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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  Excellent Car - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By John - August 13 - 1:13 pm

  I have really enjoyed my Sonata. Ride, performance, comfort are excellent. MPG is around 28.

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  2006 Sonata Review - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Eric - August 13 - 7:53 am

  I saw, I drove, I own. This car is simply amazing for the dollar/fun raio. This being my fifth Hyundai, I may be a little biased, but compared to the Toyota and Honda, the Sonata wins my money every time. Great job Hyundai!!

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  Love my 05 Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By SJ - August 13 - 1:26 am

  Ive driven 05 Tucson for 4+ years now, and Ive been very happy. So far just changing wears and tears like tires, breaks, oils, wipers, belts, etc. No major problems at all so far after 71,000 miles. My old Volvo usually cost me annually $2-3000 for major repairs with constant halts on highways. Happy to get rid of it. Living in East coast, went through a few big snow storms, and no problems at all with 2WD(front), and ETS always helped me staying on the road. I also took many long trips to Chicago, Main, Virginia, etc, and very comfortable with 5 people in the car with luggage. I also used this car a lot for moving, excellent when frnt&rear seats completely go plat, lots of cargo space.

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  Great car - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tom Brossart - August 13 - 1:10 am

  Very nice car for the money. Handles and rides nicely. The transmission shifts slowly from reverse to drive, and is kind of jerky in the process. It also surges when accelerating from a low speed. Also the glove box rattles. Other than that, it seems to be a great car. Got backed into by another car while mine was parked, so I am driving a Toyota Camry rental while my Sonata is being repaired. They are very similar cars, but I like the ride and handling of the Hyundai Sonata better than the Camry, and its easier to get into and out of as well.

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  Good but not a great car - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Good Value for the $ - August 12 - 9:10 pm

  I have owned my Hyundai Sonata for only two weeks and have approximately 600 miles on it. My overall impression thus far is that it’s a good car, not great, and it’s not up to the overall standard of the Camry in some important respects. Right off the showroom floor the ride is stiff and I feel every bump in the road. If you run over a penny at any speed you can call it heads or tails from the road feel through the steering. This has been the major disappointment. The first tank of gas I got 29 mpg. There is a slight transmission hesitation on the acceleration. In nearly 40 years of driving, the lowest mileage life I had was 125K. I do not believe this one will make it to 100K.

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  Love it! Love it! Absolutely love it! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By LMM - August 12 - 10:00 am

  I own my Genesis for more than a year. Never regret of buying it. I love my Genesis more and more everyday! I didnt know driving can be so much fun before having my Genesis. Visibility is excellent, controls are easy to use, and the blue lighting in the panel looks very attractive. The backseats are little bit tight (very common in sports car, so not a surprise for me) with limited head space but plenty of leg rooms. My family has domestic, Japanese, and high end German cars. The Genesis Coupe is our first Korean car but it gets the most praises and compliments. Highly recommend the Genesis Coupe to anyone who wants a fun and attractive sports car.

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  Love It! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Brittany - August 12 - 10:00 am

  My dad bought me this car a month ago and I absolutely love it! Im 22 so I love that it is sporty, but also lots of room for all my school books. I wanted the car since it came out and I know I made the right choice, it is an awesome car. It feels like youre driving a really expensive car and looks like it, too.

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  Glad I upgraded! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By KDubb43 - August 12 - 10:00 am

  I traded my 2010 Sonata for the 2011 and Im glad I did. The 2011 is a much better car, with cleaner lines, exceptional features and better gas mileage. I also like the ECO mode, which tells you if youre getting the best fuel economy, without having to power-coast. The Pacific Blue Pearl color is beautiful. The dealer experience was fantastic as well.

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  new Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Mark - August 12 - 3:43 am

  With in the first 1500 miles I had to take my wife to a Philadelphia hospital.Thats a 250 mile round trip for me. The Tucson was great on the highway and even better driving in downtown Philly. I would recomend this small SUV to anyone.

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  New Santa Fe huge improvement over previous model - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By twhouston - August 11 - 11:04 pm

  I traded in my 2010 Santa Fe Limited for a 2013 GLS with AWD. I would have like to have gone for the Limited but I wanted 7 seats, and not 6. So far, I have to say that for the most part, the vehicle is much improved. The exterior is much more handsome, although you lose a little rear visibility. The interior is vastly improved, with much more comfortable seats, higher material quality, and hugely improved instrumentation and controls. Most noticeable is the improved quietness of the car, and the vastly improved ride quality. In the older version, you would feel a big jolt over minor potholes. The new one adsorbs the impact so that they are barely perceptible.