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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  EBST DEAL AROUND - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By DAND214 - July 19 - 2:00 am

  Was nery impressed with the quality and thevalue. Went to buy a Honda after driving the Sonata, we were sold. Has been great good performance and good milage. i will be buying another Hyundai, you can take the high price image cars and junk them, if Im going to race I need a race car not a wanabe.

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  Wow - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By George - July 18 - 4:16 pm

  This my first Hyundai.I looked at Camreys,Accords and Altimas.But I fell in love with the Sonta. I drove them all and after my test drive in the V6 Sonta it was no contest. It has plenty of power and a ton of extras that can,t be beat. Its a ton of car for the buck.It handles great,rides smooth and quite at 85. Would liked to see a little better gas milage around town but it still not bad 18.5 per gal not with the preformance you get.

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  santa fe - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By santa fe - July 18 - 2:46 pm

  I am extremely happy with my santa fe I have 70000 miles on it at this time and average atleast 20 mpg. The only thing is the check engine light comes on and off, At this time it has been on for about a month,with no adverse effects.

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  Genesis - Has been a dream car for us! - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By Karen Loera - July 17 - 10:25 pm

  My only disappointment in the car is that all of the electrical components have failed. I cannot hook up my iPod its very difficult to use the iPod in the car while driving when you cant see whats next. I drive a lot and use a smartphone it would be great to have the ability to keep my phone charging while driving. I have received many compliments on the cars Design This had been a wonderful car for us. We purchased it as a used car and it has been great.I find the acceleration powerful and had to adjust from our Lexus 6 (350) cylinder car. My husband says the head room in the Genesis is far more comfortable then our Lexus 350. I wanted this size car as I drive freeways frequently and like the safety record. The head rests are comfortably located, without touching the rear of drivers head. Many other cars we found the headrests to be intrusive and the only way to remedy the distance from head rest to driver was to incline seat, and we like to sit upright when driving. The styling of the car is beautiful and I have received many compliments. My family members have told me what an impressive car the Genesis is, with a great ride and extremely comfortable rear seating and leg room.

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  Duly Impressed - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By pseudo - July 17 - 4:10 pm

  Got this towards the very end of the clunker deal. I settled on getting the Touring after looking at a variety of hatchbacks, from a Nissan Versa at the low-end to a Subaru Impreza at the high end. Unfortunately for me, these things are extremely popular and after looking for one for nearly 2 weeks, I got the color I wanted (Vivid Blue) but I didnt get the premium package I wanted in time(sun roof, etc.) Immediately noticed is the quality of the interior and how pleasing it is to look at. Id say only the Mazda3speed is more sporty looking. Got the Automatic & drives like a breeze. Not real sporty but way more so than my old Pathfinder. All in all, a great car! Highly recommend it!

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  Great Car - 1998 Hyundai Elantra
  By Derek Benoit - July 17 - 2:00 am

  I bought this vehicle new andI was weary of Hyundais reputation but decided to take my chances after a surprising test drive. This was also before they offered the great warranty. I have never regretted my decision. My Elantra now has 135,000 miles on it w/o any problems at all! The only items I have had to replace in over 4 years are considered normal maintanence such as wiper blades, tires, brakes, and a battery. The car has never failed to start, and has driven flawlessly in a number of extreme conditions as I live in the northeast. I just passed the strict Massachusetts emissions test w/o a problem at all.

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  My Sonata - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tina Elliott - July 16 - 6:13 pm

  I loved my sonata. I love driving in it. It felt like I was driving an expensive luxury car. Sad to say, somebody hit me in that car and totaled it. But I will say that that car saved my life! Will I by another one? Yes!

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  2001 Sonata - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By daver3 - July 16 - 2:00 am

  No hastle ownership good performance with 5 speed man.

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  JOSEPHS REVIEW - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Joseph - July 16 - 12:40 am

  I purchased my car in January 2003, mainly due to the appearance and the how quite it was when driving down the road. Also, because of the fantastic warranties I knew I could not go wrong. Since then, it has been the best car I have ever owned. It is my 15th car that I have owned in my life. The only thing that I have a problem with is the type of material that the car is made of on the outside. It is really soft and can dent easily. Other than that it is great. Now going on two years old, it is just as quiet as it was the first day I purchased it. The performance is great. I have not had a problem with it at all. It will be two years old on January 19, 2005.

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  best car ever - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By billmach - July 15 - 3:00 pm

  We bought this car in 2002 brand new off the truck with all the Korean shipping sticker still on it. To make this story short 60,000 miles drove it from Colorado to Arizona from Arizona to south Florida then from south Florida back to AZ and 6 trips from Phoenix to San Diego and back. The only repairs it ever needed were the alternator needed replaced this year and a small leak in the low pressure side of the power steering hoses. It is still running the original plugs and brakes and the dealer said the disc pads have at least 10,000 miles left on them this car was built to run at speed on the highway and the body styling is awesome. The made a mistake when they changed it in 04