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 Driving Experience with my 03 Hyundai - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Hyundai Elantra - October 11 - 11:24 am

  I am enjoying my Elantra and I intend to purchase another Hyundai when I buy my next car. The reliability is excellent and the gas that I save has been very good considering how much gas has been.

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  I love how my Accent feels - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Christine Sanchez - October 11 - 10:28 am

  One thing I really not noticed is that it takes very well to corners and when I need to accelerate quickley I can count on it to give me that edge. I have relied on the breaks several times to help me avoid sudden stopping around me and this was comforting to know how dependable the brakes were. I call her "squirt" because she is small compared to our SUV but has amazing punch and is just overall fun to drive. I dont recommend you make interior any smaller as it can feel cramped with my 6 foot tall quarterback son in the car! He feels it to be snug when he drives.

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  Best Bet for Dollars and Sense - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By annegdavis - October 10 - 1:48 pm

  This is the best little car I ever drove. Its comfortable, roomy, tight brakes, excellent handling during turns, better than average stereo system, quiet motor, relatively low road noise, and gets reasonable gas milage. Much more comfortable and roomy than my previous Honda Civic. I feel like Im sitting higher up, which helps me "aim high in steering". And at less than $13K, its a steal. Im very happy with this vehicle and would highly recommend it!

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  Best Minivan for the Money - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By JOHN - October 10 - 4:46 am

  Very comfortable ride and drivablility. My wife and myself have lower back problems which make access and egress from a car a problem, especially after driving for a couple of hours. With the van everything is so much easier and our back problems are almost nil. We travel on trips up to 500 miles and enjoy the space and the powered doors and hatch. We now have 5200 miles on the van and have not had any signifcant problems. The fit and quality of everything is excellent. We researched the van market before buying and this is by far the best van on the market and at least 10K less than the nearest competitor(Honda Odessy). Safety features was also parmount in our decision to buy this van.

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  Superb car for the money! - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Norseman - October 9 - 10:00 am

  Overall great car, just what I was looking for.

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  the best car i ever owned - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By reggie1 - October 9 - 10:00 am

  the elantra is well recommened

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  Good Value - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By David Moss - October 9 - 10:00 am

  Good value. Bit noisy engine. Nice interior.

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  Bought it knowing the possible problems - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By suekar - October 9 - 10:00 am

  I almost immediately experienced the"bump" when after driving a short distance I came to a stop. It seems to have been fixed with a computer replacement however I have just recently, after 5000 miles, had a scarey bump when going about 50 on highway. My passengers all felt it. That was two weeks ago and have not felt it since. Thats the extent of the problems and I knew about the transmission unevenness from extensive board reading. So, Im very pleased. Its great for the mountain and city driving I do -- now wishing for a hybrid that gets 40 mpg.

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  Cheap Parts - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ramses - October 9 - 6:47 am

  The price is good on the vehicle but it has a lot of issues. I have had 4 recalls, including one on the engine. A lever in the starter will probably break because it;s made out of plastic. GET READY TO PAY A FORTUNE ON MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS!

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  93000 miles and counting - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Dean from CO - October 9 - 6:36 am

  A fantastic vehicle, never a single problem (except for a software problem that made it stall twice), upkeep is minimal (finally replaced the original tires after 85000 miles), 27+ mpg (even in the city). I cant rave enough about my Sante Fe. Comfortable, fun to drive, reliable, economical, lots of cargo room. Excellant on long trips. I would keep it another 5 years, but have you seen the 2007s?