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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  A lot of car for the money - 2011 Hyundai Equus
  By gwpetersburg - December 24 - 2:17 am

  We were looking for a little higher level of luxury and comfort than our 2006 Infiniti M35. We werent personally drawn to Mercedes, BMW, Audi, or Jaguar. As Infiniti and Lexus owners we test-drove the M37, the LS460. But after driving the Equus, it was our favorite.

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  Nearly Perfect in every way - 2012 Hyundai Genesis
  By bulldog12 - December 18 - 9:12 pm

  Have been looking at new cars for years and finally took the plunge. Bought a Black V6 with premium for a great deal at Evansville Hyundai from Les for 34k plus TTL and 149 doc fee. It looks incredible and I have am impressed at the build quality. I felt the V6 with premium offered the best combo of value and features. Ive always been a white car guy but the black really grabbed my attention. Very proud of this car and feel it competes in both looks with cars that cost 20k more.

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  Still In Love After One Year. - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By socal_car_nut - December 17 - 12:29 pm

  Bought Genesis in Dec. 10 after seeing it at L.A. Auto Show - couldnt believe price for features and design. Just reached 10K. Trips from L.A. to the Bay Area are effortless - "right now" power to pass while riding in total lap of luxury - awesome! Hold speeds to 75 and I get 29 mpg vs. EPA est of 26. Was hesitant about buying a Hyundai - now have no regrets though dealerships arent at level of Lexus or Benz. Only minor complaints are somewhat jittery ride around town (even small bumps are felt) and rather short front seat cushions. Features list on V-8 is extensive - I find something new every time I read the manual. Passengers cant believe its a Hyundai and neither can I!

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  Pros and cons - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By hkharlee - December 17 - 6:26 am

  I purchased the 2012 Elantra about a month ago. I had a 2005 Sante Fe that got approx. 15 mph, no matter where I drove, town or highway. I am averaging 32-35 with the elantra, big plus! Love the interior and controls. The exterior: sporty. The cons: I find being able to see clearly while backing up, leaves a lot to be desired. I can understand why some models are equipped with cameras. The shape of the rear windows makes a blind spot, the height of the rear end is too high to easily see while backing. The headlights: even on high beam, there is not much distance or light. High beam looks like dim compared to my previous vehicle. I am more uncomfortable driving at night now.

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  Great little car - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By sunnysammy74 - December 15 - 9:51 pm

  I love this little car I just bought it a few months ago as my first car for $3,700 Its been great to me so far, although it feels like Im not getting the best gas miles I could be getting. My car has around 99,000 miles on it and its still drives like a dream, it may not be a Lexus but its still an awesome car, it would be great as someones first car.

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  Elantra - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By kgrigsby - December 14 - 10:03 am

  I have read all of the reviews that were put out there. Before bashing the car you bought 2 things you people should think about . 1st all of you should of waited till it broke in before you complain. 2nd the car is very sensitive about what fuel goes in it . It does not like top tier fuel. This is my wife and i 3rd Hyundai and all 3 did not get the best mileage until they had 12000 miles on them or so. We with 17000 on ours get 39 around town and 42 on the hwy and my wife drives ours hard. Hyundai is a great CO. and the car is a great car it does everything they said it would

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  Hyundai gone a long way. - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By mpg_enthusiast - December 12 - 4:33 pm

  I have a hybrid in disguise! Just picked up 6spd SE Accent yesterday. Already drove 241 miles and it is still not at half a tank yet. And I was not driving too conservatively. I was revving the engine hard at times taking off treating it like a sports car. Pretty impress so far with the standard features like bluetooth, ipod, decent sound speakers (need sub), satellite radio, etc. Was at 70mph and felt like I was going slow, so suspension is pretty good I have to say. I will update the review if I find anything undesirable, but for now..two thumbs up.

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  Equus - 2012 with a bigger engine - 2012 Hyundai Equus
  By kabirent1 - December 12 - 12:01 am

  Just got my 2012 Equus yesterday. I was on a waiting list. I am a little skeptical of reviewers who got it weeks ago - how did they get the car when mine was one of the first off the boat from Korea? Anyways, the car, after 2 days is a lot of fun and seems to be a great value. It rides a little on the soft side, but with the new, more powerful engine, its acceleration is strong. Its exceedingly quiet, roomy, comfortable, and has a long list of features. The promised support seems to be very nice - time will tell if that turns out to be truth or hype. In short, if you are looking for a luxurious ride, dont need to impress anyone , and want to save big $$, this is worth a look.

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  Functional Car. Great for teens - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By clcs5860 - December 11 - 9:06 pm

  Bought the vehicle in late 2005 with only 19K miles on it. Was a good purchase. Drove it for a year and the sold it to my teenage son for $2000. Great inexpensive transportation. Unfortunately car was totaled in a hail storm.

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  My first new car! and I LOVE IT! - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By drewberry - December 11 - 1:24 pm

  I purchased the 2012 Elantra GLS with preferred package last night. This car has gone beyond my expectations. I wanted to get the Limited with a sunroof but my money couldnt stretch as far as I wanted it to. So I guess I will get a sunroof put on it later or trade this one in the next 2-3 yrs for one that has one. Anyway, the Elantra actually has pep in its step dont let the 148 hp and 131 torque fool you. Already in one day I have acheived 42 mpg and I tend to have lead foot. Thats saying a lot! My beige interior is phenomenal and the red allure exterior color is so crisp and shiny. The elantra gls technology and safety puts all other compacts to shame except for cruze and focus.