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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  Hyundai Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jgessert - February 13 - 10:00 am

  I have been nothing but pleased with my Hyundai Santa Fe. It has predictable handling with sufficiant horsepower to back it up. Interior seating is comfortable and cargo space is generous for the vehicles size. The list of standard features is impressive and make the Santa Fe a great value.

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  Good SUV - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By retbpd01 - February 12 - 7:36 pm

  If the gas mileage was better, this may be the pervect mid size SUV. Reasonably priced, good standard features and great warrantee.

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  I love my hybrid! - 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By teke45 - February 12 - 12:48 pm

  Purchased Limited 2.4L 4-cyl. Hybrid 6 speed automatic. The car is not slow or noticebly shifty when merging into traffic. The ride is smooth and braking is precise. If you drive like a teenager then this car may not be for you. I travel approx. 90m a day, mostly highway miles. Avg. miles 44.5 per gallon. I am saving serious money on gas! The seats are comfortable and the cabin (two tone camel/black) is roomy. The dashboard is pleasant to look at and the navigation system is easy to manage. I am so happy I did not dismiss this car based on the expert reviews. Find out for yourself and test drive this car, you wont be disappointed.

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  Nice - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By JOe - February 12 - 2:28 am

  ....didnt realize all the warranties and abilities this car has. At this point im satisfied, just purchased it today. Only 9 miles on it!

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  Good Luck Fixing It - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By driver - February 12 - 1:50 am

  The check-engine light went on. So I went to the dealer, who told me the exhaust manifold is cracked, and it will not be covered under the warranty because "it must be your driving." A few months later, I get a letter from Hyundai telling me exactly that the car is known to crack the manifold itself. So I go to the dealer and asked both the exhaust manifold and catalyst converter to be replaced. The fix costed over $800, and Hyunai would only reimburse about $400. 1 weeks later, car starts to lose power, and eventually died on the highway. It turns out the dealer never replaced the manifold or the converter and the car overheated and killed radiator.

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  I have one! - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By melody - February 11 - 7:08 pm

  I own one of these cars. although i tinted the windows and put a few small in-expensive little gagets, like seat covers, window stickers, and just kinda tricked it out a little bite, i love driving my car, its great on gas, so i dont have to stop at every station i see. YOOHOO!handles great on wet and snowy roads, thats the front wheel drive doing its thing! although, it gets great gas mileage on the HWY 400+ miles,to A TANK, i can handle the 250-270 miles A TANK In town driving. i love this car. its agreat car for a single person,, or if you dont want to haul all your friends around for free. three friends and yourself, thats plenty in one car, great car overall. I love my car

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  Wow - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
  By jcouture - February 11 - 4:34 am

  I used this car for my 100 mile trip to Boston and surrounding area. Im a lead foot and always beat this poor car every day. Now it has 250,000 miles and it still runs great! I have had allot of transmission problems. Other than that, all its needed is a wheel bearing and an altornator. If you are a courier, buy this car! Its perfect for zipping arround the city, and its more powerfull than I expected.

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  A fun ride! - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By JLR - February 11 - 4:00 am

  Ive had this vehicle two weeks and I absolutely love it! Its a sports car without the sports car price. The I4 and 5 speed manual trans gets me going down the road very smartly and gets great gas mileage. I notice that people come up beside me on the freeway to take a double look to see what it is Im driving. Its a real fun ride and Id highly recommend it!!

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  2013 Sonata Bluetooth System - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By lcolby - February 11 - 12:21 am

  do not purchase this vehicle if you want a good working bluetooth system. Upon our third complaint I receive a letter from Hyundai saying, "it is considered normal operation for the incoming call volume to be quieter than the audio level setting and to adjust the volume on certain calls". That nice, except you cannot hear the incoming call. two other comments off their letter: We are sometimes unable to produce an automobile with the features and materials that will satisfy or appeal to all of our customers. If you prefer, you are more than welcome to contact the Highway Safety Association and report the concern to the Consumer Protection Agency.

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  Great so far. - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By tammy - February 10 - 11:13 pm

  Before almost buying 1yr old used Nissan Murano, i made sure i tested a few others - namely the RAV4, Compass, and Santa Fe (SF). I prefer new, but i also loved the styling and handling of the Murano - so i was torn. The SF competed in almost every way. I was surprised it drove as responsively as the Nissan and had lots of features youd expect in a more expensive car, . Even my Highlander-driving father was impressed. 8 months later its still been a good choice.