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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  Tried and true friend! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Lisa - November 22 - 3:16 am

  Ive owned my car four years, 25,000 miles. It has always been reliable, never one problem. I was in an accident two years ago and had the front-end rebuilt. I anticipated problems, and still nothing! I traded cars for a day recently, and I really missed my sweet little Santa Fe! I do mostly city driving, but did take a road trip (10 hours each way) to the desert. She was a stellar off-road performer.

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  Good car for your dollar. - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By NORDBERG - November 19 - 10:00 am

  This car is the best value in its class. After many months of shopping around and after test-driving the competitors, (civic, focus svt, protege 5, cavelier ls, etc.) the Hyundai GT was best in terms of value, OPTIONS, and fun! Speaking of options, this car comes standard with just about everything but a driver! Speaking of fun, taking the above-mentioned competition from a stoplight is easy. Press hard on the acceleration from a stop and you will be pleasently suprised. No racecar, but again, good for the dollar. Top off all of that with the extended warrenty and youve got one great package.

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  Excellent car for its money - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By edward - November 18 - 8:58 pm

  At first, the car didnt really turn my head, but after driving it for a month, WOW, its automatic and it gives me more than 30 miles per gallon, its a drive so friendly and soft, you think youre in a car of a better class. And I found out the reasons why: independent suspension on the four wheels, CVVT fuel injection. Plus nice room and cup holders for every one, pretty nice stereo, all this for a low price. Driving it through curves and hills is very easy, though not a fast thrill, but it really drives like a small premium car.

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  the best - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dave - November 18 - 8:46 pm

  Easily the worlds best SUV. Destroys everything from a Toyota to a Hummer. The Santa Fe may be the greatest vehicle the world has ever seen.

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  Great Car - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bob Ault - November 18 - 1:33 pm

  Purchase this Santa Fe used with 25k. The only problem I encountered was a defective rear seat hatch which was covered under the factory warranty. At 54k it still has 30% front and 90% original factory brakes. It rides like a car, gets acceptable mileage and very easy to get in and out of.

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  1999 Hyundai Accent - 1999 Hyundai Accent
  By robert rascon - November 18 - 1:13 pm

  Very good back and forth to work 120 miles per day.

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  Other than the odometer LCD... - 2012 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By JT - November 17 - 7:58 am

  Im happy enough with my 2012 Hyundai Elantra Touring GLS, except for having to repeatedly replace the odometer/trip LCD. I think Im on my third replacement. I have 13K on it (each replacement odometer LCD is set at "0" miles), and this one is now starting to go. Once it goes bad it can only be read in the morning. After the car sits in the sun all day the odometer fades until it is unreadable. Other than that Im happy with the car.

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  What year were we talking about? - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By R F - November 16 - 5:33 am

  This was made in 2003. Go primitive. No Bluetooth, USB, Wifi, or SD cards in the original head unit. Still has the Infinity six and a sub in the GT V6 models. Bet you could install something...

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  Awesome Car - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Elochukwu - November 15 - 9:05 pm

  Ive owned this car since May 2015 and overall I love it. My wife owns a 2012 Toyota Camry and I get equivalent mpg on both cars. The only thing I have reservations on the Sonata is that when I play music through Bluetooth it does not show the track title and artist on the screen, just the name of the phone while my wifes camry does. Otherwise I love this car. Addendum: Its been over a year since I got this car and Im still loving it. I changed the tires and this made the ride a lot quieter.

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  lousey mileage - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By junemart - November 15 - 6:09 pm

  My absolute foremost reason for buying this car was for the gas mileage. The mileage I am getting stinks, city and highway . The car is nice and quiet on the road but without cruise control and without the promised 36MPG I would rather be in my 2004 Forester that gets a solid 28MPG on the road. Other owners report good mpg. Are you driving at a steady 50 with no a/c and a brick (cruise control) on the pedal?