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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  Love it - 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By kmahon - May 13 - 4:21 pm

  Just back from a 600 KM trip. Average mileage was 5.3L/100Km. Feels like I am playing a video game when driving. Smooth, comfy and saving money on gas for sure. Love the looks- the blue inlay on the silver metallic looks great and heads turn.

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  Better than Honda - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Flyboy - May 13 - 4:40 am

  I have 4,000 miles in this vehicle. Better ride than Jeep Liberty. More comfortable and reliable than the Mazda/Ford. Quality is high in this vehicle...no problems to date. This is Honda quality under a competing name. I am high income earner concerned with reliability. Honda and Toyota do not offer same comfort, V6, roominess for $. Hyundai will be big brand name in 3 years.

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  Great car for the price - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By FirstCar - May 13 - 2:00 am

  This is the best new car you can buy. I got this as my first car and I dont regret it. Great fuel economy. If youre tall like I am.. make sure the person sitting behind you is small :- ). Ive had mine for over 2 years.. and Ive had no major problem.. I drive it a bit rough.. so had to get brakes changed.. other than that, Ive had no problem. Even had an accident and I was VERY pleasantly surprised with the safety. Bottom line.. GREAT new car on a limited budget.

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  Best Kept secret - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By Mem - May 11 - 10:00 am

  This car has more features and drives nicer than Lexus, Mercedes and Jaguar vehicles. The price is ridiculously low.

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  Hard to beat for the money - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By juscruisin - May 10 - 6:57 pm

  This is my first luxury sedan in my 33 years of driving. My wife said it was time for me to get a "grown up" car as Ive been into performance cars my entire life. I thought Id hate it, but after 2 months am I glad I listened to her. The electric power steering is a little strange to get used to, but thats one of my few complaints. Above 40MPH this things way faster than you would expect. My last car (Dodge SRT-4) didnt even have cruise, so all these creature comforts are taking some getting used to. Im a pretty agressive driver and yet my overall fuel mileage is staying around 25mpg. I could have spent a lot more, but Im glad I gave Hyundai a chance.

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  Best Car Ive Ever Owned!!!!!!!! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Walter Cleary - May 10 - 9:56 am

  I cant stop admiring this car. I never thought I would buy a Hyundai, but once I drove the Sonata GLS V6 I was sold. What a great car, fit and finish is perfect.

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  best car in its class - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By loumera - May 10 - 1:33 am

  i got this car as a christmas gift, best gift ever, fuel economy is great i can get from south carolina to tampa florida on 1 full tank of gas, ive gotten in three car wrecks (none my fault) since ive had the car all major damage was done to the car at fault mine had little dents and paint scratches that didnt cost too much to repair all in all this is a great car, i can run for 5 days straight on a full tank of gas and i live about 30- 45 miles away from the city and i drive all day everyday everywhere

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  My Shark - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Corke2 - May 9 - 6:56 pm

  This is my second Tib--previously owned a 2003 GT. I have had no problems. It is a fun car to drive and the price was right.

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  Still impress me!!! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ricardo - May 9 - 5:46 am

  Bought my Sonata Limited back in May 2009. Have driven little over 3200 miles and still loved it like new.Ride, comfort and luxury all harmoniously blend in this car. This is my second Hyundai and will not be my last. Ive been averaging 25-25 mpg city and averaged even 31 mpg, with three people inside. Best car Ive recently owned, and used to have a BMW some time ago.

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  A nice SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By JM - May 9 - 3:03 am

  Its Big on cargo area (bigger than the Santa Fe). Ive driven this Tucson to Scottsdale, Az., Las Vegas, Nv. (twice), Big Bear, Ca., and had no problems at all! Its a wonderful vehicle for the two of us but it can haul kids too! Ive done routine maintenance like changed the oil and had my auto mechanic check it out... there are no problems with it. Were pushing 12,000 miles already and bought it in May 2005. There are only two things I would change or make better... #1: Make the Hood a little more aggressive looking and ... #2: put in an extra gear when it is downshifting from overdrive. The next gear down is too low and makes the engine rev too high.