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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  Big Buck Bang - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tbow - July 27 - 10:00 am

  You want more bang for your buck?? Then youd better get a Santa Fe. Im a tall man and need a little more leg room at the drivers seat. Other than that I love my car.Very very reliable. Not one problem after 14 months of driving.

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  Not a good SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Lighthouse - July 27 - 10:00 am

  After 3 month of buying this SUV I needed a new engine. I have 4wd 6 cyclender and this vechile does not have any power at all.

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  No more GM cars - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Patrick - July 27 - 6:53 am

  After owning five new american cars and having nothing but problems, I decided to buy a foreign car. Many months of review and test drives kept bringing me back to Hyundai.I am so glad that the reputation Hyundai has put behind them as a cheap unreliable car.Only owning the Tucson for a short time ,I am sure with the quality and craftsmanship that went onto building it, I will be happy for years to come.Take note,another company to overtake American cars...Hyundai

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  incredible for the price - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By raybeem01 - July 26 - 7:47 pm

  Extremely well made for the price, runs flawlessly, with effective manuevering excelleration is ausumn when needed. Highway long distance driving, absolutely perfect. Negatives, some of the paneling in the trunk flimsy and easy to knock out of position. Should have cd player instead of tape in the radio system

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  Too good to be true? - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By geni1 - July 26 - 2:03 pm

  Im sad to report that Im having the same transmission issues that others seem to be having and that is rough shifting (a definite "THUMP" into gear) from 1-2 when the engines cold. Has happened on rare occasions from 2-3 and 3-4. Shifting is fine when car is warm up. Just had transmission "reset" by dealer for 2nd time yesterday, but it thumped softly this morning. Bought the car in May & dont think this started until the weather turned cold at night in the fall.

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  Solid Value - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Rebel Engineer - July 26 - 4:46 am

  I was shopping for a replacement for a 98 Accord EX V6 and read Edmunds review of the Sonata shootout with the Accord and Camry, so decided to check this out. I had been aware of Hyundais dismal reviews for earlier models and was very surprised after a drive in the Sonata. The handling of the car is composed and feels secure for family driving (I drive an 03 Infiniti G35 coupe, so I cant call it sporty), power is more than adequate (better than the Honda), and quietness of ride at 75 mph is better than the mentioned Accord or Infiniti. Fit and finish easily match the Accord. MPG thus far (with 3,000 miles): 20 city, 27 highway. Thus far Im very impressed with the Sonata SE.

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  Disappointed in MPG and temp gauge - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Disappointed SDiegan - July 25 - 5:43 pm

  For the most part I love the looks of the car inside and out. It is fun to drive but is a little rough and noisy. Wish they would have put 17 inch wheels instead of 18 on the Limited. Im still waiting for the good mileage to kick in. Dealer says wait for 5K then it will, geez, really? The best Ive had is 24 on freeway going flat and straight. In hind sight I would have paid a little more for a Honda CR-V.

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  watch out for that warranty - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By john o - July 25 - 4:44 pm

  they fail to tell you how much is excluded from the warranty and non warranty repairs are very expensive

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  riding an accent - 1998 Hyundai Accent
  By dumzhit - July 25 - 4:37 pm

  This is the second time I have hyundai, and basically they are worth its value, specially this one. still there are some flaws like in every car. I liked it. its not a powerful car, its more like for a smooth ride, going to the shopping center, or somewhere where you will not be in a rush. it does has space in there, I fitted a lot of things by just pulling the back seat down. the lights are good looking. my point is that the car is worth the money I spent.

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  Whoa - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By In love - July 25 - 10:00 am

  Its never thought Id experience love again, after driving a Camry for 2 years, but this Sonata SE is beyond my expectations. Better city gas mileage then the Camry, better looks, and just the over all feel of the drive. If feel comfortable that I can throw this car into a turn if I have to and not worry about losing control. Word of advice, drive the GLS and the SE, they drive way differently.