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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  Finally, a Toyota/Honda Killer - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By PRPreston - August 11 - 9:13 am

  Picked it up from the local dealer, Delray Hyundai, nice guys. They had the car from a dealer trade (previous dealer had a $1,900.00 adjustment on it...ouch for Miami). The car is great. Took it on a 3800 mile trip already and it feels great. More room in the back seat area than ANY other car like it. The truck--- my son said it could hold 3 bodies... Well, at least 4 peoples luggage. 4cyl-4sp Auto is just fine. Its a great car.

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  Great CAR!!! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By sc2303 - August 10 - 2:23 pm

  I have owned the Sonata Limited PZEV (4 Cyl) model for 10 days now. I must say that I am really impressed. I got it for $21,500 with moonroof wind deflector, cargo mats, floor mats, cargo net. Hyundai is anyway giving a $2000 rebate on the MSRP. The interiors looks like any of the top of the market plush cars (Lexus like). The instruments are well placed and I especially like the soft wood finish on the dashboard.The seats are very comfortable and there is enough legroom and hip room for all passengers.The audio system is awesome!. The car handles very well.The pickup is very decent for a 4 Cyl engine. With 97% city driving, I got a great 23.5 mpg,which means a 23/32 city hwy split.

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  good for the money - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Victoria Blacher - August 10 - 1:56 pm

  I did a lot of research on this car and its competitors. My objectives were to replace my 1995 Camry with something similar in size, miles per gallon, and price. I felt that the Sonata was the best deal out there. It had many standard features that were options with similar cars. I am enjoying driving this car, but I am not satisfied with the mpg rates I am getting. For a combined city/highway driving, I am averaging only about 18-19 mpg. I thought that buying a 4 cyl. I would be doing better with the gas. It is also rather noisy on the freeway. I also find the trunk very heavy to lift. Regardless, I am enjoying the solid feel, the radio, and the overall maneuverability

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  good job - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By glbpab1225 - August 10 - 5:00 am

  only thing i dont like is the tire noise on interstate. 17inch michelin tires are noisey. has a odd rattle i have not found yet in body some where. i love the new look. finish looks geat also

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  1+ years later... - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Randy - August 9 - 9:36 pm

  Ive now had my SE-V6 for a year and a half and clocked just over 23,000 miles. Im still happy with it, no problems whatsoever (mechanical, body, or electrical). I read others have had problems. Did I just get lucky? I average 21mpg in the city and 32-33 on the highway (mostly 70-75mph); I really like the fact that I can travel over 500 miles on the freeway on one tank (made it from Las Vegas to Stockton, well over 500 miles).

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  Good car - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By jl - August 9 - 12:31 pm

  Seems to be a good little car. very good on the gas. runs well and can move when needed, with a manual transmission.

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  My Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By datunison - August 9 - 5:13 am

  I love my Tucson! The size is perfect - I dont feel like I am driving a bus. The ride is smooth and it is very easy to drive. It takes corners better than any SUV Ive driven. I feel comfortable and safe when I drive and thats what I love about it the most. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a smaller SUV and better gas mileage!

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  Solid Economy Car for not a lot of $$$ - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Casenickles - August 9 - 1:03 am

  Just buy one already ! Great economy car. Fun to drive character, good ergonomics inside, and most notably great passing power on the highway. One month so far and Ive put it through the paces and it does great. If you can afford it get the Honda Civic but buying the Accent will save you between 2-4k easy +Interest. Transmission shifts much better than I had anticipated and DOES NOT HUNT FOR GEARS. Hill climbing so far has been easy. City mileage could be better, running about 22 right now. Trunk is large for this size car. Hyundai has really come into the market with products that are 80% as good as Honda and Toyota and cost less. Interior is bland but nice.

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  2016 Sonata Sport - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By Hardik Patel - August 8 - 7:32 pm

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  Stay far, far, far away - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jen - August 8 - 12:45 pm

  My husband and I purchased this car in 2014 after his previous Sonata met its end. Lasting almost 300,000 miles without an issue, he wanted another Sonata. We bought the 2011 Sonata used and it was a great car at first. Unfortunately, within the last year, the car has become more of a headache than anything. We have had it at the dealer 4 times in the past year, and its there now. The first time, Hyundai claimed they couldnt find anything wrong and we were sent home. Check engine light came on again within a month, and they figured out something needed to be replaced in the transmission. The third time, the check engine light came on and we also had to replace the starter in the car, with only 60k miles on it. Now the car is in the shop again, and the airbag light is on this time. Thankfully we purchased an extended warranty on the car and it has paid to fix everything thus far. There have been 4 recalls on the car since we purchased it, and its a pain to have to take off work to keep putting the car in the shop. Ive also done research on the air bag issue and apparently it requires a new air bag that costs $1200 and isnt covered by the warranty which is a SAFETY HAZARD that Hyundai isnt doing anything about despite many complaints. I want to sell this car and get something WAY more reliable. This car is a POS. STAY AWAY!