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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  Santa Fe - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Frank - November 17 - 12:06 pm

  Great Buy for the money

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  Rogers Raves - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Roger - November 16 - 5:33 pm

  I was looking at the Honda Accord V-6 & the Saturn Aura V-6. Then I went to the L. A. Auto Show. What a learning experience! I saw the Hyundai Exhibit and the new Genesis. I went home did some homework on the internet. The next thing Im test driving the 3.8. I say to the sales man, lets talk numbers, we walk in to the show room, there it is, Cabernet Pearl, Cashmere Interior, and the Premium Package, with a big red bow on the hood. The price was perfect, the dealership extremely friendly, generous, personable. It;s been 3 1/2 months, 4,000 miles and I LOVE MY GENESIS. I know its not American, but it beats anything on the market today.

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  Best Car Ever - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Margaret McMillan - November 15 - 10:06 pm

  My Tucson is the best car I have ever owned. I went to a car show to check out the Escape and on the way saw the Tucson, I went to every small SUV display and kept coming back the the Tucson. Im very, very happy with everything about it. Its all I could ask for.

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  Hyundai Sonata Hybrid redefines Luxury - 2017 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Dennis - November 15 - 6:33 am

  Hyundai Sonata Hybrid We were owners of 2 Hyundai Elantras and have had zero problems with them and so when the 8 year old got totaled in a crash we decided to go Hybrid for our next car. We had hoped to wait 2 years and go Hybrid with a small SUV but none out there getting the MPG’s yet. So we went shopping. Honda Accord Hybrid had the best MPG’s but no trunk—really no trunk so if you want it exclusively for around town—well even then why buy it—go electric. The same was true with the Ford Fusion. Both companies sacrifice trunk space to fit the battery in and render the car impossible for long family trips. Bigger Hybrid cars had $$$ and were not dealing. We wanted to look at Hyundai’s cousin the Kia Optima Hybrid but they were selling fast and not discounting. So we settled on the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. Both companies got into a bidding war for our bucks and this was a boost for us. We got steep discounts and thanks to Edmonds and Consumer Reports we knew the real starting point. Edmunds makes it great because the dealerships knew the price you got and thus took off from there. What surprised us with both car companies was that the price continued to drop! Both cars are a nice drive and because we wanted all the latest safety features we were hitting the top of the line Limited Editions for both cars. Thus both came fully loaded. The Sonata had a quieter ride, faster pickup, a huge trunk, and both rear seats fold down for added space. Both were equal in safety features but Sonata added the little things like a door handle light that comes on as you approach the car. The interior was way more luxurious with leather along the side doors as well! We also got lucky this year as Hyundai gets to make Genesis their Lexus/Infiniti Luxury car company, thus Sonata now becomes the top of the line car and is decked out that way. Simply put you get a whole lot more car for your money. My friend who drives a Lexus found my Sonata Hybrid a quieter ride! My 1,000 mile review. The 8 way and 6 way power front seats are the best I’ve ever sat in and they are both cooled and heated! The headrest fits us both perfectly and this rarely happens. We are in love with the memory seats. The driver seat settings are set for us both and switch at the push of a button adjusting not only the seat but the mirrors! Oh, and the mirrors on both sides dip down slightly when you put it in reverse so you can see the lines in the road! Just too many features to name here but what you get IS more than the competition. Two things I must note. The side mirrors are the absolute best in any sedan. I can see 2 lanes –either side and of course it comes with the blinder yellow caution lights in the mirrors on both sides. Rear view mirror is also amazing in that it gives you a near complete view with the smallest blind side and auto darkening at night is very cool. The footprint and ride of this car is amazing but there is very little that we notice going from electric engine to gas—smooth and the regenerative breaks are hardly noticeable too! Finally by the numbers—at 1,000 miles we surpass easily the 38 city—getting 40+ most trips, combined is slightly higher too at 43 and highway runs 46-48. The center dash screen is huge and does so much I have yet to get thru it all but the smaller screen for the driver—centered above the steering wheel can tell you how you are doing in ECO mode and this gentle reminder really helps. BUT—stomp on the gas of the Sonata Hybrid to go and it takes off because Hyundai did something real cool by joining the electric with the gas engine—having both run to give you a huge boost in horses without eating up a lot of gas! Nice. I’ll update you again at 5 and 10 thousand miles.

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  Great Choice - Bought on reference only! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By JH - November 15 - 6:30 am

  I purchased this automobile based on referral only. I knew several friends and family members that owned Santa Fes and also friends and family that owned Hyundais in general. All reviews were good. I didnt even test drive the car at that point. I picked one out of the lot and asked to have it ready by the end of the day. Almost 2 years to that day later, I dont regret my choice one bit. Its perfect for a single person who likes to be the "designated driver" with friends as well as a great car for a small family. Drives just as good at 110mph as it does at 40mph. I often offer to let others test drive if theyre looking for a vehicle in that category. Great car in any weather!!

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  A great automobile at a great price. - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By donmc1 - November 15 - 5:40 am

  This is a handsome quality vehicle, well-appointed inside, possessing every safety feature I was looking for, at a remarkably low price and with an exceptionally robust warranty. The 4 cylinder has plenty of power and is quiet while cruising at 75 mph. Mileage is somewhat disappointing in the city and is not particulary great on the highway, considering its a four. In a nutshell, hats off to Hyundai for bringing this great car to the American market.

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  Very nice - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By D - November 15 - 1:53 am

  We bought this model 11/2005. It is one solid car. We live near White Mountain, NH. It drives well with winter weather of New Hampshire! Never thought of buying Hyundai before, but we might even buy more Hyundais car in the future.

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  First Hyundai - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Hany k. - November 14 - 3:00 pm

  I wanted to trade in my 2011 Kia optima which had 97000 and not one problem. The only thing I did was fill with gas, change the oil every 5000 miles and buy one new set of tires. I took a civic ex home one night for a test drive And did the same with an elantra se with popular and tech packages. The civic was nice and the dealer was very easy to work with but the civic just didnt fit me right. I could not get in a comfortable position. It was a great car and the CVT wasnt bad. How can they make a car without xm though? There are no incentives on the civic and the dealer can only discount so much when they are selling like hotcakes. I went back to Hyundai to drive a limited with no extra packages. I knew I had found my next car. It has everything I need and want and nothing I dont. The ride is so smooth and quiet. Very impressive. The six speed transmission is really nice. They say the power is "lacking" but I think what that means is that the mazda 3 has more power. This is a compact car. The power is more the adequate. I ended up getting around 3800 off sticker plus .9 for 60. I felt this was a really good deal. This car is not selling well so the dealer has to be aggressive. I would highly recommend you test drive his vehicle before buying another.

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  Strong Looking Vehicle - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By John - November 14 - 9:03 am

  I just made it to 1,200 miles for the proper break in period. The Santa Fe has performed better than I expected, and I am averaging 20 mpg.It is great fun to drive. I get compliments from eveybody I know.I am suprised that every one thinks I bought a Lexus SUV. Congratulatios Hyundai!

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  Nice looking zippy car - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By STEVEN - November 14 - 5:50 am

  This car is a very nice realiable car for a sport compact. The design of the car is definitely a head turner. I of course have young kids coming up to me asking me about it but what I thought was weird is that older men in their 50s or later seem to be interested in this lil car. I guess it does make a good mid life crisis car that is very affordable at around 22 grand for the SE six speed model that i have. It gets what it says it gets and that is 26mpg. It is a zippy lil car but i would be happier for the v6 to be putting out more like 230 hp instead of the week 172. I guess its easier to honor that 10 year 100,000 mile drive train warranty that way. Anyway its a very good car for the cash