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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  Quick little 4 Cyl. - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By pat - July 31 - 12:23 am

  Every thing about this car is better, the trunk has more space and even with more HP than last years model this car still get between 32-37 mpg. on the highway.

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  Great Car - 1995 Hyundai Accent
  By Jay Ayyappan - July 30 - 2:00 am

  Its been fun driving my Hyundai Accent for the last 1 year. The only problem Ive had was with the Manual Windows, but otherwise its a great car.

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  Best Car Ever - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Swobo - July 30 - 12:00 am

  This is the best car I have ever driven, so much fun, so fast.

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  Hyundai Accent is a dream come true!! - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Candice - July 29 - 2:00 am

  This little car is reliable, comfortable and looks great!!. I have the GSI which comes with a sunroof, spoiler, cd playre, alloy wheels, etc. It has everything I want for a real affordable price!!

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  Not your big brothers Hyundai - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jack Hanning - July 29 - 2:00 am

  I was the last person to think I would buy a Hyundai. Our sales-person allowed us to us a Santa Fe for the day while we shopped for vehicles. We compared it side by side with Honda, Toyota, GMC, Saturn, Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Jeep. None of those came close as far as what you get for the money. None of them were anywhere near comprable when it came to comfortable ride. Some will think that they need more power in an SUV. Those are the ones that roll over on the interstate from going too fast.

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  Best car Ive ever owned - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Tom Ellick - July 28 - 5:16 pm

  My previous two cars were Cadillac DeVilles, the last an 03.I dropped into Hyundai dealership on a lark and was immediately impressed. I was originally planning to buy the top of the line Toyota Avalon. But not after seeing and driving the Azera. I purchased the Azera Limited with Ultimate package and two days later started out on a 5000 mile round trip. Car performed perfectly, great mileage and drove in total comfort. Outstanding quality, appearance, and marvelous sound system. This is truly the best car Ive ever owned and Ive owned lots of them.I recommend this car without equivocation. My Hyundai Azera Limited, with Ultimate package, is truly the best car Ive ever owned!

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  Great gas mileage - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By gorpot - July 28 - 7:56 am

  Bought car at the end of June. Have 4,200 miles on so far. Have had no problems, except once in a while on a warm day, the gas tank must get an air bubble or some type of vapor lock in it, because I have had three times when I went to fill it up with Gas, I could not fill it up. It would be about 2 or 3 gallons from being full. Dealership is no help in this issue. However when I can fill it up, Gas mileage has been excellent. Always over 30 MPG, except the two times I used Gas with Ethanol in it, and my MPG went down to 28. So the answer is use 100 percent Gas, none of that Ethanol crap. Lets DRILL DRILL DRILL. Wife also loves the car. Seems to handle very good. Sound system is nice.

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  Excellent upgrade from an Accent - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By zornundo - July 27 - 1:36 pm

  We bought this car to replace one of our 2006 Hyundai Accents. Were very impressed with the interior size as well as the interior furnishings and finish. I picked the four cylinder for the highway mileage and havent driven enough yet to get some good figures. Im very pleased with this car so far and can see myself fighting with the wife to see who gets to drive on a given day. The five-speed automatic transmission is great. Drives and shifts smoothly. It will tend to downshift while going uphill at highway speeds, especially with the cruise control on. You have been warned! I suppose thats one of the trade offs for the EPA 32 mpg highway.

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  smart purchase - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By brenda carraway - July 26 - 3:06 am

  the santa fe has been a good auto investmet. only problem with vehicle is some reocurrig noise in front drive train or suspension, dealer is having hard time trying to find problem. keep replacing parts but does not fix problem. the excellant warrany keeps me from becoming to concerned at this time,but could become more problematic as warranty period lapses. hope to find solution soon. i do enjoy this vehicle and hope to keep it for many years, i am also thinking of puchasing the new hot sonata. happy to own a santa fe.

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  from a rav4 to sante fe! - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jim vargas - July 24 - 6:10 am

  Our Sante Fe has been more then we expected. Completely satisfied. our Rav 4 performed below expectations in performance and mileage. The Sante Fe does everything the salesman said it would from performance to mileage to interior design thank you