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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  ITS GREAT - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By 3warners - June 6 - 11:46 am

  Owned 2002 XG350L, this car blows the doors off, hands down. Better performance, better looks and a suspension system. Hyundai just gets better and better.

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  Great Value for the Price - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By SSeegers - June 5 - 12:40 pm

  This is my first Hyundai and I find the Tucson to offer the best features and most comprehensive warranty for the money. I have driven over 8000 miles getting about 22-24 mpg in the city and 26-32 on the highway. Mileage is subject to wind, a/c, and tire inflation pressure. I gained an additional 2 mpg by increasing the tire pressure from 30 to 40 psi. Plenty of room for a family of four and our luggage even on longer trips.

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  Excellent car for the value - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By prewindy - June 5 - 10:00 am

  Without a doubt the best sedan under $25k in the market today. Hyundai has sure stepped up the quality in the 2011 Sonata. It drives nicely and is comfortable. The sound system is excellent and I love the bluetooth connection. If you are looking for a fun, quality, and good looking car then the Sonata is your car to test drive.

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  fun to drive tib - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By lloyd - June 4 - 1:30 am

  Fun to drive, I live in Hawaii and we have a lot of mountain roads. I drive from sea level to about 2700 ft elevation daily, get about 30 mpg so far." just bought a little over a month ago. Great on corners, smooth ride and has comfortable interior, use to have an elantra but I am enjoying new ride. I test drove a tib when I got elantra a few years back but went with mpg, now the sporty ride. Like the new design of body and head lights.

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  Best sports coupe for the buck - 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By jmac57 - June 3 - 4:24 pm

  This is my third coupe (have owned a 2009, 2011 and now the 2013) and I must say this car is the best yet. Great power,very good built quality and comfortable. All the best things in the g37 for thousands less and with a great warranty to boot.I find the stereo to be fine (300 plus watts more then enough for me), the navigation works great as does the Bluetooth. If your looking fort a sports coupe that will leave some bucks in your bank account,then it is a no brainer.

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  Got much more car for less! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Roentgen - June 2 - 10:43 am

  Our family has always been a "Toyota-only" consumer when it comes to automobiles, so when my relatives found out we were even considering the Elantra, they thought we were were crazy. But having done my research, the Elantra would give us all the features we looked for in a car without having to break the bank- and we have not been disappointed! More room than the Corolla or Civic, enough for two car seats in the back. You gotta love the standard safety features, sweet warranty, and the dashboard blue lights that add a nice touch. The gas mileage has been great and altogether, it has been a great car for me to commute to work and lug around the kids. Even the relatives love it!

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  Nice value for money - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By Makarand amondikar - June 1 - 11:08 pm

  SONATA IS good car to buy and use the features.are.great and technology is most latest for the same range of cars . I found more.sporty and powerfully than accord smooth and silent operations. Overall great value for money.

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  Great Deal for the Price - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By LindaC - June 1 - 2:00 am

  I am very happy with my Sonata, I have owned it for exactly 2 years now. This car is not only stylish on the outside, but the inside is very elegant. My friends and even strangers all comment on the sleek new look. This car is reliable and very hardy, but the 5 year/60,000 mile warrenty really makes me feel at ease I will have no major problems with this car.

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  Why goToyota and Honda? - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dave Martin - May 30 - 9:23 pm

  The fit and finish of this vehicle is every bit as good as its Japanese competitors. Hyundai makes great vehicles at an affordable price. This car is reliable, fun to drive, and an amazing bargain. The 4-cylinder is a nice engine with good horsepower. Safety and standard features are the best in the business!

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  2000 Tiburon - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By shelby68 - May 30 - 10:00 am

  Issues with black paint vs. bugs. I have had black cars in the past and they did not have the issues with the bug "stains" on the car.