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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  My 3rd Hyundai sonata - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Shannon - October 24 - 1:23 am

  I crashed my 03 Sonata it was a total loss (no injuries to anyone in my car). Bought an 04 and loved it, but saw the 05 GLS SV model with the bigger rims, homelink, sunroof and fell in love so I bought it. I still own my 1994 Excel and it runs great.

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  Lovin It! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Hadeev - October 23 - 1:50 pm

  Lots of leg room and comfy seats. My passengers enjoyed riding in my Elantra and said it is pretty. Its sporty and has all the bells and whistles I wanted. Im not sure if Im getting good gas mileage because Im still learning when to shift between the D and D3 gears. Otherwise, its a smooth ride and strangers give me compliments on it all the time. The headlights are nice and bright, the mirrors get good visibility and the blue lighted dashboard is a great feature. The trunk opener on the remote is a good thing to have also. I feel like a queen when I drive it.

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  2005 Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Rob - October 23 - 4:40 am

  I just returned from a trip to Washington, DC, 3.5 hours and 210 miles. The Tucson was a very comfortable ride and got suprisingly good gas mileage (24 mpg) at 65-75 mph. Around town, the mileage drops off to 17 mpg with stop and go driving. The cargo area with the seats folded down is big enough for most uses, we just carried an antique dresser and mirror with plenty of room to spare. It was excellent in the 16" of snow we had in January, the day after I took delivery. Im very pleased with the Tucson so far, now lets see how reliable it is.

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  Real deal and pleasure to drive - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By RoadRunner - October 23 - 1:43 am

  This is not your 80’s Hyundai any more. It may take some time for this manufacturer to recover from prejudiced assumption that Hyundai cars are “Casio” of automotive industry, but those people who had a chance to drive recent models and then check specs and workmanship, should know better already.The price is reasonable by comparison, warranty is excellent, quality of drive and comfort is a pleasant surprise and gas mileage is real nice. After buying mid-grade Honda and Toyota for many years almost religiously, and since in last 2 years I did not like what I see, so I started turning towards Nissan yet it appears that I just discovered Hyundai to be very interesting and quite logical choice.

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  Sonata #2, Experience second to none - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Glen Kaminski - October 22 - 12:46 pm

  My wife and I simply love this car. This is a second Sonata for me (2002 LX), and its apparent the strides that Hyundai has made in quality. The mileage is tremendous, the ride is smooth and comfortable, and the feature set is impressive. Oh, and the Venetian Red is certainly a head-turner!

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  Title of your review - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Atracker4 - October 22 - 12:13 pm

  My Experience with the Hyundai Tiburon has been excellent. I have had this car for seven month now and i love it!!!!

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  Impressive Vehicle! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dave H - October 21 - 7:43 am

  I was looking to replace my faithful but aging Camry and test drove all of the usual suspects. This car in its base trim has everything I needed, but with the Popular Package it made it even more of a honey! The closest competitor was the Accord EX but the Sonata GLS has it beat hands down on styling, price, features, engine and fun. The fit and finish both inside and out is impressive. The car wants to run, too, as I find myself having to limit my speed. The controls are all logically laid out and easy to use (far better than the Accord) and even the base stereo system rocks! I loved my Toyota, but so far I really love this Sonata! Honda and Toyota beware!

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  my kind of car - 2016 Hyundai Veloster
  By Everette Cyr - October 21 - 2:36 am

  This car is a drivers car. It has a good weight to horse power ratio. It handles superbly. It is not over powered and it gets decent gas mileage. It is 4 passenger vehicle when needed. More suited for 2 passengers with plenty of cargo space for 2. I have taken one of these on a 400 + mile trip. It is very comfortable and road worthy on all highway conditions, the wind does not blow it around like other small cars I have driven. The Huyndai is noted for its reliability and I am planning on having this auto for many years. 26

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  Very Impressed! - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tom - October 20 - 6:53 pm

  Test drove Civic, Camry, Accord and nothing came close to matching the value of the Sonata. Everything you need is standard at a better price than the others. Also much easier to make a good deal at the dealership. Huge amount of safety features standard, the trunk is huge, and it kind of looks like an Audi or Acura TL from the front and the side and rides like them too. The best warranty is just icing on the already great cake!

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  Santafes keep getting better and better - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Larry Garin - October 20 - 12:20 pm

  the 3.3 engine has more pick-up, the 18 in. wheels lets you see the road better.