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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  Toyota Highlander Convert - 2010 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Southern AZ - February 18 - 1:10 am

  Only had it for one week & less than 500 miles, but enjoy the quiet ride and luxury touches. Plenty of room, power is decent, mileage is better than posted on sticker, very comfortable. Had some rear end noise...fixed that with a $5 can of undercoat. Paint, interior 7 exterior joints are good...seems to be built well. Never thought that I would buy a Hyundai after owning 3 Highlanders, pleasantly surprised!

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  2nd Santa Fe in 4 years and still amazed - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Disciple1971 - February 17 - 6:20 pm

  This is my second Santa Fe and 3rd Hyundai in 4 years. My first was a 2002 GLS 2.7L AWD and I loved it. I traded for this one because I got a really good deal and am not as fond as others over the new bodystyle. Somehow they managed to give even more bang for the buck without compromising anything. My other had 47,300 miles with no major problems over the course. I am confident that this one will do the same. One thing that I have noticed is that a K & N air filter is worth the investment with these things. I am confident in this vehicle and recommend it to anyone who might be considering buying one. I was a skeptic in 2002 but now am a Hyundai-loyalist.

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  Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SJ - February 17 - 10:00 am

  The Santa Fe has excllent handling and excellent acceleration. Although considered to be underpowered most rumors are based in fiction. The interior is much bigger than other SUV in its class.

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  EXCELLENT VEHICLE - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By PCS - February 17 - 10:00 am

  Excellent car for the price. Alot of features for the price. Highly recommend. You wont regret it.

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  Love It! - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Jeff W - February 17 - 2:03 am

  I was originally looking at a more expensive sports car, but found that they werent very comfortable. The Tiburon was different. While not a Mercedes sedan, I found that Im comfortable driving it (By the way, Im 63" and 275 lbs). Its also the best buy around for the cost.

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  shark attack - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By shark attack - February 17 - 1:43 am

  i was looking for a 4 cyl one but the dealer said that the gas mileage is 28/gallon, and the 6 is 24/gallon. since it wasnt much of a difference he sold it. what i like is that if you want to customize it with body kits or whatever, theres so many options out there to do so. i love the sound system, i like the smooth quite ride with great handling and when im driving it on the streets i get so many people to turn there heads which is pretty cool. of course mine is custom but what im saying is if you dont have alot of money this is your car. i had a lamborgini trying to race me, i didnt but it made me laugh.

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  Tucson GLS Best Car we ever had - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By tucsongls - February 16 - 3:54 pm

  Iris blue with black tint is the sharpest looking vehicle. The exterior and interior design is brilliant. The Tucson drives extreemly well and the handling is better than the corolla we previously had. Love the AWD that only kicks in when needed (or when you press the button to engage it full time). The bluetooth works very well and was easy to pair two phones in a minute. The dealer was willing to deal and we ended up getting two extra years of warrenty thrown in (to bring it to 7 full years). We also got a price reduction equal to the undercoating and paint protection. Plus it came with a 1200 litre gas card. The real bonus is the 0% financing for 72 months!

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  Great car. - 2014 Hyundai Elantra
  By Raymond Lynn jr - February 14 - 7:50 am

  If you want a reliable, dependable, safe family car this is IT.

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  I LOVE HYUNDAIS - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ep - February 14 - 1:40 am

  This is my 2nd Hyundai and I will never buy another another make of vehicle again. I have NEVER had one problem with my Santa Fe and never had a problem with the Elantra that I owned prior. The reliability cannot be matched by any american vehicle(Im sorry to say) The standard and safety features are great and so is the warranty. The SUV could be a little larger and the seats could be a little more comfortable too. I bought the automatic 4cyl. instead of the 6 cyl. because they get better gas mileage but I have noticed that sometimes it seems you really have to put the pedal to the medal to accelerate fast. But overall this is a wonderful SUV that I would recommend to anyone and everyone.

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  No Problem with gas mileage - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Im Happy - February 13 - 6:43 pm

  I had my heart set on a new 07 Honda CRV and liked the way it drove and looked but I simply could not justify paying $7000 more for the Honda with less accessories and warranty. While I feel that the Hyundai has a less sophisticated drive train than the Honda, in all other respects it meets or exceeds Honda quality. On the issue of MPG I have seen reviews where the owners were disappointed but I did a first check fill up and combined city/hgwy yielded 23.9 MPG which I feel is very acceptable for an SUV with a V6.