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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  LITTLE CAR/BIG GUY/LOVE IT - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Big G in Hollywood - April 29 - 10:00 am

  Im a big guy--62", 345 lbs. I also needed extra headroom--short legs, tall body. From the specs I saw on Edmunds, it looked like this car would fit, but I couldnt believe a Hyundai would even come close to being comfortable. I traded in my Ford Excursion for this because I run around Hollywood a lot. Wow, was I surprised. Its comfortable, its economical, and (so far) its reliable. Youre not going to find any other new car this great for less than $15,000.

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  GT ----------ROCKS - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Chad-indy - April 29 - 10:00 am

  I passed up 30k dollar cars for this fun little beast

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  A compact SUV just as I wanted - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Benjamin - April 28 - 5:40 am

  I bought my car four months ago. It is a car exactly I wanted, a mainly city SUV that can be also be used to carry my ski equipment in snowy Canadian winter and camping bags in muddy summer. My Tucson is a quiet, responsive, reliable, spacious, and comfortable car that has almost all I need. It comes with 4WD, V6, stability control, shiftronic, front/side/roof air bags, leather seats, moon roof, mp3 player, roof racks, fog lights, alloy wheels, and much more. For a compact SUV, you cannot expect more. It does not just have COMPARABLE quality. Its build quality can beat many other cars carrying more recognized bands. I will not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

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  Funky, quirky little car - 2013 Hyundai Veloster
  By denjb - April 28 - 12:43 am

  Ive had my 2014 Veloster for 2 weeks now - and I gotta admit - I LOVE this car! Theres a few weird little things that Id change about it, but for the money, I am very satisfied with the purchase. Its styling is cutting-edge both inside and out. The standard features on a base model impressed me. It turns heads, and its fun to drive! I opted for the 6 speed manual transmission, and I"m glad I did, because with an automatic transmission, this engine wouldnt let this car get out of its own way. That aside, the fit, finish, and clean lines remind me of a much more expensive European car - Hyundai did something right with their new models!

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  Great Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By WOZ - April 26 - 3:26 pm

  You must be an idiot not to want to buy this car. I got mine for 17K walk out and with the warranty, you cant beat it. The outside is a blend between a honda and camery, but still has its own style. People cant tell its a Hyundai until you tell them. The only two complaints are the front seat needs inprovement and the steering wheel sound control needs allow you to tune stations.

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  Smooth Ride - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By David - April 25 - 12:03 pm

  This car has been everything promised, and more. Great ride, comfortable inside, looks sharp. The key for me was getting the color I wanted; Burgundy. The problems some owners describe, such as hard to see digital dash numbers during the day, touchy gas pedal, and less than average handling at higher speeds are all true, however they dont impact my enjoyment of this classy car.

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  Nice inexpensive wagon - 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By limee - April 24 - 6:34 pm

  Bought the car as I needed to transport my 2 German Shepherds. With the back seats down, it accomodates them well. The SE trim has a stiffer ride than the GLS which I like. Looks very smart in Chili pepper red with the upgraded wheels. Have 3000 miles on the clock now. Averaging 25 mpg in mixed driving and up to 31 on a 500 mile trip to San Diego. The car is nicely put together with no sqeaks or rattles. Idles very smoothly and is entertaining to corner with when the dogs are not in the back! Leather seating surfaces are by far the way to go as they are easy to keep clean especially from dog hair!

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  Best vehicle weve owned - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jabbott - April 24 - 10:00 am

  This is the first Hyundai we have bought. We have been very pleased. We have had Subarus, Fords and Mazdas and overall, the Santa Fe has been the best. The roominess of the interior and the standard features were a big selling point for us. We are extremely happy!!

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  Having Doubts - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dano - April 24 - 2:00 am

  We really like this car, have enjoyed driving it, so far it has been a good value esp. for the $$. Just crested 20K mi and starting to develop several concerning problems auto trans slips when down shifting into 1st or 2nd gear, difficuty keeping car aligned going through tires, left front headlight working intermitantly, check engine light just came on... Taking it to dealer in a few days, hoping the warranty and service will be as good as the car looks and drives. The proof has always been wether these cars would hold up, we shall see...

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  Best Car Surprise! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jeff - April 23 - 1:20 pm

  I purchased this car only one week ago, but for someone who spends a good deal of time commuting to work, this car is the best surprise in a car purchase Ive ever had. Compared to my Volvo S40, Honda Accord, and Mazda 626, this car blows them away. More power, size, quality (yes, thats quality) and style. And all I was looking to do was save some money with this purchase. Time will tell, but for now Im convinced this is the best car purchase Ive ever made.