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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  Nice style and features, poor quality - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By DJT - July 24 - 1:13 am

  After a week of ownership, the air bag light stayed on (dealership fixed it and said it was a loose connector). After two weeks, the transmission needed to be replaced while driving along, it suddenly downshifted from 6th gear to 4th gear causing the car to suddenly slow down (fortunately there was no one directly behind me as no brake lights come on so they would have had no way of knowing that I was slowing down).

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  The touring is a Good buy for the money - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By DJ Rebell - July 23 - 11:36 am

  Needed something inexpensive but reliable and roomy. I am dj and I just needed a car to get me to and from my gigs the touring offers a lot of space Im a very tall guy and I have no leg room problems god knows Ive been in suvs and I felt more cramped up. So far my equipments fit nicely but the bumpy ride make me uneasy with my equipments and I live in New York where there are potholes on every corner. Other than the bumpy ride the acceleration is a little slow and I wish it wasnt because this car has a very sporty feeling and the engine hums like a sports car so when Im driving it I feel like I wanna kick up dust. But for the price of the car its pretty decent. I would recommend it.

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  My first new car! - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Aimee - July 23 - 3:52 am

  After what I have had to deal with for the past 2 years this car has been a blessing. I have no credit so I need a cheap small car. Hyundai acctualy got me credit and sold me the car I drive the GT version so the the ride is sporty. I only paid 12,700. Ive got side airbags, power everything and even aircondtion plus to top it off a great sound system with cd. The noisy engin is the only down fall, but hey its comfortable and traveling to work school I am going to keep this car for as long as I can. Great gas milage also. I find the car cute. This is deffinatly a chick car though. My boyfriend likes it but has fun pretending hes driving a go cart lol. Buy this car low price and reliable .

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  I bought a great car - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By bgirsch - July 22 - 8:03 pm

  I bought this car on May 31st and we cant be happier. The Hyundai dealer was very professional and a pleasure to work with. The Sonata offers very solid construction, great look, fun to drive, strong warranty, and fantastic gas mileage. Incredible value! We initially considered an Accord or Camry, but thankfully didnt waste our time.

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  Love my Sonata - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Cass - July 22 - 5:03 pm

  After years if driving a VW (a nightmare from the beginnig) we bought a use Sonata and I am in love. It love that car! Its stylish, fun to drive and pretty darn good on gas, depsite current gas prices. Hyundai might has nabbed a customer for life if the car remains as great as it has been!

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  TIBORON-PROBLEM NEW CAR???? - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By MARY BENNETT - July 22 - 10:00 am

  CAR HAS 3000 MILES AT THIS TIME CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON FOR AT LEAST THE PAST 900 MILES, OXYGEN SENSOR IS DEFECTIVE/WRONG SENSOR. STILL GETS 40+ MILES PER GALLON, DOESNT SEEM TO EFFECT CAR PERFORMANCE. DEALER IS GREAT ABOUT THIS PROBLEM.

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  Its OK - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Ralph1 - July 22 - 10:00 am

  The XG350 is ok, drives ok, dont like the way it handles behind large trucks.

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  my car - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By JacquiH - July 22 - 10:00 am

  I am most satisfied with the vehicle warranty. We purchased the extended warranty, even though we probably wont need it. When I purchased my first new car, I purchased a Hyundai for the price and the warranty. The car itself caused me to purchase Hyundai again. I do alot of driving in my field of work and the car was/is always reliable.

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  100000 + - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By nazu - July 22 - 10:00 am

  Being a single female that travels for a living I bought my sanya fa in 2001, it has proven to be the most dependable vechicle Ive ever owned.I now have 109999 miles on it with only routine maintance. very user friendly and comfortable.looking forward to the next 100000.

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  4 Cyl Santa Fe - 90 day Review - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bft_Mike - July 22 - 9:16 am

  We purchased a 4 cyl. FWD Santa Fe Ltd in late March and waited to drive it awhile before posting a review. We were looking for a mid-sized SUV to drive north each summer with kayaks and bikes. The SF had more room and comfort than the CR-V or RAV-4 for about the same price. This is our first Hyundai. This Santa Fe model is a very comfortable car with adequate acceleration but does require the driver to plan ahead a bit when passing or pulling out into traffic. Mileage in small town/rural driving has been in the mid-20s so far. We are still concerned about what we have heard are owner experiences with the warranty - but so far we are very pleased with our purchase.