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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  good warranty doesnt mean its reliable - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By drivergirl - October 2 - 10:00 am

  Have owned car 2 years and it has already been in the shop for major repair 2 times. Once I was stranded in a snowstorm when the alternator went out. The last shop trip was for a new transmission. Although the warranty covered everything, its a huge inconvenience to have a broken car. Why spend money on a new car that you cant depend on???

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  good car - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By JAYP - October 2 - 10:00 am

  10 times better than 04 Toyota Camry and Honda Accord and much more equipped, and ofcourse cheap price and 10 yrs Warranty!

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  What an awesome SUV! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bowlsaurus - October 2 - 10:00 am

  What a great SUV! For the price with all the standard luxury features and the smooth ride, it cant be beat. Combine that with an awesome warranty and youve got a killer steal!

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  wonderful - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By hannah - October 2 - 10:00 am

  After a month of car shopping and researching, I am so glad of the decision to buy the Elantra GT. Being a Hyundai, I was somewhat skeptic to buy it but the warrenty helped change that. The price is the greatest about the car. It just couldnt compare to civic and corolla with the same options.

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  terrible running - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By ron - October 2 - 6:39 am

  car is very unreliable car has only 140.000 miles an it very very well maintain but car is having engine not worth buying stick with toyotas

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  GLS 6MT - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By dunmiffsys - October 1 - 9:23 pm

  Overall this is an an amazing car and an excellent value. I drive 400 to 500 miles a week on average and it is very comfortable and gets great gas mileage for the size. I am on my 7th tank of gas and averaging 31-32mpg. Gas mileage goes down quite a bit when speeds exceed 65 and I have gotten 35+ when driving 55-65mph with the cruise control on. Road noise is pretty low most of the time but the low rolling resistance tires can be rather loud on rough road surfaces. For the price this car is an amazing value and is fun to drive and very practical.

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  Finally some competition for Toyota/Hond - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By AdamL - October 1 - 9:00 pm

  Bought the new sonata on 01/02/2006 after much research. Got an awesome deal and after the rebates I got the car down to under 20K. Traded a sports car with large V8 for the Hyundai, and I must say the sonata rides better, is much quieter, and is still fun to drive with alot of power. Honda and Toyota cant touch under 20K unless car is stripped. Only complaint is not radio controls on steering wheel to change station. I got the deepwater blue and with tint its a bad looking car!!!! VERY SATISFIED.

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  Amazing Car! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bud - October 1 - 12:13 am

  I am in my early 70s and this is an amazing car. For the first time, I have found a car in which the drivers seat travel backwards exceeds the length of my legs. The telescoping and tilt wheel puts things just where it is comfortable for me seats are comfortable..ride is firm, yet compliant on bumps. Six speed tranny is very smooth..power is great. Feels like a V6 rather than a 4. Interior layout is easy to get comfortable with. Exterior is a great look. I see now why the NAV package is what I considered pricey. it does a lot more than just the "Garmin GPS" stuff. It is worth the extra price, and then some..the car has a near-luxury feel, at a much lower cost.

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  Excellent car - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jose - September 30 - 6:10 am

  This car has proven to be extremely fun to drive with an acceptable fuel consumption for a small SUV. Its standard model comes well equipped with a good AC, cd player, shiftronic and power mirrors/doors/windows.

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  Neat cheap car - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By Hrlyridr - September 29 - 11:30 am

  Got this last year for commuting. Holds me and the kids just fine, 32mpg hwy, 27 around town. Its fun having a moonroof. Not much getup and go, but at my age, it gotup and went.....so this is a good cheap commuter car. Dont drive it like you stole it, it isnt a sports car.