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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  Great Little SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Dave Bell - March 21 - 10:03 am

  Overall love the car, love the 6 year bumper to bumper, though dont think we will need it. Great pick up..a real surprise. We looked at a lot of small SUVs. This was the one for us.

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  Tuburon a great daily driver - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Btalont - March 21 - 10:00 am

  I have been more impressed with this car each day I drive it. My purchase price was rediculasly low, a nd I opted for the 10yr 100K bumper to bumper warranty with NO deductable. Great piece of mind and a very very impressive car for the money. I highly recommend it.

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  Always getting compliments - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By SamNJanRocks - March 21 - 10:00 am

  I love my Tiburon. I liked its looks from the very first time I saw it. It is fun to drive and people are always giving compliments on it. It is a very eye-catching car. It rides smooth and the 6 cylinder has very surprising power. I drove a six speed but purchased a 5 speed, because I really could tell no difference in the power or high end performance. This is my 3 rd Hyundai and 2nd Tiburon. I love my car!

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  Hyundai Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By L. Cerow - March 21 - 10:00 am

  Love it. I wish it had a compass, and better lighting in parts of the dash and door locks. Also, I am tall, but not that tall (59") and I could use a bit more head room and knee room. (My knees hit the steering column.) But, I got a great car for the money. Love the color and the looks. Great in snow. Handles well. More roomy inside than the other mid-size SUVs I looked at, and for less money. Love the leather seats and seat warmers.

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  Thats a good, reliable car - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By TaSchul4 - March 21 - 10:00 am

  "the best, most reliable automobile that I have ever owned."

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  SANTA FE - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MR JOHN - March 21 - 10:00 am

  Had my santa fe 3 months.I have the 4 wheel drive 3.5L.Has good power and pick up. Great S.U.V for the money. I would say test drive this baby before u buy any S.U.V. Have had no problems thus far.900 miles and counting.

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  Excellent Car - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Todd Conrad - March 21 - 10:00 am

  Best car we have ever owned. Lots of room in back trunk area. Roomy in front, for leg room, and the back passenger area.

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  My Review - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
  By Petra Gant - March 19 - 2:00 am

  This is a nice vehicle. I purchased it recently and Im very impressed

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  Great! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Joshua - March 17 - 2:00 am

  Its great car. You can feel its so fast. Nice interior.. But eat up gas too much... It was 20 mpg for me all the tim..

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  Excellent car for the money - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By charnold01 - March 17 - 2:00 am

  Much better than a saturn or even a ford. Car is laid out conservativly in the interior but has standard Leather Seats. Get it for the seats if nothing else. Thay make a big diffrence in the hot spring and summer