem.

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  Best car ever - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By harrelson marie - January 4 - 9:01 pm

  i love this vehicle this is by far the best vehicle that i have ever owned

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  One Fine Machine - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Wayne - January 4 - 6:25 pm

  This is one fine little car that does everything that I ask of it. Its not a drag racer, but it gets up to speed in a deceivingly smooth manner. It will cruise nicely on the freeways at 70+, and is agile in city traffic. Its size makes it easier to find parking a space. Hyundai packed a lot of room inside this coupe. Every instrument, knob and lever is located where the driver expects to find it. Gas mileage is excellent, as advertised. The air conditioning does its job well, and road noise is not an issue. At about $14K delivered, this car is inexpensive but it certainly is not "cheap." People can look at my little blue Hyundai coupe, but they will just have to go find their own!