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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  Car on the budget that do what you need - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By TOM - August 27 - 2:03 am

  I had a Kia Sorento EX 2005 and trade it for this little gas saver. I bought the Elantra with 24000 miles on it and now I had put 44000 miles on it without a problem. I had the car for 1 year and still going strong. I was driving 37 miles one way to work and I wasn’t going to deal with the Kia Sorento’s gas usage. So, I started looking for a compact car to save gas money. I started looking at Honda, Toyota and other import brand. After my research I decided to buy the Elantra due to price. I like the car so far, no problem what so ever. It has enough horse power to do what I need and the gas usage is great. I get 26-27 city and 30-33 freeway and mine is a automatic GLS.

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  best car ever - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Jdln18 - August 27 - 2:00 am

  Let me start off with WOW! I recently bought three 04 tiburons. Two black ones that are 6 speeds for my 2 sons which are 16 and 17 yrs old.This car is the best car out there to buy for your kids or yourself. It is very safe and has excellent all around 5 star crash test ratings. This car is very reliable! No problems with hyundai at all ever! Hyundais 10 yr 100k mile warranty is also unbeatable, they actually stick to their warranty and ask no questions at all. If theres something wrong it will be fixed or replaced no questions asked. Insurance is a beautiful thing on these cars cheap

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  Love my new Elantra GT!!! - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By daveandamystites - August 27 - 2:00 am

  Great, responsive car for the money! We got the fully loaded GT w/the sunroof and ABS system for 13,700! The seats may still need breaking in as they are extremely stiff, and the gas mileage should be better for such a small car - my Intrepid gets almost as good of mileage. Overall, very fun car to drive - I love to watch the stereo change colors at night!

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  Great car, great warranty. - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Nicholasha - August 27 - 2:00 am

  V-6 engine is more powerful than I expected. Great warrnty. Great price. Good standard features. Good handling on highways (better than Accord). It is very silent like a Camry. Roomy!

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  Best suv on the market - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By sly-fox53 - August 27 - 2:00 am

  We looked at almost all suvs out there and the Santa Fe was by far the best buy and ride of them all. Best warranty on the market and the lowest price by far. We liked the vehicle so much and the warranty that we bought a Hyundai Elantra GT also. same thing best of everything.

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  good college car for single girls - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By tx - August 26 - 11:42 pm

  very small and cute. good for the price. i got one with ac @ 12200 OTD price. it runs well. smooth and quiet. roomy.

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  Be Real - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By John Williams - August 26 - 10:59 pm

  For the price, warranty, gas per gallon of gas, a consumer cant ask for anything more. 10s all the way across. My wifes first car and it is a perfect investment and a great car to handle for a inexperienced driver. Great job Hyundai!

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  The best SUV - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Krys - August 26 - 10:00 am

  all i can say, honda sucks compared to this beuty

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  Quick Little Econo - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Oz - August 26 - 10:00 am

  This in my opinion is a great car for someone that wants that sports car, but still wants the convenience, price, and reliability of an economy ride. Never had a problem and after a few performance modifications I found this car to be very quick.

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  XG350L-Classy? Sassy? U bet yer chassis! - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By delighted - August 26 - 9:23 am

  I love my XG350L! It’s beautiful, feels solid, goes fast quietly, accelerates quickly, handles predictably and firmly -- yet with a comfortable ride on its heated, power, leather seats, has auto everything and looks and acts like a much more expensive car. I make excuses to go places just to get behind the wheel again! That faux wood looks great and feels wonderful inlaid in the leather-bound steering wheel. Everyone admires the car; this is a Hyundai? Yes! Drive it and judge for yourself.