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:

• 

  Good Car - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rick G. - June 4 - 7:10 am

  With 10 months of ownership/23,000 on the odometer (yes, its quite a commute), car has done everything weve expected. Avging 35 mpg on the highway. Not shabby. Sufficient get up and go for merging/hwy passing. Outside of oil changes and the suggested 15k "checkup", car has not seen the dealership for anything other than the passenger seat recall (15 minute visit for recalibration). IOW, initial quality has been exceptional. Originally was crossing my fingers on this Korean product and hoping for the best (Had my doubts but the discounted pricing in comparison to the Japanese products reflected this) but Hyundai has dispelled these misgivings. Highly suggest car if "value" is high on list.

• 

  Winner! - 2010 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Beat out all others - June 4 - 4:23 am

  I bought the Vera Cruz after driving several other vehicles. I was stuck on getting a Toyota 4-Runner or Highlander Limited. I did not think to try a Hyundai because I never owned one before but I decided I would be cheating myself if I did not at least look. I am glad I did, I would have cheated myself big time if I bought the Toyota! The Vera Cruz wins! The number of options you get for the $$$ is awesome, also the performance and comfort. It even has a cooling center console! It is worth the look people. It will be the last SUV you test drive so save your time and forget the pretentious SUV status symbols. You get the best warranty, options, performance, and save THOUSANDS!

• 

  sohappy - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By 1stnewcar - June 3 - 8:33 pm

  I have 1500 miles so far my 1st new car as been flawless.

• 

  So far, so good! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By JohnG - June 3 - 4:36 pm

  With just about 9000 miles, my Sonata is running with no problems. The fuel economy has been as expected (I usually average 28 mpg per tank). Although some say its a "Lexus-like" ride, Id say thats a bit of a stretch. The interior (especially the center console) looks great and the amount of standard features really won me over. The 4-cylinder engine does run a bit rough on cold days but usually is docile unless its really pushed. The transmission does tend to upshift quickly on the automatic (I believe in order to give better fuel economy). So far I dont hear any rattles in my car. I hope to keep the Sonata for a long time, especially because of the great warranty.

• 

  My Elantra GT is awesome - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By CaliforniaGuy - June 3 - 7:36 am

  I have had the car for 3 months. I like it, lots of features, ride well.

• 

  Great utility and performance - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Matt - June 2 - 10:10 pm

  Ive logged about 7,000 miles on my Touring, and Ive got nothing but praise for it. The cargo area allows me to comfortably transport two dogs (one large, the other medium sized). Despite the abundant cargo space, the car still feels small and handles like the sport-tuned compact hatch it is. Build quality is very tight just like the past two Hyundais Ive owned. Acceleration is surprisingly satisfactory with the MT given the engines horsepower rating and aged design. The best part of the deal is that I am getting consistently above the published mileage ratings. With the cruise control set at 70mph I push 33.5-34 mpg on an 1.5 hour trip, and at 76mpg I get 32-32.5mpg. Great car!

• 

  Verdict is still out - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Loradora - June 2 - 12:16 pm

  Since buying this car in July, it has been in the shop 3 times for a thunk in the front end--which they are replacing parts, but its still there and now I am dealing with an odor in the car that smells like BO (body odor). There are issues with this car and right now I am not a happy Hyundai owner. I would hold off buying a 2009 until they figure out some issues with the car. This is a brand new car, should not be in the shop already.

• 

  Great Car For the Family - 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Michael - June 2 - 4:19 am

  We have only owned this car for a few weeks but this is a great car for a family their is room for at least 5 and the back seat has leg room for taller people as well as giving the ones in front leg room. The gas mileage is great and the comfort on this car is nice.

• 

  Tiburon Review - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Rock38 - June 2 - 2:00 am

  Everything expected and more from Hyundia.

• 

  I LOVE MY HYUNDAI - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Josi Martel - June 2 - 2:00 am

  HYUNDAI IS FAIRLY NEW TO THE MARKET AND I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THIS. WE BOUGHT IT BECAUSE OF THE SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS VS. THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF FEATURES. IT TURNED OUT TO BE A FABULOUS VALUE FOR A FABULOUS CAR. WE HAD A LOT OF ICE AND SNOW ON CAPE COD THIS WINTER AND I DID NOT SLIP EVEN ONCE IN SPITE OF BEING OUT IN ONE OF THE WORST SNOW AND ICE AND STORMS ON THE CAPE IN YEARS. THE DAY I PICKED IT UP IT WAS ALSO SNOW AND ICE ALL THE WAY HOME. MY HUSBAND WAS FOLLOWING ME IN A 300SDL MERCEDES WHICH WAS SLIPPING, WHILE MY NEW HYUNDAI WAS NOT.