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:

• 

  Excellent car - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By dchhill - February 6 - 8:30 am

  Excellent interior fun to drive also the room makes it all the more attractive. Steering control not as good as my previous car, Altima.

• 

  A Grand Slam - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bob M. - February 6 - 8:00 am

  I was waiting for the Azera to come to market, but needed to buy an automobile immediately. This LX is above belief. I dont know how Hyundai does it. It looks similiar to the Accord, but $4,500 less. It has most of the bells and whistles that are found in vehicles costing thousands more. I know that in the past Hyundais dont hold their resale value, but I think this is about to change.

• 

  Hartmacs Tucson - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By HARTMAC - February 5 - 7:20 pm

  Fun, sporty and reliable! I love my SUV!

• 

  Fun to Drive - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Nancy - February 5 - 2:56 pm

  I couldnt really afford the Accord I wanted and the Civic was just too squaty looking. I saw an article in the paper about the Tiburon and Hyundai and was sold. It had the sunroof and 6- disc changer the I was looking for. It is a great car and I love to drive it.

• 

  Love it. - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By themomma - February 5 - 2:50 pm

  After much research, and test driving a Ford Escape, I decided my give up my fully loaded Expedition for this sweet little ride. Compared to the Escape, the Tucson is a better ride, better interior design (no need to dismantle back seats to fold them down), it looks more expensive especially the interior, gets better gas mileage, a better warranty (plus road side assistance for 5 years), seats are more comfortable, and it has ample leg room for backseat passengers. What kept me with Fords for the last 3 car purchases was the keyless touch pad on the door, my all time favorite feature, however I will just have to learn to take my keys out of my purse before getting in the car.

• 

  Love My - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By OrlandoMan - February 5 - 10:00 am

  Did a LOT of reseach and the Santa Fe is the BEST value for the money! Only had it a month and no problems. Its fun to drive and doest cost an arm & a leg!

• 

  Luv my Sante Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By msmomof2 - February 5 - 10:00 am

  Very spunky V6. My husband loves the speed shift feature. Theres some wind noise from the sunroof but its tolerable. Plenty of cargo room. Lots of extras (leather, 6 disc player, auto A/C, sunroof) for the money. Great gas mileage (app 22 mpg in city - and I have a heavy foot)!!

• 

  3.5L engine makes it happen - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By T Pres - February 5 - 10:00 am

  The 3.5L engine gives this vehicle the only thing that was missing when comparing to other SUVs. With a price out the door with taxes at $25,000, its a steal. No other SUV can match that price with all the extra features that are included in the price.

• 

  Sucha deal!!! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By movaldes - February 4 - 5:23 am

  Honestly, Ive only had this car a few days but I truly love it. We got an LX in Golden Beige and it is beautiful. The engine is quiet and responsive. And the deal I got after having 2 dealers fight for my business made my decision even easier. Im leasing it for 27months but with the warranty being offered by Hyundai, Im seriously considering buying this car at lease end.

• 

  Got What I Wanted. - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By movalncal - February 3 - 2:00 am

  I drove the 4 banger 1999 Sonata and decided to buy the 1999 GLS V6. Its quirky, reliable, and still fun to drive some 5 years later. EARLY in life it did go back to the dealer for warranty repairs (including a replacement transmission shipped in from Korea in 2000) but its still going. The only negative experience was with the dealer --what some dealers want for the car makes it more than lesser Accords. Play hardball.