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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  The Elantra: Much Better Than Expected! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By psyduck - January 1 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle is reliable, fun to drive and looks great for the price. It replaced a 2000 Hyundai Elantra GLS in my household. I must say that I liked the 2000 model, but really love this one! It has many improved features and more options! The body styling is the area of greatest improvment...many people think it is either a Saab or another expensive high-end import! I got a great deal ($13,600) for a fully loaded GT with automatic. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

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  Santa All The Way - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Derek - January 1 - 4:16 am

  I was not to sure about the Santa Fe. However, after owning it for over a year I am very happy. The comfort level is high, it handles well. As for fuel, it is better then my last Van. For the price and standards features this baby should be the king of the road.

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  Be Careful!! - 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By karen - December 31 - 9:26 pm

  We were quite pleased with our Sonata Hybrid at first, but it definitely doesnt get the mileage that is posted on the sales price!! This past summer we ran into a major problem with the engine, a loud clanking sound started and from there we found out our engine needed to be replaced !! This happening to a car we had for just 3 years! So they had the car for about a month and a half because they couldnt find the parts needed to fix it, on top of that it was our fault that the engine had sludged up because they said we hadnt done appropriate oil changes totally not true!!They said they found large chunks of metal throughout the engine!! So therefore Hyundai responded that the work was not covered under warranty which we are still under!!! Thousands of dollars later we have our car back! Now 4 months later we have found out Hyundai has issued a recall for Hyundai sonatas 2011 and 2012 for this exact problem the recall states that they found large chunks of metal in the engine !! The exact same problem we had yet when we called about the recall our car is not in the recall!!! Ridiculous!!! I will not recommend Hyundai they dont stand up for the customer!

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  Happy Sonata Owmer - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By James Bouvier - December 31 - 12:26 pm

  This car has been great. The ride is very good, the comfort is very good and it handles great. I like to looks and the overall design. The price was very good and you cant beat the warrantee or the company commitment to make you happy with the purchase.

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  Great Car - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By JM - December 30 - 5:00 pm

  A better car in all respects to my 06 Lincoln LS. I chose this car over Acura, MB, and Buicks I test drove. The car is a deal even at $33k-$37K for the V6 model. Black and Silver look great in this car. No cassette player- this is 2008. I have a 2000 Elantra with over 200K miles and it has been problem free.

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  miss my subaru - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By ecormack - December 30 - 6:50 am

  very disappointed in my gas milage. Best Ive gotten is 27mpg. My subaru with all wheel drive got that. I should have gotten something different

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  Good Car - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By MAK - December 30 - 1:50 am

  I love the way this car drives. It is so smooth and quiet. It is a bit heavy, but that can come in handy on windy days!Tid bit of a gas guzzler, but i wouldnt trade it for any 4 cylinder!

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  2005 elantra Gt - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By abram123 - December 28 - 10:56 pm

  I absolutely like my Hyundai Elantra hatchback I brought 3 month ago. The only problems I had is the brakes making noise in wet weather. It rides like a dream and the gas mileage is great Im getting 36 mile per gal. Im been a Honda person for years. The Elantra holes the road like a dream and handle get in the snow cover roads.

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  Fun Little Car - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Luke - December 28 - 6:30 pm

  Initial quality was better than expected. Only disappointment was FM tuner did not work. I like the GTs leather interior and ride. I didnt like the Black Bodyside molding. Its a pain to hand wax around it.

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  Sonata is Great - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tod - December 28 - 10:13 am

  This car rides smooth, great 6 cilinder engine. It is a joy to ride. The styling is like a Audi with clean lines.