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 Value - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By AHyundai?? - June 13 - 10:00 am

  I went looking at the Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, and Toyota Camry. My budget allowed for only a low end version with 4 cylinder. Before I bought, I went and drove the 03 Sonata and was quite impressed. I then realized that I could probably get a XG350L for about what I was going to pay for a low end Altima with a 4 cylinder. For the price the value was too hard to pass up. Had the car now for a week and looking forward to the next several months. I have had a guy driving VW passat, a BMW, and a Mercedes pull up beside me and try to figure out what I was driving. I wanted to hold up several thousand dollars to show them what I saved!

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  3K on my Touring - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By hellchild656 - June 13 - 3:10 am

  I have had a 1994 Toyota Camry Used with 235000 miles on it and I have had a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laradeo 2003 used with 66000 miles on it trust me the Jeep was by far the biggest piece of crap in the world. The Toyota well for the older car it was great on fuel but I couldnt ask for a better car.

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  Rare Problem - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Cruzian - June 12 - 10:46 pm

  Comfortable to drive, and build quality seems decent overall. So far 48 days in the shop with a head gasket leak. Actually, the factory FORGOT TO INSTALL THE REAR HEAD GASKET so it was a compression leak, but a tiny leak only when hot. I wish the dealer had pulled the heads first instead of trying everything else first. Well see how well it does with a properly assembled engine.

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  Fun to Drive at This Price! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By IsaacD - June 12 - 5:40 am

  For some reason, Consumer Reports decided that this car isnt reliable. I cant understand why. If youre not a racer, then youll find plenty of performance under the hood. Shifting has never been an issue. And I have more than once received comments from passers-by about the appearance. Of course, there are some shortcomings. But the negatives entirely depend upon your lifestyle. The rear seat is non- existant and road noise is a little much. As with all front wheel drives, torque steering is an issue. No matter these issues, however, I absolutely love driving this car!

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  **Piece Of Crap** - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Marc - June 11 - 2:56 pm

  **If you have the V6 Engine take note** Hyundai knows about a problam with the timeing chain auto tensioner which will cause your timing chain to fall off on the V6 engiine. I have 3,500 miles on my "06 LX" and it had to be towed in to the dealer and have the engine removed, taken apart and put back together again. It was in the shop for one week out of service. How was Hyundai service ? the dealer did a great job fixing it but Hyundai offered no compensation. Hyundai and the dealer also told me they know about the problam with the V6 and are trying to pull cars off the lot to put in the new piece. This is my second Hyundai and my last.. Look at the Honda or Toyota not Hyundai

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  Great Vehicle - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By REG331 - June 11 - 12:20 pm

  Purchased a 2008 Hyundai Limited AWD 3 weeks ago. So far I have been very impressed with the build quality and performance of this vehicle. This vehicle is loaded with all the options found in Lexus. The best part is the price. Purchased this vehicle for thousands less than Lexus, and a $4,000 Rebate. Mileage is better than my 2000 Tundra and even though I wish it was better, what can you expect when you purchase a 7 passenger vehicle. Navigation system is manufactured by LG and much easier to use than the Nav system in my Lexus.

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  Styling and bang for the buck cant be beat. - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By peter95949 - June 11 - 7:02 am

  This is a lot of car for the $$! The styling is a head-turner. Not only have people stopped to ask me about the car, but when I see one on the road ahead of me, I mistake it for a Jag. At 11,000 miles, mileage has improved and returns a consistent 38mpg on the open road at 70+ mph. Slow down to 55, and the reading jumps to 40+ mpg! City driving returns about 24mpg if there is a little freeway driving mixed in.

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  Our 2010 Veracruz Experience - 2010 Hyundai Veracruz
  By DRAR - June 11 - 4:43 am

  Only had it a week or so but we absolutely love it! The acceleration is brisk when it needs to be, the tranny shifts so smooth you barely notice it. The gas mileage is not the greatest BUT we knew that going in. This enabled us to downsize from a minivan but keep the ability to haul all three teenagers if needed. I had never even looked at a Hyundai before but we are ecstatic that we included them in our list of prospects. My wife drove one, read some reviews, and we used magazine reviews to help with it all. We could not be happier.

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  Beware of a Tucson - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Sue - June 11 - 4:00 am

  I purchased my 2006 Tucson new. I was expecting a great vehicle. Instead I got a vehicle with a lot of problems. The rotors warped at 300 miles and again at 14,500. I have had to have the radio replaced because it drained my battery on two occasions and left me with a dead car. The moonroof whistles and they cannot correct it. That is why they give you a deflector with the vehicle because it is a design flaw. The interior marks extremely easily and if very hard to clean when marked. The best I can get on gas mileage if 21.7 even though it was rated 19 and 24. I would never buy another Hyundai and cannot wait to get rid of the vehicle. The alarm system makes no sense.

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  Fueled up - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Joe - June 10 - 11:43 am

  Claim on the window was 17 intown to 23 on highway. I have yet to reach 17 either place.. This is the second Hyundai I have bought new, and love both vehicles, just this one has poor poor mileage....