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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  My Hyundai :-) - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Buckster60 - July 4 - 10:00 am

  My Atlantra is just a fantastic car, Ifeel I am getting much more vechical then what I paid for, It is well built, Has plenty of Power, Ride is Sporty and secured. Just a great car, and Yes I would buy another one.

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  best vehicle i ever bought - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By DANIEL JACKSON - July 4 - 10:00 am

  THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE BEST VEHICLE I HAVE EVER BOUGHT. THE V6 ENGINE HAS GREAT POWER AND RUNS VERY QUIET. IT IS ALSO A COMFORTABLE RIDE NOT ONLY IN TRAFFIC BUT ON ROAD TRIPS. FUEL ECONOMY IS NOT THE BEST. I GIVE THIS VEHICLE A VERY HIGH RATING OVERALL.

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  Best of its kind - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ipngirl - July 4 - 10:00 am

  Just been into an accident and was protected by cars strong structure. Will buy it again.

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  Great SUV - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Dan - July 4 - 1:00 am

  Having never bought a foreign brand, i was very hesitant. We drove the Veracruz Limited, along with several other brands. I must admit that the car impressed us from the start. We drive several thousand miles per year, have made trips of up to 800 miles in one day. The car continues to impress us. This is absolutely the most vehicle for the money. Drove domestics for 30 years. Last vehicle was an Expedition Eddie Bauer. While smaller, this vehicles quality is every bit as good as the Ford.

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  Hyundai Genesis - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Deborah Nitterhouse - July 3 - 7:20 pm

  The Genesis with the V8 is a kick to drive. It is a very stylish car and the interior is beautiful. Those are the two reasons why I bought it. There are a few kinks that still have to be worked out with mine. After having the tires balanced it is still rough on the interstate. The brakes still screech when I back out of the garage.

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  sonata - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By David - July 3 - 5:10 pm

  I feel this car is a huge value... less money than comparable Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Mitsubishi Galant, and Toyota Camry, but with all the size and features, plus the best warranty and safety ratings. The V4 has plenty of power with better mileage than the V6.

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  Best small car out there - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Silent Wolf - July 2 - 12:11 pm

  Bought this car new with only 13 miles on the odo. Now have logged 11,700 on it. Only had a couple of issues first being wiper blade had hardened and they replaced that free saying " Ya sun exposure tends to do that when blades arent used on the lots. Sorry about that." Second was a cluth slip around 8k but it did it only once and the dealer shop couldnt find any issues. I love the space and the decent performance from the best engine in the small car class. Downside is sacrafised fuel economy. But its alot better than previous cars ive driven. I do have my own plans for the car later in life.

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  Hyundai doesnt mean crappy anymore.... - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Brian Bolan - July 2 - 11:00 am

  Took a gamble, and bought the Sante Fe, after doing alot of research. I was leery knowing Hyundais past. I was surprised at the level of quality and care in making the product. Granted, the leather seats are... well, cheap looking/feeling. Ive enjoyed a trouble free 120K in daily driving since my purchase in 2005. Cant say one bad thing about it; including my mileage, which has ranged from 21 - 24MPGs. Tooling aroud town, it is considerably less, but still for a SUV, not bad at all. HIGHLY Recommend!

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  My first Hyundai - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By volkswaggin - July 2 - 8:50 am

  After recommending a 2006 Sonata to my father-in-law last year, he purchased a GLS instead of a Civic or Accord. He loves his Sonata and averages 23 mpg in town. I just traded my 2004 Envoy SLT XL for a new 2007 Sonata Limited with XM. It rides very smooth, is very quiet, and gets very good gas mileage. I really got a super deal from Hyundai of Decatur. I paid less than $19,000 for my 2007 Sonata Limited! I got over $5000 off of the sticker and they are one of the easiest dealers that I have ever dealt with.

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  Trip to thru the southern states - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By cajim1 - July 1 - 11:46 pm

  The car belongs to my wife, but because it was new, the 2009 Sonata, GLS, 2.4L pezev, 5 Spd auto. This car replaced a 2006 Sonata. It had been a good car but this new car is an excellent ride and many may not believe the gas mileage we obtained. I drove all but 200 miles of our 6000mi trip. I filled each tank and checked the mileage for the entire trip. The total avg MPG was 30.9. Lowest tank MPG was 27.8 the highest MPG was 34.5. Given just a little care on the acceleration...One can easily get 500 Miles out of a full tank of gas. I recorded several in the hi 400s and one at 497mi another at 488. Ride quality is much improved over the 06. We are a two Hyundai car family lovem both...