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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  Excellent car, but bad fuel economy - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By MRP - September 26 - 12:29 am

  Bought the car new trying to same some money. The car comes loaded with a reasonable price comparing with a Toyota Corolla. But then I realized that my car was doing pretty bad for fuel economy inside the city (between 14-16 mpg). I went to the dealer 3 times and the last time I was able to speak with the regional maganger and his answer was... "you buy what buy"... there is nothing we can do to improve the mpg... my answer to him was... "you just lost a customer".

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  Im disappointed!! - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By jean - September 25 - 12:07 pm

  i bought this car brand new.had no problems with it. bought another car and gave it to my daughter 1.5 yrs ago. she had the tires changed and found a huge hole in the subframe rusted from the inside out. the car has 106000 miles and Hyundai will not fix it. i have never heard of a 6 year old car frame rusting through in half. my daugher could have been killed. i trusted my Hyundai. it is definitely a faulty parts problem.

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  3rd Santa Fe. Second 2007 Santa Fe - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Marty Ce - September 25 - 11:41 am

  Try and make sure that all recalls are taken care of before you purchase. Also, even though there has not been a recall. Look into whether or not the fuel sending units have been replaced. In some states they will cause your car to fail inspection. Repair at a reputable shop is not terribly expensive. We have owned 5 Hyundais since 99 An Accent, Elantra, 06 Santa F and 2 07 Santa Fes. 1st one was totalled and I loved it so much I bought another. Not the cars fault it has high mileage (138k now) and needs repairs. But repairs have been things that a car with this mileage needs. ie wheel bearings, brakes, the afore mentioned fuel sending units. Engine still runs well. Transmission is tight. Heated seats and sun roof are tremendous.

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  Why am I addicted to this car?? - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By mam - September 25 - 2:00 am

  I love this car. I have had numerous problems and I cant figure out for the life of me why I still love it. Having said that let me talk about all the problems: faulty seatbelt and radio recalled, 7 bad headlamps in first year, passenger window stopped/started working, bad relay on fan blower, dead battery at 40K, new battery dead at 42K. I think there is a fundamental electrical problem, but 4 dealers cant find anything. So why am I addicted to this car?? I cant explain it. But I would buy it again still. go figure...

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  GREAT - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By CARDRIVER - September 25 - 2:00 am

  great car! what else can I say?

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  Most bang for the buck! - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Mike St.Clair - September 24 - 1:26 am

  Ok, first off, Ive had way too many cars. Between my wife and me, weve owned 41 cars since 1994. I think Im qualified to say this Hyundai Elantra GT is one of the best driving compact cars Ive ever driven or owned. The leather interior is very comfortable and was made to last. Very nice leather steering wheel and shifter. The ride is 10 out of 10. No other compact car with a sporting attitude even comes close. I average 27.5 city and recently observed 30+ at 80mph+ with the ac on. Great headlights, awesome brakes, very good handling, and way more roomy inside than others. The Focus, Neon, Civic, and Mazda3 should take some notes. The 3 is overrated IMHO>

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  After 5,000 kms, this car is as close to perfect as.. - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By cnauta - September 23 - 8:01 pm

  It has been 3 mos. and 5,000 kms of pure excitement for me as I have put this car through everything imaginable. The mileage is amazing, about 47 MPG (Canadian) on the highways, in the city I get about 31 MPG (Canadian). The vehicle is quiet unless under hard acceleration. This is one of the smoothest cars I have ever owned and there is not even a glitch of a problem to be found on this vehicle. If you get one, get it fully loaded with the Turbo !

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  Great value - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By howies - September 21 - 2:25 pm

  You get a great value compared to other cars in its class (e.g. Camry, Accord). Especially since what comes standard on this car will cost you a lot more elsewhere. Reliability rating for this Sonata generation was a big plus as well. Would be nice if Hyundai cars wasnt tethered to XM radio (initial trial period) but offered a free HD radio instead. The Bluelink (like OnStar) are also subscription-happy offers that I will never take and a waste of technology on my car. Other automobile companies do the same thing so this is a general industry trend I despise.

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  Fun ride - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Jay - September 21 - 1:16 pm

  I was a big hater when it came to Hyundai until gas went through the roof, and then I decided to trade in my Wrangler in for the Tiburon. And I have to say it is an awesome car. The acceleration is awesome even with it being an automatic. It handles great and the interior is sweet. And if you put in an after market stereo (head unit,subs and an amp) WOW! I have two tens and an 800 watt amp and with the infinity system it is mind blowing. And the gas mileage is pretty good, around 26 mpg. All and all this is a great car.

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  outstanding car - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jackie - September 21 - 12:00 am

  I never really liked Hyundais but took one out for a test drive and fell in love..It is fun to drive and the dealorship bent over backwards to make the deal work. Exceptional Quality and very good price