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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  Best Toy anyone could ever buy with 32k. - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By eiceman - November 11 - 7:56 pm

  Ive been waiting for this coupe to come out since last winter. M3, Infinity G37, Mustang were on my list, and I tested them all. M3 is not a daily commuter, it is more a race car on the track, so I passed. G37 I liked, yet the styling was too plain. Mustang was a nice car, yet everybody already has one. Then I got into Gen. Coupe. The first impression was stunning. Then I test drove it, I was sold. It was the perfect balance between M3 and Lexsus IS 350. It has great low end power, smooth all the way to 6500 rpm. I had so much fun in the Topanga Canyon Road next to PCH in Malibu. I was not much a fan of Hyundai, but ask me now, gotta say Im a big fan. Gotta drive one to believe it

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  Awesome car - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By cj - November 11 - 10:37 am

  i have driven my car almost 38000 miles in two+ years. It is a beautiful car and I have had no problems with it other than the cassette stopped working. I took it in and it was immediately replaced. Gas mileage is around 28mpg. The seats could stand a bit more padding .

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  Great job, Hyundai - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Fred Opalinsnki - November 11 - 7:32 am

  This low-priced car has an amazing array of features. It is peppy, quiet and comfortable. With 53,000 miles, I have had no expenses for repairs. The warranty and reliablility are exceptional.

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  NOT A BAD RIDE AT ALL - 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By samsmith76 - November 10 - 5:30 pm

  Got about 4K mi on my 2013 Sonata Hybrid LTD (no sunroof). People have mentioned they don’t like the brakes with this car but to me brakes are fine (I’m not a tailgater though!). They take a bit getting used to at first. People seem to forget that the brakes are specially designed to capture energy when you slow down and brake to help recharge the HEV battery. I quickly learned that you shouldn’t mash the brakes. Nice and gentle, steady as she goes = $aving $ at the pump!

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  Love It!!! - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Hyundai Lover - November 10 - 1:03 pm

  I would not buy anything but a hyundai! Both my wife and myself own Hyundais. For the money and the 10 year 100,000 miles you cant beat it!!!!

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  Bevs Sante Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By wearp - November 10 - 10:00 am

  Its easy to drive with little care. I especially like the feature where you can phone when theres a problem; however, I used it falsely when getting a warning light only because I didnt twist the gas cap three times. Its very sturdy, easy to handle and very comfortable on long distance trips.

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  horrible engine - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By Judie - November 9 - 2:27 pm

  At about 57,000 miles the car stopped on me and a " new" engine was replaced a t Diamond Hyundai. They had it 5 weeks as they had to get the engine from Korea. Today at 138,000 which is almost 80,000 miles on the "new" engine I find that my car has done the same thing... just stopped. Both times ,the mechanic has said that the timing belt broke and that the pistons and values were bad. What is wrong with this fraudulent engine ??? oh and the last mechanic has told me that the engine put in last time at Diamond Hyundai is not a new nor manufactured engine. They lied and did not need to ahve my car for 5 weeks as it did not obviously come from Korea. Maybe the local junk yard.

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  Tiburon 06 - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By jg31 - November 7 - 5:23 pm

  Since 2003, the new disgned Tiburon has been setting a trend. This sporty coupe will turn heads as the exterior designor was an ex-Ferrari engineer. The Tiburon has excellent transmission, automatic or manual. With the option of a 5/6 speed manual or an automatic with Shiftronic (allows manual gear operation), the Tiburon is a great 2 door hatchback coupe.

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  Nice Little Car - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By mac - November 6 - 8:01 pm

  The car ride is exceptionly fine. Gas milliage is great. Seat interior is good. The dash components are position ok, except the millage trip button needs to be postion in another location for easy access. It is short on drivers foot room from the clutch pedal. Also interior molding is poor quality it scratches real easily.

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  Hobbzillas Santa Fe - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By hobbzilla - November 6 - 12:40 pm

  Wanted it 10sec after first test drive. Payments are resonable but local dealership wouldnt work with me so I drove 200 miles to another dealership. Wasnt upset.. I got to drive it all the way home!