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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  Warranty is useless if dealer fails to perform work - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By daviator - March 7 - 10:25 pm

  The car if fun and sporty but I have had some issues. The dual clutch for AT sometimes grinds when shifting. Transmission is very jerky in stop-and-go traffic. The real problem is with Hyundai, its dealers and its "warranty". Twice my car was in for an intermittent problem misaligned touch screen. Each time the dealerships (I tried two) claimed to have applied a software fix. After the problem began again I took it to a third dealer who stated that the fixed were never actually applied. Now the radio is out of warranty (its only 3/36) but Hyundai refuses to cover the fix even though promised work under warranty was never performed.

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  Not Bad for a $20K Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By romil01 - March 7 - 8:24 pm

  I have 38K miles on the car...my lease ends in May 13. Overall, it has been a good car, although a bit on the boring side. Reliability has been excellent. I had to bring the car in for a recall early on during ownership, but it was a quick and painless process and Hyundai provided me with a $25 Visa gift card as an apology for the inconvenience of bringing the car in. The initial sales experience and all subsequent servicing at multiple Hyundai dealers have been outstanding. Hyundai seems to go out of its way to be friendly and efficient. Only issues are some cheap, hard plastic on the interior which squeak often over rough roads and the poor steering which is always off-center.

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  EXTREMELY IMPRESSED WITH PRODUCT - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By K.J. Crawford - March 7 - 7:46 pm

  I am the proud owner of a new 2011 Sonata Limited....Black with grey leather interior, sunroof, etc. Everything except the navigation system. I am amazed at how quiet this vehicle is. When sitting in a parking lot sometimes, just idling I cannot tell if the car is ON or not!! Rides nice and smooth. The looks of the car compete easily with Lexus, Acura, and some other more expensive cars. I love my new car.... I heard bad things about Hyundais years ago, and was a little reluctant to buy, but after reading reviews with Consumer Reports, and a few others, I was convinced that Hyundai did their "homework" to make their vehicles move up with their reputation.

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  Best SUV in its Class - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By fe lover - March 7 - 10:00 am

  For the past 30 days, our crystal blue Santa Fe has been proving to us that we made an excellent purchase. Its not just the price, warranty, V6-power, ride, comforts, and solid construction. Its the whole package. Its appearance seems to match well with its qualities. I also love driving this vehicle. It does not matter what others think about the car maker as long as I love driving it. A serious vehicle worth your money. At least a test drive.

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  Performace - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Konrad - March 7 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle is capable of putting out at least around 300 hp mark without the use of t/c or s/c just by boring out the trottle body and the manifold , with titanium piston rings , headers , ignition and ecu upgrade . Also with proper intake and cooling , straight pipe with no restrictions on it this car creates the cometition for the upcoming RX-8 and nissan Z. This is a big step for hyundai in the racing industry . Keep up the work on creating the next "supra" .

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  awesome bargain - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By dodgerfan - March 7 - 10:00 am

  i love this car. enough said

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  curts - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By curt - March 7 - 3:20 am

  this is my first brand new vehicle and Im very pleased with it. compared to other vehicles in its class it is a bargain. very dependable strong running vehicle.

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  Underpriced Luxury - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By kbmuenkel - March 6 - 4:43 pm

  Ive owned this car one month with every passing week appreciating the Genesis more and more. The technology features are plentiful and well thought out. Dollar for dollar the Genesis equipped with the Tech Package is a stunning value. The 290hp V6 engine is more than adequate for enthusiastic driving. The Genesis handling is nicely balanced between sportiness and numbness with just enough road feel to inspire confidence and comfort. Exterior noise does not penetrate the cabin yielding a wonderfully quiet ride. The 528w 17 speaker Lexicon surround sound fills your driving experience with clear, crisp, enriching musical enjoyment. I considered 335xi, CTS4, & ES350, but bought a Genesis. Wow!

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  Skeptical at first but... - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Driven - March 6 - 2:35 pm

  I couldnt have totaled my last Volvo at a worse time, financially. So, I went in search of some realiable transportation, telling myself that it would just be for a year max and then I could get into another Volvo. After reading about this car in the Kiplingers Report, then reading the reviews on here and other sites, I called my dealership. Unfortunately, this was soon after a Hyundai ship had been lost at sea and these cars were a bit hard to come by but they found me one and even came down to my price. Well, its been over two years and Im still driving it. Not because I have to but because I actually like it. Quality, milage, its there!

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  Initial Limited Opinions - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By bobcatbuzz - March 6 - 6:20 am

  Just drove the car home this afternoon, about 100 miles total. Took a very short test drive before I bought, but after spending about 11/2 hours behind the wheel today, have to say Im disappointed with the comfort level of the leather seats. Granted Ive been driving Toyota Avalons for the last 10 years, so I knew the comfort level would be a step down but the seat seemed rock hard the longer I was behind the wheel.