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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  Buy it! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By SG - June 23 - 10:00 am

  We have received so many compliments about our purchase, and we love to drive it! Performance is excellent, especially the fuel efficiency. The design competes with all the luxury cars hands down.

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  Quality! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Nana Golfs - June 23 - 10:00 am

  I was bowled over by the look of this car. I havent had a "car" since my 1992 Cad Eldorado. Have had 3 mini vans & traded in a Scion XB. Wanted to get a new vehicle, thought about a small suv. The Scion was OK, but not comfortable for my husband. This Sonata is beautiful & has the feel of a much more expensive car. It also has lots of pep. The trunk is spacious. I always have a cart & large golf bag in it. My husbands bag fits in also. Im getting about 28 mpg, as good or better then I got with the Scion, with a lot more comfort & good looks. Cant say enough about how much I love it.

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  Love my Elantra - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Krista_L - June 22 - 10:06 pm

  I love my new Elantra. I went from driving a 92 tercel to this car, and the difference is astounding even though I got the base model. Its extremely comfortable, and so much nicer looking than the price suggests it should be. People have told me that it looks like a Saab or even a small jaguar.

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  Dream Machine - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By clayman100 - June 22 - 8:13 pm

  I really love my Sonata, turbo. It is very stylish and gets great mileage. I drive to the Jersey coast during the summer, its a flat, straight drive at 65 MPH standard which means everyone drives at 75. I can get 37 MPG at 70 MPH in cruise control. Ive checked this a half dozen times already. Im positive this will improve with a K&N air filter. Its very responsive, can hardly hold it back. I thought Im really going to get in trouble speeding on I-95 with this car but so far I lucked out. Love the price and warranty. Last car was a 07 Tucson which I also liked but not the mileage. Owned it a year now and no problems. Two thumbs up and a smile.

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  Best CUV out there right now. - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Michael Rife - June 22 - 3:40 pm

  So let me start this review off by saying that any of the less than perfect reviews you see on here are people that didnt know what they were getting into when they made their purchase. If you arent used to a turbo charged engine then you will need to learn how to drive the car to minimize turbo lag. And if you arent used to a Dual Clutch Transmission then you will need to get used to that too. Several of the reviews that I read were people saying that the car felt weird or when you stepped on the gas the power wasnt immediately available. That isnt the cars fault, that is your fault for not knowing what you were purchasing. That being said, I come from a family that has only bought Toyota/Lexus and would have never considered purchasing a Hyundai. I had lived in Korea for a few years and had seen their quality go up but still figured that I would stick with Toyota no matter what. After doing a lot of research, going on several test drives, and realizing that we would probably only have this car for about 5 years, we decided to go with the Limited Tuscon with all the bells and whistles and AWD. It is zippy, quiet to drive in, handles amazingly, and is super super comfortable. My wife is in love with it. The quality and attention to detail is awesome and it is plenty big for us to take our two golden retrievers and all our gear for camping out on adventures. The all wheel drive works amazingly and we have been in very deep snow with it even just with the stock tires on 19" rims. So, for those that know what they are getting into with a turbo charged vehicle with a dual clutch transmission, you will love this car. It is so much better looking than every other CUV out there and is fun to drive and still gets 27 mpg combined. And thats with me almost burning rubber at every stop light because I love the little turbo so much. It feels like a luxury car and everything is extremely easy to use. The only thing I think it is missing is a memory function for the seats but I cant complain when we got so many other things for the price (blind spot monitoring, ventilated seats, panoramic sunroof, rear seat warmers). Bottom line. We love this car. It might be the only car that I love as much as my 4Runner. If you want a great CUV then go with the Tuscon and you wont be disappointed.

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  nice car with lots of room! - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By clintondee - June 22 - 2:00 am

  The Accent really delivers a high quality ride and a very nice interior package for a very attractive price. The 1.6 liter engine runs great and the tranny shifts well, some downshifting is noted on low speed turns though. The hatchback design is fantastic and the room in the car is really surprising for such a small car. The Accent comfortably holds 4 adults with room for their luggage.

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  Simply impressed - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By LUIS T - June 21 - 6:26 pm

  This is my 2nd Hyundai. the first one was a 2004 Santa Fe V-6 3.8 , excellent Vehicle. i traded it for a 2008 Jeep wrangler, i still regret it; not that the Jeep is a bad car but Chrysler cheap manufacturing process and Dealers that dont know what they are doing ruined a great product. So i am back to Hyundai. the Tucson is fast, quite silent and very well build.its electric power steering is amazing , the suspension is firm but comfy. the interior is very functional, there is quality everywhere. the paint job is really beautiful; looks like a more expensive car. Gas mileage is 22 in city and around 27 in highway driving.

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  2008 Hyundai Santa Fe Car review - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By santa fe - June 20 - 9:36 pm

  I have only had the car for 30 days thus I need more time to see how things work in the long term. I am very impressed with the ride and the handling of the car thus far. I have only driven around town but seem to be getting 22 MPG in town. I am much impressed with the car so far. The radio and Infinity sound system are the best part of the car. I have had many compliments on the car in general from other people.

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  Fabulous Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By jetstar88 - June 20 - 9:14 am

  I was initially undecided on whether to buy the Sonata or its sister, the Kia Optima. Kia also had an impressive exterior. The interior did not impress me at all. (Dash & console) I believe Hyundai just has better resale value to. I viewed the base auto GLS but had to add a few options, such as power seat, alloy wheels. Along with Bluetooth on the steering wheel. Ive owned close to 20 cars in my life. Including a brand new 89 Sonata. This car is the most luxurious and well appointed vehicle I have owned and for the least money.

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  XG350L - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Kazorm - June 19 - 3:36 am

  Excellent price- much more car for your money without the hype of other so called more established makes that are so overpriced.