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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  Im so glad i did not get the Camry - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By fc - May 12 - 11:56 am

  Im so glad i got this car instead of the basic camry which was about the same price and it had a 4 cylinder, hyundai offers 2 more cylinders for the same price so i decided with the hyundai because of the comprehensive standard safety equipment like Electronic Stability Control with traction control, active head restraints, Plus the other goodies like the 17 inch alloy wheels and power sunroof i did not need a second opinion .

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  Excellent car - 1995 Hyundai Elantra
  By Krek - May 12 - 2:00 am

  good car worth a test drive and for its money you cant get anything better so go and grab the keys

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  I am in LOVE with it - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Janel Davis - May 11 - 10:20 pm

  smooth ride, good price. well worth the money. luxurious inside, leather seating, would buy another Hyundai in the future.

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  Sonata Rocks - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sonata ROCKS - May 11 - 4:13 pm

  I traded a 2002 Elentra for the Sonata. I had 160,000 miles on the Elentra and never had any issues with the car. So my natural choice was Hyundai and I wanted to upgrade. I commute 125 miles a day and after a month I am averaging 32 MPG in mixed city/hiway driving. With a commute of so much distance comfort is important and the Sonata is very comfortable and I am 62". I was worried about the cost of my insurance going up but with all of the standard safety features my cost actually dropped by almost $150 a year from the Elantra. The bottom line is buy a Hyundai Sonata, you wont be sorry. Great gas mileage, comfortable and it turns heads. I may buy Hyundais forever!!

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  Excellent Car - No problems for 80k - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Roger - May 11 - 10:30 am

  No problems for 80k miles. Gas, oil, tires, brake pads, wiper blades. thats it. runs perfect and smooth, quiet, good acceleration. its time for a second set of brake pads and tires. i will get the belts replaced. i am keeping it.

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  simply ahead of its class, unmatchable - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By qausarali - May 11 - 7:36 am

  astonishing and cannot be even compared . fun and comfortable to drive

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  One of the Best cars I have owned - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Great Car!!!!! - May 11 - 4:43 am

  I have owned dozens of cars from various manufacturers. This is one of the two best cars I have ever owned. Test drove a Honda Accord, a Toyota Camray, a Chevy Malibu, a Niassan Altima and a Kia Optima. This car had them all beat, hands down. As much power as the six cylinder I traded for it. My brother, who just bought a Lexus 350 IS a few months ago drove it. He said if he hadnt already bought the Lexus, he would have bought a Sonata. Hyundia got it right with this car.

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  Surprised and Happy - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Banana GT - May 9 - 8:10 pm

  I purchased my Tib GT SE as a cheap commuter car and expected not much more, but I was really amazed by this car. Going on 4 years and 40K miles, and I still love driving it. I have the V6 6-speed, and Ive read of people having clutch troubles-- not with me-- I drag race my Tib semi-regularly and use nitrous-oxide injection every time, still the original clutch! I average 29mpg on my regular road trips and couldnt be happier, and it handles fantastic. Not much back seat foot room, so I have to use the other car for family trips, but it is worth it. The Kenwood system is fantastic, and the a/c is excellent. I havent had a single problem with this car, and I would recommend it to anyone.

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  Awesome! - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Peter - May 9 - 10:30 am

  I just purchased my 2010 Tucson and it exceeded my expectations - I love it. Although it was hard to get (GLS with Popular PKG in Bronze) it was worth of the 3 weeks wait. There are only 2 things I would add as standard to this vehicle: 1) Outside Temperature meter 2) Two way console (deep and shallow) right now its only deep. If youre on the market you have to take a look at that car as its probably currently the best buy on the Market

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  Love the Luxury of the Azera Limited - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Laura Welch - May 8 - 2:53 pm

  This is a new vehicle to us but after driving Accords and Chevys, is a real step up. Our model Azera is the Limited, Premium package so it is loaded and just plain luxury.