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 New and Fun! - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jerry P. - December 10 - 3:06 am

  After 6 months of research on SUVs, I chose the Santa Fe for its style, performance, price, warranty program, leg and head room (Im 6-4"). No sunroof addition which allows 5 extra inches of head space. The AWD is very responsive and the 3.3L, 6cyl is well worth the upgrade.

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  Amazing Buy - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kyle Perea - December 10 - 1:26 am

  I looked around at other cars such as the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic, but the Hyundai Elantra stood out to me because of its low price and vast amount of standard features. We got the Popular package with the 08 Auto PZEV GLS and its everything anyone would need! Runs very smoothly, gas mileage is excellent, and it is very roomy. My parents cant believe how big the interior is! It has more rear seat room than our Subaru Outback! The trunk is also the largest in its class and the rear seats fold with a trunk pass through. ABS is also standard! (The Focus and Corolla dont come with ABS standard!) Love the blue illumination at night, very hip. Great price and great buy!

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  130,000 miles in my Elantra - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Brad - December 9 - 7:56 pm

  I bought my 2003 Elantra GT sedan in March of 03 with 34 miles. I now have 130,000. I chose this vehicle beacuse it had more power, features, rear seat space, and value than anything else in its class. The GT really is an undiscovered gem. I have the 4-door with the 5-speed, which is the best combo. The acceleration, luxury features, sound system, comfort, and dependability are unmatched in the sub- $17,000 class. I have only had one promblem, a faulty thermostat that caused it to overheat at 79,000 miles. Probably my fault because I drive it really hard and dont keep up on the maintainance. That being said, this car is a tank. 130,000 miles, all original parts and still going strong.

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  My most liked car yet - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By txbear503 - December 9 - 8:36 am

  I have owned many different types of vehicles, excepting SUVs, trucks, and real sports cars. Of them all, I really like this vehicle. Having driven a 4.6 V-8 for six years I was skeptical about this 4-cylinder but, after six weeks I now have no reservations at all. Its a very refined car for the price, and overall has a better highway ride than my previous 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis. I get many compliments on its looks. I am very satisfied.

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  Bought Another Elantra GLS - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By NYYankeeFan - December 8 - 9:16 pm

  After owning a 2007 Elantra GLS for the past year (actually my husbands car), I decided when my minivan lease came due this month I would buy another Hyundai Elantra GLS...Well, I did and Im so glad. The 2008 Elantra has a slightly different driving feel. The steering wheel has a more sportier/sturdier feel. The controls are all well placed, and the well thought out compartments and bag holder would make any mom smile. Though from the outside the trunk appears small, it can fit my sons base drum and all its parts when the two back seats fold down. Its a sharp little car with a big car feel. Grips the road and is great on turns.

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  I like it so far. - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Mark - December 8 - 9:10 pm

  So far this is a great suv. I have 3 kids(1,3, and 8) so the third row was absolutely necessary and does the job quite well. I am replacing a dodge durango with this one so I am used to plenty of space and the veeracruz delivers. Access to the third row is very easy and folding it up and down is a lot easier than the durango. The fact that the veracruz is built on the same frame as their minivan makes the ride VERY smooth. The handling is also very good compared to some of the suvs in its class. Before going ahead with this choice we also test drove the Outlook, Acadia and Pilot and by far the veracruz is the best bang for the buck. I am recommending it to everyone looking for an suv.

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  My Exquisite Sonata! - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tanveer - December 8 - 10:00 am

  Ive owned a Silver 2003 Sonata LX (with ABS/Trac, Moonroof) for about 4 months with not a single problem. So far the car is very dependable & with the 5-years/60K bumper-to-bumper warranty, Im not much worried either. The looks of Sonata with the extraordinary warranty were the key factors for me to buy this car. The exterior styling of Sonata is stunning. Sonatas styling is the hybrid of Mercedes C-class and Jaguar. I personally think that Sonata is the most appealing car in mid-size car category. Im getting around 20-22 mpg in mix driving condition, which I think is very reasonable.

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  More HP needed - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By HyundaiTibOwner - December 8 - 10:00 am

  This car is fun to drive and "I" catching. lil bit of gas flow, this car can fly. but lil too heavy. Ive heard they(Hyundai) have 400hp 4 banger in korea. wondering when they gonna bring it out.

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  Dark Shark - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By tibby27 - December 8 - 10:00 am

  First week, got hit by a Ford F150, and the body took a hit; tough car! Adequate speed, acceleration, and sound system for those looking to have fun, but not go overboard like fast and the furious.

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  great auto - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By kriglv - December 7 - 9:03 pm

  I bought this vehicle about 4 months ago. Traded in Lexus RX300. Compared to what is offered on the Tucson and the new Lexus(which is about $15,000 more) i am very satisfied with the Tucson. It really fits our needs