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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  THe best by far - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By gallopian - March 17 - 2:00 am

  I am so happy with this vehicle, its incredible. I recommend it to anyone, you cannot come close to it as far as price for what you get !!!!!!!!

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  big car and economial to drive - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pau - March 16 - 8:26 pm

  I have put over 11,000 miles on my new Sonata. I have not had any problems. If i say at or below 75 on the freeway, i can put over 500 miles on a tank of gas. It cruises at or above 80 easily and quietly though the gas milage drops to around 28 to 29. what more can you ask. roomy, quite, great gas milage for a full size car and a long warrenty so i dont have to worry about fixing anything unil i am ready to trade it in in about 4 to 5 years.

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  My second Hyundai Santa Fe - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By T. Thompson - March 16 - 6:06 pm

  OK, needless to say this is a great car. I purchased a 2007 SF Limited, my daughter liked it so well, I sold it to her then purchased a 2008 SF limited for myself. I really prefer the 2007 over my 2008 mainly because of the limited color choices, the 07 had gray leather interior, I detest black leather interior but the only choice other than the ugly beige. I like everything about the car other than that, its great. Yea I would probably trade for a 2009 if I could get the color scheme I wanted but once again, nothing but black so will not be trading again til the choices are better. OK, its a woman thing

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  EXCELLENT - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By CLAW - March 13 - 2:03 pm

  Car is well made, looks great and drives extremely well. Hyundai has come along way. I drove many new cars while shopping for a new vehicle, nothing compared to the Sonata. Great car....

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  Definately Better Than Accord or Camry - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jim Smith - March 13 - 9:53 am

  I previously owned Accord and Camry V6. This time, I hesitated to buy a Hyundai because of the past Excel reputation. But now I am very pleased with my purchase. I believe Hyundai has improved tremendously. The engine of 4-cylinder Sonata is quieter than Accord and even Camry V6. It has a lot more room inside of car and trunk than both Accord and Camry. Also, both Accord and Camry offer 3 years or 30,000 miles warranty (which is basically non existent warranty) because problems start occuring after 30,000 miles. Above all, I like basic safety features Sonata comes with. I highly recommend Sonata above Accord and Camry as a preowner of all three vehicles.

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  Tucson lover - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Tucson lover - March 13 - 9:36 am

  This car is awesome! I never thought I would own a Hyundai and was persuaded to test drive this by my girlfriend and am soooo glad I did. I love the styling, comfort, value and incredibly smooth ride. I test drove just about every small SUV and this was the clear winner!

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  Great SUV - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Burly - March 12 - 1:43 pm

  I had many new cars with many issues. Not a 1 with this vehicle

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  AWESOME TIBURON - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Janelle2415 - March 12 - 10:00 am

  It was the best experience I have ever had in a car. Its awesome!

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  2003 Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By starexpo - March 12 - 10:00 am

  Great SUV, for a great price

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  I have two of them - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ruben Gomez - March 12 - 10:00 am

  I have two Elantras 2002 and 2003 (package #4).No complaints. I love them. This cars are very comfortables with a smooth ride.The seats are super. Are bigger inside.I love the power of the engine.You feel you are driving a v-8 cilynders car.Finally the a/c wow! so good.