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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  Amazing - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By R. Epstein - June 19 - 1:00 am

  I have just had my Genesis since Jan 17/2009. It beats the heck out of my Chrysler 300 (2005) by a mile. I looked at Nissan Maxima, Altima, Lincoln, Buick, Cadillac and they did not even come close. The car is superb.

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  Its Ok, but not a Lexus - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By c mikaya - June 18 - 7:50 am

  I purchase my car in June 07, going down from a Sequoia. The Veracuse reminded me of a Lexus, but a Lexus it aint. The seats in this car have never been as comfortable as my old Sequoia and I find the velor type material difficult to clean. The all wheel drive has been very reliable on my mountainous road, but the mileage is not good and that was the reason I traded my Sequoia in. With that model I was getting 17.8 mpg and with this vehicle its the same or 18 mpg, what a disappointment. Now that I have 55,000 miles on the vehicle the right ball bearing has gone and the latch on the center console broke. I think Hyundai is working on improvement, but I am ready to try something else

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  Hyundai Accent 4 Door - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By Sean ORourke - June 18 - 1:14 am

  This is my second accent and if the other car makers havent seen Hyundai coming they better watch out. The build quality is excellent and rivals a Honda or Toyota. I love this car.

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  this car is a winner - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By doug - June 17 - 7:57 pm

  i just bought this 07 gs car a week ago, the only one they had, black with black interior its an automatic....i can say becouse i have the 98 accent too (gsi), that this new 07 is 5 times the car of the 98, i would recommend this to small car buyers in a flash, and the warranty! yesssssss. they are slow getting the accent to the dealers, but worth the wait!

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  Fun, sporty car - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By EMR - June 17 - 3:33 pm

  I drove this car down the East Coast last week - performed flawlessly. Love the small perks - lumbar support, air filtration system, steering wheel radio controls, etc. Highly recommend - I get tons of compliments (got platinum sage w/ beige leather interior). Totally revamped from 2006 - I would go for 2007, even if it means waiting for the price to drop a bit - the redesign is worth it.

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  the way to go for less - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By bryan ducayne - June 16 - 9:59 pm

  I had to have a reliable and safe car in 2004 to take my wife for her cancer treatments. The sonata filled the bill.

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  Hyundai Rocks - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Freaky - June 16 - 7:31 am

  Test drove NUMEROUS cars - Focus, Fusion, Sentra and Corolla among others, but none of them had the combo of price/features/quality of the Elantra. These things come loaded with every feature youd want: AC, cruise, power everything. The interior is VERY spacious (this is a "compact?") the ride is quiet and smooth, the steering is quick and agile. For under 15k, no one can touch this. Even over 15k its very competetive. This is an outstanding buy and my second Hyundai purchase. Hyundai rocks and as long as it remains reliable Im a Hyundai customer for life.

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  Outstanding Reliability - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Larry Manning - June 16 - 3:13 am

  We purchased out Veracruz Limited in August 2007 and have since driven it for 12000 miles. To date not one screwdriver has touched it. Nothing has been tightened, nothing has been repaired, and nothing has been replaced in the two years of driving. It is the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned in my 65 years of driving experience. I heartily recommend this vehicle to any one that places a high value on reliability. Its excellent design, construction, a 5 year bumper-to-bumper warranty, and 10 year warranty on the drive train makes this vehicle hard to beat in the automotive world.

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  Great car for a great price! - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By mhart - June 16 - 12:43 am

  Watch out Toyota and Honda! Hyundai makes a quality vehicle for an unbeatable price. I got ALL the options on the Tuscon -- leather, sunroof, etc. -- for thousands less than a similarly equipped Rav4 or CRV. Plus, the sporty design of the car makes it look more like a luxury SUV than the typical clunky and square SUVs. I have gotten numerous compliments on this great car. You cant beat the price, warranty and quality of a Hyundai!

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  Sante Fe Proud - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jean Parker - June 15 - 10:33 pm

  We purchased this SUV three months ago. We are completely satisfied. We have only driven Fords for the last thirty years. Would not hesitate to purchase another Hyundai. We like everything about this SUV. It handles like a dream.