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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  WAY TO MUCH BANG FOR THE BUCK - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By chris - April 21 - 2:54 am

  I purchased this car because of the rising gas prices. I could not afford to drive my Chevy Silverado. I was nervous, because of Hyundais poor quality in the past. I believe now this now probably one of the best investments ever. I now have over 70000k on this WITH NO PROBLEMS EVER, NOT EVEN A RATTLE! I cant wait until they make pickup-Ill be the first in- line.

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  A Sleeper Car for sure! - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Randolphjo - April 21 - 2:46 am

  When enough people find out about the Tiburon and drive one, Im sure Hyundai could raise the price of this car by $5,000 - possibly more. The car looks like a $30,000 to $35,000 vehicle. I believe that because Korean cars have had a bad reputation in the past that Hyundai is selling this vehicle for thousands of dollars less than a well established auto manufacturer could get for this car. I cant think of a single thing wrong with this vehicle at the price it sells for. I test drove many other cars in the Tiburons price range before purchasing the Tiburon. Im talking about the 2007 Tiburon GT specifically. The car is too much fun to drive, never fails to turn heads! WOW!

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  Tiburon review - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Sully64 - April 21 - 2:00 am

  The car is sleek, fun, and wants to run! There are times while Im driving many people turn their heads and look twice. When people glance at the car they dont know what to think! People have asked who makes that sports car? It stands out and with the V6 6 speed trying to keep it at a reasonable speed is sure hard at times!

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  Show Me One Better, and I Will Buy It! - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Carol Busby - April 21 - 2:00 am

  I traded a 2000 Cadillac Seville on my 2004 XG350L and in comparison the Cadillac was an over-rated piece of sh*t. Prior to the Cadillac I had a Lincoln Town Car. Both cars ran and rode fine but the problem with American cars is once they turn 5 years old and exceed 100,000 miles on them not only is it time to replace them, you have no value left in them. This really burns me for what you pay for them. I went with the Hyundai for the warranty but did not figure I would be as impressed as I was because with the Lincoln and Cadillac I had grown accustomed to a certain level of luxury. Well the XG350 far surpassed my expectations to say the least.

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  Pleased Consumer - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Pleased Consumer - April 21 - 2:00 am

  I am a 67 year old widow whos husband retired from Ford in Dearborn, MI and was a firm believer in "Buying American". The only thing my husband would put me in is Big American Luxury cars, mainly Ford because of the employee discounts. I guess he would roll in his grave if he could see what I am driving now! When is the American Auto Manufacturers going to get it? People want to most value for their hard earned dollar. My husband used to wash, wax, change the oil, etc in our cars. Well my Hyundai dealer changes the oil in my XG350L for life for "FREE". Now how can I beat that?

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  Good value, excellent warranty - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By jeh1n - April 21 - 2:00 am

  Just drove it from the dealer and gave me a great ride.

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  My Hyundai - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By amidala - April 21 - 2:00 am

  Excellent vehicle and fun to drive.

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  Hollow Claims! Best Warranty? - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Stephen Mathew - April 20 - 6:50 pm

  If you are a new car buyer and plan to own car for 10 yrs maybe but beware if you but pre-owned the warranty isnt worth the paper its writtem on, trust me I have a 3 yr old pre owned Sonata! Warranty aside, I have never owned a car that has had as many problems as my Sonata! Hardly 3 years on the list of failures are a yard long! Worst car Ive owned! There is a reason they market their cars on their so called warranty, its because so much IS going to go wrong with the car! The list: air bag! (seriously this component is never used and yet it fails? How does a component that is never used become defective?), a/c: every part you could think of!, actuator, power seats. Ive had at least 6 problems that were covered under warranty, yet the hazzle, its not as if Hyundai will give you a loner!

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  Ive driven better - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By JJ Leonidas - April 20 - 5:03 pm

  I have a 6 cylinder Sonata and for the first 30,000 mile was great. After a tune up, it was down hill. The disc brakes keep making noise, it has a bad sensor that I spend too much money on, the transmission keep slipping, and when the power windows need repairs, only Hyundai can replace it, with a cheap plastic piece to draw it up and down. I may have drive the crap out of the car, but the reliability is bad. It also revs up to 4000 rpms after I start it up. Ill stick with my Ford Tempo which out last the Sonata so far out of the two cars I have.

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  Santa Fe is a dream machine - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By krcooper - April 19 - 10:00 am

  Ive owned my Santa Fe for 19 months now and cant imagine a better SUV for the price. Its got everything I need: long warrantee, good gas mileage, great looks, lots of space, a smooth ride, plenty of power, and generally a feeling of satisfaction no other car has given me so far. Just seeing another Santa Fe on the road makes me think "there goes another happy motorist", while everyone else misses out on our little secret. Oops - I may have just let the cat out of the bag! Oh well, I cant keep such a good thing secret forever. GO GET YOUR OWN AND FIND OUT!