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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  I love my Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By CarolyninOhio - May 7 - 2:00 am

  This has the smoothest drive I have ever had. Love it!!!!

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  Great Vehicle - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By carroll Huffine - May 7 - 2:00 am

  I am very pleased with the vehicle - it is the best overall car Ive owned - It lets you sit up higher and see the raod - its fun to drive and looks like a much more expensive vehicle.

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  the best - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By kent e smith - May 7 - 2:00 am

  tryed saturn and kia these is the best I found with options and milage in the suv 2hours a day or more no problem

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  More than a year and still love it! - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By santa rosa - May 6 - 4:00 pm

  After over 1yr I have 14K on my 08 Veracruz Limited. The vehicle has been nearly flawless! Nothing has gone wrong - not even minor problems. The interior still looks new even with kids. The interior layout is completely intuitive and the best I have had on any vehicle. A minor complaint is acceleration from a stop. But, to my surprise, using premium fuel does improve this problem a bit. The interior space is exceptional. We cart 2 kids with child seats and gear and the VC has ample room. Ride comfort for long trips is great. My wifes vehicle is an 08 Lexus RX350 and I can say the 2 are fairly comparable. We usually take the VC for trips because it has more storage space and a 3rd row.

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  Excellent Car Excellent Value - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By nativtxn - May 6 - 11:33 am

  This automobile is a very nice ride and is well equipped.

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  A Winner - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jabbott - May 4 - 9:33 pm

  Car is new but already has shown good manners. Eye height is high, a feature we wanted. Entry and exit is easy, a feature we demanded. Full list of safety features was absolutely essential. Ours is the five person capacity model, which was our choice. The storage provided by the lack of the third row seat is much more usable to us that the seat would ever be. The exterior color is good, the name of the exterior color - khaki - is probably a turn off for some folks. It was time for the mini-van to go, hello SUV.

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  Seems great so far - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By BenC - May 4 - 2:00 am

  I have owned the Sonata GLS, V6 about a month now. Im liking the car a lot so far. The interior is very comfortable. There are many nice touches: center console in the back seat, leather wrapped steering wheel, and lights everywhere. The V6 has good acceleration and handling. Its not as soft as a Taurus but not stiff or harsh on rough roads. The Michelin tires make a difference. My wife likes the car too and says she may skip the Nissan Altima and get a Sonata -- and save $4,000 to 5,000. If reliability is good, the Sonata will be a great value.

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  A Real Sweet Car - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Tom from LI - May 3 - 10:30 am

  Got my 3.8 on 5/22 - and just returned from a 1,800 mile trip to S.C. Despite getting into some horrendous traffic jams - the car still delivered over 25 mpg! Ride is quite smooth - but not perfect - especially on rough roads. Beautiful and comfortable interior. Whisper-quiet engine with lots of power. (Cant understand why anyone would want the 8 cly.) I did not order the tech package, but bought a Garmin instead. Unless you need frequent directions - this is the way to go. My bluetooth cannot read my voice commands! Will make an appointment with dealer to fix.

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  Tucson - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By psychoholiday - May 2 - 6:30 pm

  Comfortable ride. Good height but doesnt feel like it will tip over on hard turns. Good acceleration and braking ability. ESC works very well in mud and snow. Standard package is very well equiped. Power windows,locks,keyless entry,CD Player, Very good 6 speaker sound system,rear doors and back glass dark tinted from factory. Plenty of room for large beverages, one in each door and two in the console. Extra large console under the console tray and the lid is adjustable for tall people to use as an armrest.

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  Love my little SUV - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By kelleejoe - May 2 - 6:43 am

  I recently purchased an 08 Tucson SE. I had been looking for a compact suv. I needed something awd or 4wd, with enough room to haul golf clubs, get me where I need to go in style, and not cost an arm and a leg. The looks of the vehicle are great, its fun to drive, I feel safe safe in it, I get tons of compliments and no one can believe that I spent so little on it.