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:

• 

  Quite a value - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Richard - May 18 - 1:13 pm

  Just got the Limited on 08/11/10. Drove it home from Baton Rouge - about 65 miles. Great driving experience on the highway. Quiet and responsive. Nice interior and instrumentation. I really like the keyless entry and start, the dual climate control, and the Navigation system with XM radio. Of course, the mileage is outstanding. Overall, the car is a "head-turner" and fun to drive.

• 

  Blush still on the rose - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By RuralOwner - May 17 - 11:47 am

  Im still trying to settle in. As a Dodge Ram driver who can no longer afford the gas to commute that way, the Elantra seems a bit on the low side with no place to put my jutting elbows. But the engine is responsive enough and doesnt intrude overmuch in the cabin. Pros: the controls are intelligently layed out and work well, the ride is less harsh than most small cars, and the heater/AC take very little time to get up to speed. Cons: Im having a hard time finding a comfortable seat position, though Im sure Ill eventually get there and and intermittant rattle in the dash is distracting.

• 

  Dont buy this car - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By mvermil - May 17 - 5:40 am

  Ive had this car for only a couple weeks and am in the process of returning it. The ride is extremely rough, to the point that it is physically jarring to the driver. The seats are very uncomfortable, and the steering wheel is at an odd angle (slightly to the left) rather than being straight on to the driver, which, coupled with the rough ride, has caused lower back problems for me (Ive never had back problems before).

• 

  Black leather driver seat backrest wears off. - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jim Schlidt - May 17 - 1:41 am

  We bought this car new with 1700 miles on It. At 2000 miles the leather on the drivers seat backrest was worn off and was white. Cheap material! The dealership looked at it and said that there had to be something wrong with the material and ordered a new seat cover. It came in and they had the upholstery guy install it. The car now has 5300 miles and the seat is doing the same thing. Contacted the dealership and they said "To bad we replaced it once." Filed a case with Hyundai America and after more than a month, a few ugly phone calls and a lot of emails they told us the same thing and that it was the way we got in and out of the car. They said we slid our butts getting in and out! Really? We needed to put the seat all the way back, get in and put the seat back up. If anyone in the world can get in and out of a car without sliding there butt on some part of the seat I will kiss that butt! I am in the process of trying to trade the car. I am 65 and was hoping this would be my retirement car. DO NOT buy a Hyundai with black leather!!

• 

  4th Hyundai - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By Mike - May 16 - 11:49 am

  It`s almost new, but have had two Hyundai and now we have an Elantra and an Accent. No problems with any so far.More for less money than the Toyota Yaris I looked at, Don`t know why I looked at any thing else.Tyler Texas

• 

  Great safe car - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By BillnLee - May 15 - 9:03 pm

  A great little car with all the safety features. Alot of fun to drive with excellent miles per gallon! This car is fun to drive with alot of pick-up and very quiet on the road.

• 

  low expence car great warrenty - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Tim - May 15 - 1:59 pm

  The Car has had a few small problems, Nothing to do wih the engin or any of the mecanics just pieces of the interior comming off,Hyundai fixes with no problems. The car needs more HP badly its very slow off the start and passing Well dont try unless you have a lot of room to get by, its only got a 138 HP engin I believe adding about 40 more HPs would help emensly not to mention it would make it a lot more fun to drive But if youre looking for a good transport vehical its great for that I have the Hatch and with the back seat down you can put a lot of stuff in this little car Ive had it 5 months now and just went in for its 7,500 mile service no big problems as of yet

• 

  Best Car for the Money - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By jac - May 14 - 7:02 pm

  This car is great in every way. I have had all kinds of vehicles and for the money and ride ! Rather have it then a BMW

• 

  My Third Hyundai! Love it! - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By jec377 - May 14 - 11:22 am

  I have owned a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe - it was awesome! I had a 2006 Hyundai Elantra LTD that I sold when I bought the Veloster - it was awesome as well! And Im loving my Veloster so far - going on 6 months now! I wanted one from the moment I saw it on the Hyundai website, and managed to time my purchase just right!

• 

  Best car value I have ever Had - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By b james - May 14 - 10:00 am

  What brought me to this car at first was the warrenty. But all the features that came standard with this car compared to others I was Thinking of buying won me over . I have over 45000 miles With the only repair was the rubber gasket around the sunroof. Fun to drive .