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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  Great low priced car - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By RTPOPS - August 30 - 2:00 am

  This is a great all around car. With a lot of standard equipment, its best to upgrade to the GS hatchback.

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  Santa Fe - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By John Salvatore - August 29 - 8:20 pm

  The auto is comfortable to sit in with power to move. The sound system is great. The gas mileage is ok; could be better, but its not bad.

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  Unexpected Pleasure - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By James Gann - August 29 - 4:16 pm

  Ive only had this car one week but it has been more than I expected: it handled well in a recent snow storm, is averaging a combined mpg of 26, the fit and finish is excellent, the engine is quite responsive for a 4 cylinder, and the suspension is taught but comfortable. The interior fit and finish is exceptional with nice materials. I have cloth and leather seating. It has some of the electronic toys on it that are seen on much more expensive cars; like, Bluetooth phone connection and proximity keys.

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  Rides great in Chicago - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Chicago Riding - August 29 - 6:23 am

  I purchased this vehicle to get out of my 2004 Chevy Impala with 13800 miles and a tranny that was slipping. the color is the first thing i noticed as it has a pop to it that looks different. for a base model i was impressed with the features. leaving a V6 for a V4 was hard but my pockets is happy as the gas mileage is 25-28 on the city streets and 29-31 on the highway. speaking of the city streets, Chicago is the worst with pot holes everywhere including the highway. this car moves great to avoid them and when i do have to go over some it doesnt feel too bad. i compare this to my wifes altima and i love it. she actually wants to take the sonata over the altima.

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  My 7th New Hyundai - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By stuckinnyforever - August 28 - 9:30 pm

  Much improved over 2006 model. I was planning on more power, but NY dealers only sell the PZEV version with 168 HP instead of the 175 advertised all over. Interior is great looking. Ride is very comfortable, yet more sporty feeling. 5 speed transmission should shift at more appropriate times - car feels out of breath going 45 mph under light acceleration when it shifts into 5th. Makes me want to shift manually. TPMS Im sure will come in handy. I dont care for revised front, but back looks better. Mileage has been between 27 and 29 mpg per tank with 30%+ heavy city driving (will improve once I add K&N filter). There is no more key hole for trunk - must use remote or latch inside car.

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  there may be hope yet! DCT update 8/11/16 - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By jason - August 28 - 2:22 pm

  At this point you probably have heard about the dct (daul clutch transmission) issues.... They are real! Ive experienced them and its no joke! There are times when you step on the accelerator (gas pedal) and the computer doesnt let out the clutch or slips it way to much and the car may or may not go anywhere! Its only happened 5 times in 4,000 miles but is unacceptable!!! The vehicle has never left me stranded for more than a couple of minutes, but definetly not good experience and could lead to an accident..... That being said, I just had the new update for the dct software done today. Its supposed to fix the problem. The update is labeled TCU UPDATE (16-01-035). released as of 8-11-2016. Only time will tell if this fixes the problem. Im keeping my fingers crossed.... Providing this does indeed fix the problem i will go back to saying this is an amazing vehicle in every way!!! The turbo combined with the DCT is simply brilliant! well, its been 2 weeks since my software update!!! this is an add on to the review i did a couple of weeks ago.... Congrats hyundai!!! so far so good. Vehicle is driving perfectly now!!! It really is a shame for the bad rap this car is getting. Trust me, i understand, however i really believe the issue has been resolved! I challenge anyone reading this that owns the vehicle that the problem has been resolved to please post something positive!!! Im only doing this because i really love my tuscan turbo and would hate for people to miss out on an amazing vehicle. I would like to bet if this software was right from the get go that this car would be receiving rave reviews!!!

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  Sonata Requiem - 1996 Hyundai Sonata
  By cicco - August 28 - 2:00 am

  My neighbor just totaled my parked Sonata. I will miss this car. I bought it in spite of my kids scorn and never regretted it. I had no repairs other than maintenance in the 122,000 miles I drove it. I was expecting to get another 50K miles of satisfied driving out of it.

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  Tucson is a Star - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By mariehbo - August 27 - 1:00 pm

  I love my new Tucson for so many reasons, but I dont have time to list them all! 1. Price 2. Excellent warranty from Hyundai Motors. 3. Comfort 4. Style and color (mine is a light aqua). 5. If it were a new Mustang which is what I was looking at before this, I would have had to worry about it constantly (dings in the parking lot, for instance), but since its not a Mustang, Im not as worried. Just for going to work and shopping, its perfect!

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  Great SUV - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By JerseyJim - August 27 - 10:20 am

  Just purchased the SantafE gls 2010 and we love it. Compared it against Ford Escape, Subaru Forester & Nissan Rogue - best riding and most drivers room of the 3 listed. Gives the most for you money

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  A world class. - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dave Y - August 27 - 4:20 am

  It drives like a more expensive sports sedan. It has the looks that turns heads. Its exterior and interior outclasses the competition in design, fit and finish. Its transmission is smooth. It really gets great gas mileage. It exudes Hyundais newly found confidence. Everything about the Sonata was thought out so well that its hard to see any faults. This used to be how Hondas were built. This used to be how Toyotas were built. This is real game changer and I am proud to say that I own a Hyundai.