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:

• 

  Nice car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Haidong - August 13 - 2:00 am

  Nice car with its price and features

• 

  Kinda Bought it on Impulse - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By albragg - August 12 - 8:56 pm

  The dealer called up and said they had one in stock we could look at. (They couldnt keep them in stock in 2012.) We are glad we ended up buying it. Its been a good car. No big problems. We did put on a set of tires after about 28,000 miles. Its fun to drive and the visibility and headlights are pretty good. Its OK in snow, but its a lot better with all weather tires. We have a sunroof which came with the deal, but we seldom use it. Our grand kids think it has a good design (How about that!). The only thing I would change is the low profile tires. They look great, but I would just as soon have regular tires. Thats not a big deal though. It get about 30 miles per gallon, which is a little less than Hyundai predicted, but is fine with us. We are pleased with this car.

• 

  Fun economical car!!! - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Dagalorn - August 12 - 8:23 pm

  This car has what you need and nothing that you dont! If you are looking for an high quality, well made economical, fun to drive vehicle...the Accent is what you want. I love it!!

• 

  Rain - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Steve - August 10 - 10:33 pm

  Absolutely amazed with the quality of this beast. 4000 miles no rattles no problems. Couple of complaints minor - dont crack the windows in the rain --you will get wet -- the elbow padding could be better -- and the electric steering - I seem to be chasing it alot to keep it straight. 32.7 ave mpg 80 miles a day highway 5 city. Pretty good not as good as my civic but much more comfortable.

• 

  Surprise - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By zuberi - August 10 - 3:23 pm

  I needed a car because my Lincoln died. This car was the right price and had some features I have become accustomed to having. I am surprised that it is handling well, feels comfortable, looks good, get stares from people who cant believe it is a Hyundai. I am also surprised the editors gave it such a bad rating. I have driven many cars on extended road trips and have owned Lincolns, Volvo 850, Accords; and this car ranks well among them. The Crystler 500M was the most fun to drive, the Subaru XT6 was second and this is third. Quality is along the lines of the Avalon. I drive my cars hard and it is keeping pace with me with no troubles yet (knock on wood) and I have nearly 40,000 miles.

• 

  GREAT CAR - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By LEWIS - August 10 - 1:44 pm

  i have owned this car for 18 months and it is exceptional.. consistently gets 34-35 mpg with a/c running all the time... hard on bumps and slow take-off but thats the trade off for great milage..have not had one thing wrong that required me take the car back to the dealer...

• 

  PAINT CHIPS VERY FAST - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By b f - August 10 - 5:39 am

  This is my very first car. I love it except the paint is already chiping and I have it only 5 weeks. was told to buy touch up paint and get a sealant. As per gas it is great.

• 

  my tiburon - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By tiburon gt - August 9 - 11:46 pm

  this car is the most fun ive ever had with a new car .drives great, greatperformance.

• 

  Very Happy - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By elantragtlover - August 9 - 11:09 pm

  I bought my Hyundai Elantra GT 11 days ago. I went from driving a huge 8 cylinder SUV to this small hatchback. I dont even miss my truck! I am thrilled every time I fill it up. I is half the price to fill and the gas lasts twice as long. The Elantra GT is exactly what I was looking for. It is fun to drive with plenty of room for all of my things. The sixty/forty split back seat allows for larger things to pass through than in the Elantra sedan. I am having a blast driving this cute little "zippy" car. I highly recommend it to anyone.

• 

  Tiburon is FUN! - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By John Kluge - August 9 - 5:13 pm

  The car handles well. It compares to a 1988 300Z that I bought new. The GS that I bought has only the 2.0 4cyl, but is spunky enough to be a blast. I decided to cut costs by getting the small engine at lower initial cost and better fuel mileage. I do not regret that decision