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:

• 

  Undersold and over-delivered - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By joe - June 24 - 1:26 pm

  I took a chance buying this car believing that it would depreciate quickly. Who cares! This is by far one of the most comfortable cars I have ever driven. I considered the Acura TL, but there was just something about this car. Hyundai did not pump you up through specs and so on. They delivered a car for you to discover. Gas mileage has been great, but truthfully, operating time is the best comparison for city driving, gas mileage is about 0 per gallon at a light. You get about 10 hours drive time in the city. Read the manual and you will get much more out of your car.

• 

  Love it so far - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By etbill - June 24 - 10:00 am

  Have only had it short time but love it so far. Getting 26 MPG. Many great comments about it. Have the Crystal Blue which is a head turner.

• 

  Where are the Santa Fe LXs - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Big red - June 24 - 10:00 am

  I have been looking for an LX for months... Finally found one coming off the boat in 2 weeks. Supply is not meeting demand

• 

  Great Car! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By trybe@hotmail.com - June 24 - 10:00 am

  I have had my V6 tiburon for almost 6 months and it has been such a fun car to own! The car only has a few weaknesses performancewise compared to other cars in its class, but I found adding a CAI, BBTB, and freeing up the exaust put it right where it should be! (Especially after being beat by certain 200hp 2.0L 4 cylinders with just CAI, that was definately embarrasing.)

• 

  My wife is in love with her new Tucson - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Mark - June 24 - 3:20 am

  Aside from the test drive, I have not driven this car myself, so this review is mainly from the passengers point of view. Because our kids are getting bigger and we love to go camping, we set out on a mission to buy a small SUV. We test drove the CR-V, the Mazda CX-5, and the Hyundai Tucson. The Honda was solid with a steady ride. The Mazda was really peppy but the interior looked a little cheap even on the higher trim. When we first saw the new Tucsons, my wife loved the new body styling. When she saw the interior, she was smitten. A lot of people complain that there is too much hard plastic inside, but with two small kids (6 and 8) in tow, that is not necessarily a bad thing because it can take abuse and still clean up well. Plus, the Tucsons designers made it look very nice. The seats are very comfortable in the front and back. Im a little over six feet tall, and I sat in every seat to test them out, including the back middle position. Very comfy. I drove in Sport mode during the test drive, and with the turbo, the car would take off like a shot when I stepped on the gas. Yes, there was a second of lag during acceleration, but this is our family outing car, so we arent going to be doing any drag racing. So far on the freeway, on hills, and in the city the car has performed admirably. My wife leaves the car in Eco mode when she is driving, and so far, it is outperforming its MPG specs. It is getting about 27.5 MPG around town and on a recent road trip, it got almost 38 MPG. That is almost as good as our little Honda Fit that we replaced, and this car is twice as big. There is not quite as much cargo space as the CR-V, but there is still plenty to haul groceries and the kids sports equipment around without trouble. We both love the entertainment system. The controls are simple to operate and the stereo sounds great especially since the car rides so quietly. This is the quietest car we have ever owned. Even on the freeway, it is like you are in a quiet little bubble. At this point, we have owned the car for a month, and we have 1200 miles on it, but it has been a great purchase. If something does go wrong in the next 10 years, we have the best warranty around to get it fixed. The reason I havent driven it yet is because my wife love it so much, she always wants to drive. Mission accomplished.

• 

  3 month review of Entourage at 5,000 mi. - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Lake Seminole - June 23 - 5:36 pm

  Follow up to my purchase 3 months ago. No problems whatsoever. No shakes, no rattles, no issues. Still love the pick- up power, drive, power doors and seat flexibility. Feel like Im driving a towncar as the suspension is superior. Great build quality. I live and drive in Florida. Thank you Hyundai for a superior cooling system!!! I cant stand the heat! Hyundai dealership very professional. Its great having a lot of space with luxury qualities.

• 

  I didnt have to "Settle" - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Houdsiecup - June 23 - 11:26 am

  I had to purchase a second car that was safe, economical, fun to drive, but most importantly inexpensive. I foresaw myself driving a stripped down VW Golf since I needed a hatchback for my dog. Then along comes the Elantra GT. The GT offers so much to a driver for so little. The interior is chock full of amenities that will cost thousands more in other cars; CD player, leather, trip computer, keyless remote... On the exterior, the upgraded suspension, alloy wheels and Michelin tires were a huge selling point. The engine is powerful though lacking good acceleration (my last car was a VW with a VR6). But the fuel economy speaks volumes.

• 

  Blue Elantra Wont Leave You Feeling Blue - 2016 Hyundai Elantra
  By Doug - June 23 - 11:22 am

  Best car on the road for the money. Quiet ride, superb fuel economy, very comfortable car. Car got 46 mpg on recent road trip.

• 

  Love my little buggy - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Lori - June 23 - 2:30 am

  I love my little buggy! It is fun to scoot around town. It has plenty of muscle, and is excellent in traffic as well as parking in tight spaces. The sound system is great and the evironmental controls are great in the Texas Heat. It is a quiet smoothe ride. In fact, I note no difference in the ride between this and my dads Mercedes SUV. I just wish it wasnt so greedy with fuel. Otherwise it is cute, fun and reliable

• 

  07 Santa Fe Experience - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By David<>< - June 21 - 10:00 pm

  This vehicle handles more like a fine tuned sport sedan, rather than a mid sized SUV. So far, with just a few hundred miles on it, my gasoline mileage is at about 19 with most of it being highway speeds. I think this will improve over time.