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 From My Son - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Reggie - December 7 - 4:50 pm

  Being the previous/current owner of 4 Accords, 1 Integra, 1 Pilot, 1 Prelude and a CRV I am a Honda Aficionado I decided to take a chance with a Hyundai. My son is a car salesman so he sold us a Sonata SE and adhered to the price range I told him to stick to. The car looks beautiful and the performance is phenomenal given its price-point. The fit and feel is on par with Mazda but not up to par with the Accords I have owned. The overall package exceeds the rival Accord or Camry. The engine is nice but needs just a bit more refinement. I am happy being the owner of a 2011 Sonata SE. I am also proud that my son and his dealership treated me and my wife like we were special. You go son.

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  9000 miles and great - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By cal - December 7 - 6:36 am

  Love the ride and comfort. Lot of room to carry stuff.

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  needs a better drivers seat - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By bob - December 7 - 6:14 am

  I bought this car for the price and now I will buy another, it is great, only down side on long drives the driver seat needs more cuhining, Other than that the car is perfect

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  This Car Has Issues! - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By m liggeri - December 6 - 5:06 pm

  The car looks great, but it might be overrated. I have only had my car for less than a month and I have to bring it in a second time for the engine light. The dealer keeps telling me its not a problem, and then adds 40 miles to my car before giving it back. Towne Hyundai has a terrible service department. They pretty much told me to ignore the light unless it turns on again, and its on again. Plus now when I drive it that smooth new car feeling is gone already. You can feel the car shifting into gear. Too bad they wont call me back to fix it.

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  Best Compact SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jim - December 6 - 4:33 pm

  The Tucson is the best compact SUV Ive driven, and I tested the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, and the Jeep Liberty. While not a sports car by any means, there is adequate power with the GLS 2.7 engine. Im getting about 20mpg on mixed highway/city driving...not to bad for the first couple of tank fulls! Cargo room with back seats up is adequate. I think Hyundai has a real winner with this car.

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  Hyundai Sonato 2005 - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pam Colina - December 6 - 3:48 pm

  driving is easy, ride is comfortable and quiet. good response with dealer and salesman. helpful on phone. feel safer with the side airbags.Air conditioning is great for here in florida.

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  It is what it is! James Bond car at a discount! - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By teinte31 - December 6 - 2:18 pm

  Im writing this review to basically respond to the Edmunds review. Ive had my GT V6 for 6 years now and have had not one problem with it. I feel the Edmunds review was very harsh towards the Tiburons power/engine. Guess what guys? Its not a Corvette! It is what it is, I knew when I bought it after the test drive it was weak, but I still bought it because it has the sexiest body style Ive ever seen. Thats why its nicknamed a Baby Aston Martin... Its a great tuner car as well, Ive put a cold air intake/exhaust/headers on mine and I can vouch the Tiburon has enormous power...Its just harnessed by the factory specs and state laws. Dont blame the Tiburon for that...I love it!

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  great buy - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By v6 - December 5 - 8:18 pm

  after much reseach desidedon the gls- have not been disappointed -38000 miles and noproblems - fuel economy could bealot better

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  Fuel Gauge, Estimated Range, and MPG - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By djg77 - December 5 - 3:17 pm

  I recently hit 3,200 miles on my 2.0T with front wheel drive. Ive noticed some strange issues with the fuel gauge, and after some research on various message boards, the issue is very common. The dash display of the Santa Fes includes digital readouts that show you your average MPG on your current tank of gas , your estimated range (how far you can travel until you need more gas), and a bar composed of little "bricks" that shows you how much gas you have left. The bricks disappear as your gas tank empties. Until Hyundai fixes whatever is wrong with them, expect wildly inaccurate readings.

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  Gas Mileage not adding up - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By dynamat - December 5 - 7:13 am

  My main reason to buy a Hyundai Sonata was because I had the 2001 model that never gave me any real issues so to go to the latest model was a no brainier. However I am not that impressed with the engine technology. Considering that my 2001 sonata got around 24 mpg with a six cylinder engine. I thought that the 24c-35h that was on the sticker would be the way to go. I live in Fort Myers and sometimes have to drive to Ft Laud. I figured this would be a perfect test to check the gas mileage. I filled my car with premium gas and set the cruise control to 70 mph. Oh and also turned on the ECO control. Started the 110 mile test at 25.3 mph but finished at 23.9mpg. I lost mileage. That is not good.