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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  I love my Hyundai! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Misty - September 20 - 11:11 pm

  My husband and I have owned many cars from compact cars to SUVs, thus far my Hyundai Sonata has been my absolute favorite! It rides so smoothly and it has excellent safety features. It has maintained mechanical stability since day one. I recently had to purchase a new SUV in order to have more room for additional children, but I still love to take my Hyundai anytime the children are not with me! I highly reccommend this car!

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  First Hyundai - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Ron L - September 20 - 7:20 pm

  I am a long-time dedicated American car owner. This time after dissatisfaction with the American choices available I reluctantly begun to shop foreign cars. a friend suggested taking a look at the Hyundai Genesis. My first look was at a 3.8 and although impressed was not sold. When a 4.6 hit the lot I was done! This is a surprising car with the amount of interior and trunk space, ride, and quality of engineering. If Korean automakers can do it so much better than our domestic models, it is no wonder we are having to bail out our own companies.

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  Piece of crap - 1996 Hyundai Accent
  By ptlytch07 - September 20 - 3:05 pm

  This car is a complete piece of junk. I purchased this vehicle from a private seller and it had 103,000 miles on it. It seemed to be in great shape and run good, but after only a few hundred miles its true colors began to show. The engine finally blew and I replaced it with another identical engine from a junkyard car and had the exact same problems. I was fortunate enough to sell the car while it was actually running. I have had many cars in my lifetime and this was probably the biggest piece of crap of all time! Dont even think about buying one!

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  Genesis for a Genesis - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By PhilB - September 20 - 6:26 am

  My company name- Genesis, so my wife kept suggesting that I buy... a Genesis. For the fun of it, we did a test drive and fell in love. The dealership was sensitive to the upscale nature of the car and us being informed buyers. It has been BIG fun so far with the head turns (there are only 3-4 in Tyler TX (our home) so far. And we are adding all of the wings extras to personalize it from KAI. The trim is the premium plus with the technology package. We wanted the V8, but.. they cant keep them on the lot! I was ok with the power of the V6, but missed some of the trim that is only available on the V8. BUT, were adding most back in. LOVE it!

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  Lots of Bang for a Buck - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Don in San Jose - September 20 - 4:50 am

  Driven AWD SE for 6 month, 6000 miles. Ownership experience has been great with no problems. Before purchase, did a lot of magazine and internet research. Except for expensive luxury SUVs, test drove all small and mid-size SUVs on same road course, with mix of freeway and hilly, curvy streets and surface streets purposely with rough pavement and potholes. For drivability and comfort, narrowed choice down to Santa Fe, Nissan, Acura and Ford Edge. After negotiating price, Santa Fe blew the others away. For SUV, drives well on freeways and mountain roads. Very smooth, quiet and comfortable ride. Seats are comfortable. Mileage in-town around 18; highway 19-20.

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  Best deal for the money - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By VictorK - September 20 - 12:03 am

  Im extremely happy with my Elantra. So much that Im considering getting another Hyundai. When I got it I compared it to all its competitors and the fact that A/C, power windows, power and heated mirrors and keyless entry come standard made it the best deal. Also - it comes with Michelin tires!

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  Great job but needs better packaging - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By RAS - September 19 - 12:46 pm

  This car is a head above its competition and has now set the bench mark. I am disappointed that the 6 speed manual is designated to the low bucks crowd. No reason for not being able to get a power sunroof and alloy wheels as a factory option on the GLS or make the 6 speed available on the SE. Other than this packaging issue Hyundai has done a great job with this car.

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  What a gas - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Eric - September 18 - 6:53 pm

  I have had my Elantra for 11,000 miles and are very pleased with performance. Especially fuel. Dont understand some other complaints on Edmunds about gas mileage as I get 36-37 on the open road. Went to Vermont and did almost 500 miles and still had just under 1/4 tank left. I have had trouble with rotor noise that the dealer fixed but now its back.

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  Worst car ever !!! - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By floridagal - September 18 - 5:11 pm

  I purchased my hyundia elantra GLS only 4 months ago and I am looking to unload this car fast, it handles really poorly. Have to floor it to get it up to 20mph and from there it speeds up to 50 by hardly touching the gas. The gas pedal has a very soft and loose feel to it, and I dont feel I have any control over this car. My previous 1999 corolla handled much better than this. The car looks nice for the money but was not worth buying as I dont feel safe nor enjoy driving it.

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  Very Impressed - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Adam Rahman - September 18 - 4:43 pm

  This vehicle is a perfect all around car. I think now Hyundai is on the right course to be one of the best car makers in the world.