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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  Surprising pleased! - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Scott - August 2 - 1:12 pm

  Traded in my Dodge Ram and, after the initial regret, am not looking back. A much smoother ride, more than enough comfort & room (both front and back seats), and MUCH better mileage made my transfer from truck to sedan less painful. I debated for a month or so & actually settled on a Kia Spectra, but after comparing optional to standard features & the over all comfort & ride, went with the Elantra. Highly recommend it to anyone looking for a mid-size sedan but not wanting to spend alot of money. My first road trip last week was the test for roominess during a trip. The results: passed with flying colors!

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  Check this car out! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By lcm - August 2 - 2:30 am

  The warranty speaks for itself. More room than Accord, killer V6, great gas mileage and good looks. The Sonata is one the the best affordable sedans I have driven. Take a look at this car!

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  Great Car - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By msh2 - August 1 - 11:24 am

  I have 1,000 miles on mine and it is fun to drive. Averaging 35 mpg. If you want speed dont buy the car, wait for the turbo. Otherwise, it handles great, lots of amenities, looks awesome, and lot of room for a small car. I went from an Acura TL to the Veloster. Miss the TLs hp but love everything else about the Veloster.

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  Nice car for the money - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By brybry - July 31 - 9:30 pm

  Weird for me to say but I have been researching this car for 1 year. It has everything I want such as power everything and cruise is very important. CD now comes standard also. It has 2 years and 24,000 more mile warranty than most others in its class which means nothing out of my pocket for an a/c going out (if it should happen)

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  Awesome Ride - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sonata Boy - July 30 - 6:20 pm

  I look at several brands (you name it) over the last 3 months, the one car I keep coming back to was the Sonata. I did not purchase because of the great price only; it has a lot of standard equipment and quality. Many talk about trade in value, I say remember Honda and Toyota not many wanted one of them in the beginning. You have to give up the ghost and admit this car is awesome to own, drive and be seen in. I have black with black leather and when I am driving I believe it feels like it cost me over 30 grand. Now the good news; averaging 33.8 mpg on the highway and loving it. If this car is not on your list rethink what you are doing before you buy anything.

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  accent - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By kim - July 30 - 4:34 pm

  Good handling, not alot of road noise like in alot of small 4 cylinders. Drove by 6foot 250lb husband for 4 years in confort. Passed to son in 2005. Very few repairs only regular maint. Safety, safety, safety. Was back into by a cement truck once with very little damage. Also, total when my 18 year old son T-boned a ford explorer driven by a 15yr old who ran a stop sign. There were 3 people in the accent, all with only minor scrathes or bumps. My son had back injuries, but nothing the accent could have prevented. The car with stood the impact unbelievablily. The dash, stirring column, glove box, nothing came in on them. This was a 45 mph impact and the car proved capible to with stand.

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  Great family car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By jml - July 30 - 1:43 pm

  We bought this car for the family. I was an Accord owner before and I was looking for something comparable. The wife and I do love to drive this car. We have a couple of teenagers who will soon start driving so I know they will enjoy it as much as we do.

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  I love my Hyundai - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Kim - July 30 - 12:23 pm

  I love my Hyundai Santa Fe, we test drove lots of cars, but for the price and being a 4WD vehicle it fit our budget great. It is probably average on fuel, because before this I drove a Ford Explorer and it was awful (but I loved that truck also). It does have downfalls though, first the turn radius on the Santa Fe in no way compares with the Ford. Also we found out the hard way that you do not have to push in the little button on the gear shift to shift. I was driving 75 down the highway, when my daughter twisted around to get something from the back, and all of a sudden it was driving weird. I looked at the guage and it was in neutral. Scary! So just be careful. Good Luck.

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  Reliable, Stylish and Affordable - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Norm Rendon - July 30 - 7:13 am

  I have really enjoyed everything about my Sonata. I searched for cars for 3 years before I found one that I could fit 3 car seats across the back seat, but didnt look like a mom mobile. It has not needed to be in the shop at all other than regular maintenance. The engine is strong and it stops quickly. The wood grain interior really makes for an adult classy business look. It handles really well also. Bottom line it is a great car for the price. I prefer it to the Ford 500 and the Honda Accord.

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  You get what you buy - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By ajnsh - July 30 - 4:55 am

  This car is beautiful on the outside. It will definitely get you noticed on the road.I got it a few weeks ago and was very excited about it. But not even a few days later my car developed turbo waste gate actuator rattle. This was a known problem in previous generation 2.0t and it wasnt redesigned or fixed. Hyundai just said that this is a normal characteristic of this car. If it rattles like a trash can, would it be normal? It sounds like a lose heat shield and you can hear it at acceleration and even at higher rpms. Deal wasnt able to do anything about it, so I am waiting until my next maintenance and see if it goes away. If not I will have them replace the whole waste gate/turbo.