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 Buy - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Don N - June 19 - 10:00 am

  The reviews by Edmunds.com was right on the money. I really feel like I bought a great car for less money. Great pick up, comfortable seats, and a nice looking car. My daily commute is now enjoyable. Everyone that has seen it is impressed. I truly recommend.

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  Joes Review - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By jdsales - June 19 - 9:57 am

  Vehicle while not as finished in the interior as former cars I have owned such as Mercedes and Infiniti is still quite adequate and comfortable. Extremely quite and smooth ride. Performance not equal to higher ends but more than adequate for normal city and highway driving. V6 has good power and can get you out of the way when needed. Exterior is excellent is often mistaken for a Jaguar. Great lines and look. Warranty and service are on a par with my Mercedes and Infiniti experience. Dollar for features its a great value, good looks, handles great and pleasant to drive. Lacks only in interior creature comforts but this is exceeded by the outstanding 10 year 100 mile warranty. $ for $ great

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  Sonata, so far so good - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By David Slavo - June 19 - 8:32 am

  I love the ride, the quietness and the way it handles the road. For some reason the blue tooth doesnt support reading or responding to text messages. Love everything else though.

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  Nice car for the money but watch out - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By mitchellf - June 19 - 6:05 am

  This was the second Sonata I purchased this year. I have Sonata SE with Nav/Sunroof and recently purchases a Turbo version. The first Sonata spent 7 days at the shop fixing interior rattles oh well nothing major it happens lets give it another shot. Decided to buy the Turbo big mistake. The car has a suspension/steering issue that causes a constant drift t the left. The dealer and Hyundai are stumped on how to fix it. The car has been back twice for alignments and other assorted "adjustments" problem persist ..This issue has been reported by multiple buyers all complaining about the same drift to the left. All I can say Buyer beware you are warned!

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  Poor Traction - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By BillF - June 19 - 2:00 am

  This car is nice but it doesnt get the traction one would expect from a 4WD. The tires have a "B" traction rating which would mean lower end. Other than that its not a bad SUV. In many ways its better than the more expensive counterparts.

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  Delighted With My Veracruz - 2011 Hyundai Veracruz
  By likeit - June 18 - 7:07 pm

  Bought it new (2011 GLS) two weeks ago and am absolutely delighted with it so far. Wonderful driving experience, super capacity, overall luxury feel.

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  Perfect Fit for my family - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By nancy - June 17 - 7:00 am

  Affordable!

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  I love my Sonata!! - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sandi McCullough - June 17 - 4:07 am

  This is the perfect car for me--not too small, not too big. The exterior is as nice as the interior. It is comfortable and gets great mileage!! The ride is smooth and very quiet. The warranty is great, I have been happy with my decision to purchase a Sonata.

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  Haunting noise - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Dave - June 17 - 3:46 am

  Ive had mine a couple of months now and 5000 miles. Two issues,,The speedometer reads about 10% fast. I hate doing math while I drive and I dont like knowing the odometer showing 10% more miles than actual, not to mention the gas mileage indication is also overstated. I also hear a faint "knocking" sound at 1900 rpm just before shifting. Seems to have changed somewhat after the recall reprogram. Dealer has been unable to assist with either problem. Anyone out there having similar issues?

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  Bad MPG - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By firstsonota101 - June 17 - 12:05 am

  bought mine about 2 months ago. MPG as advertised is not!! advertised 24/35 and on hwy i get 29 and in town I get 18. when I took to dealer ship to have looked at, service department told me that everyone he knows does get 29 hwy. the digital readout may say 34 but when you divide the miles driven by gallons put in, it doesnt match the readout. Anyone can make a computer readout say anything they want to. I would not buy this car again due only to the false advertisement on the sticker on the MPG. The fine fine fine print on sticker says the average person will get 28-39. Can you say WOW what a difference in range. And car has alot of road noise.