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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  only put about 130 miles on so far - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Sambo - August 3 - 3:57 pm

  ok I have been to about 60 dealerships in multiple states for over 2 years shopping and test driving everything in this segment many times, I am very picky, I wish I could take the best things I like and morph them together so I waited and waited for this car to come out and see if I liked it. I had no interest in the old Tucson and the new Santa Fe was of big interest to me but I felt it was overpriced with the added features......I really do like this suv so far, the one thing I think that is overlooked by the "professionals" that test drive this suv is this suv has 195 pounds of torque at ONLY 1500 rpms and that is sustained until 4500 rpms..... I used to drive a Santa fe and I still cannot get used to the power the turbo Tucson has.....I have whip lash pulling out of stop signs. For a SUV/CUV its kind of a smaller lighter one with a high torque rating....I have to drive in ECO mode to try to acclimate myself....I think I would have already killed myself if it had more power - I cannot find an accurate 0-60 yet anywhere- those published are being confused with the 2.0 engine.... I think the "professionals" that do the test drives are so diluted with the massive range of cars trucks SUVs etc that they drive they loose the ability to fine tune what matters to the specific group of people into this type of car.......Also there is a lot of room in the front seat - seems to have endless adjustment to it - I am a huge guy 63 and 250 pounds and just to feel like the Santa fe I have to have the seat upwards, I will slowly adjust this back as I get used to the car.....Also no one wants to discuss the arguments about the 19 inch wheels adding a little to the ground clearance - an engineer showed me this huge equation that in the end said it added 1.45 inches........who knows....But I am impressed with the power, I thought it was slightly bigger and more powerful that the CX-5 and handled just as good maybe better off regular roads...... remember I am not a car driver I have drivin the Santa fe for several years previously.... The Nissan rougue: I liked the looks of but did not handle well for me at all the new redesign was a little better but still not good enough (felt like I would flip it around bends). The Rav 4, Honda CRV, and Escape seemed kind of boring and handling was average or below for me and I am also annoyed by both the inside and outside of the Honda CRV and everyones infatuation with it because the "professionals" are in love with it and it wins awards.......However the Subaru had superior feeling on handling - I came close to buying it - but I could not live with the square shape and boring colors even with the new redesign.... to each his own, I will give updates as I drive the car more....

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  A Great Choice For Your $ - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sean - August 3 - 2:00 am

  1 week owned. Researched for over a year and finally bit the bullet. Never thought Id buy foreign, let alone Hyundai. Looked for 09 but none left. Wife fell in love when we test drove. The trunk is huge. Interior is great, especially gauges at night. Standard sound system has 6 speakers and free XM (3 mos). Plenty of storage. 4cyl has great pick up. Childseat is a breeze to install with 3 point anchor brackets. Still on original tank of gas from dealer and weve been out everyday in it. Dealer even threw in dinner and heated seats. $1,000 rebate didnt hurt. Clearly beats Fusion and Accord on price and options for the $. Best overall value for your money.

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  more than i expected - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By hben - August 2 - 3:03 pm

  I am really pleased about the performance of this car, it has 50k miles and the only problems ive had are the battery, which was under warranty and the sunroof interior lid that got stucked, i presume due to dirt because lack of use, other than that excellent! The OEM tires are noisier than aftermarket.

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  Best Value - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By masterpaula - August 2 - 10:00 am

  Ive many vehicles over the years but the XG350L has the best quality, most standard features and the most value for the money.

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  Love this car! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By newgnu - August 2 - 10:00 am

  My second Hyundai. First one a 2003 Elantra which I fell in love with from the start. The 2004 Sonata, with V-6 and leather has much more pep, is stylish, comfortable, and just down right fun to drive. Havent had it on a trip yet, but would expect good performance. The warranty is just icing on the cake!

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  great vehicle - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By LeRoy - August 2 - 10:00 am

  I love this vehicle. Everybody that drives my vehicle also loves it. I dont know why people who test this vehicle think it is underpowered. I have have brothers who have driven it and also feel it has plenty of power, unless you are pulling a large trvl trlr and then you should get a larger vehicle. Gas mileage on a trip is about 25/26 and all around about 19/20. I have 3 customers who have purchased the vehilce after driving mine.

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  Excellent Hyundai - 1999 Hyundai Accent
  By Albert Rockford - August 2 - 2:00 am

  Absolutely no complaints whatsoever, just an amazing car!

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  WOW...what a deal on the new Sonata!! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sonata - August 1 - 5:53 pm

  This car has it all from heated leather seats, electronic compass, great sound system , excellent interior and faster than most cars in its class with the aluminum V6. The gas mileage is excellent if you can keep your lead foot off of this speedy vehicle. Hyundai reminds me of the early days of Honda...the price of this Sonata is going up in the future. The quality is unsurpassed even by Honda.

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  Good car for smart price - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By Vadim - August 1 - 2:00 am

  Good car for smart price

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  Bye Bye Honda! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Michael B - July 31 - 7:10 am

  I have been looking for a new car for over a year and I pretty much drove them all in my price range.I first saw this car at a large auto show in town where it was drawing quite a crowd.I took it for a test drive the following week and was very impressed.It drives like my wifes Lexus but without the price tag.I did drive the Lexus is330 but liked the Hyundai better.