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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  Cheap but well made - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Helix - June 6 - 2:00 am

  Hte car is a reall steal for the money and the amenities you get with it.

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  Extremely Happy With Choice - 2016 Hyundai Genesis
  By Scott Bux - June 5 - 11:25 pm

  Owned a 2011 Sonata before this car. I was really happy with the entire Hyundai experience. The sales people were not overly aggressive, lots of car for the price, reliability has been fantastic... I wanted to "step up" my car game a little so it was not hard for me to try Hyundai again. I absolutely love the design of this Genesis. Its a luxury styled sedan but with some sporty stylings. The interior is fantastic. I am above average in height (63) and this interior leaves plenty of room for me. The seat adjustments are great. Most cars in this class are going 100% digital including the gauges but I dont mind the traditional ones here. They look nice and there is a nice LCD screen between them for additional information. The multi media head unit is a nice upgrade from where the Sonata was with a lot of features including Siri and Google. Bluetooth works flawlessly with my phone. The base model was loaded and is a great choice but i bumped it up to the Signature package which includes the panoramic roof which is very nice especially at night. All interior lights are now LEDs. Seats have heating and cooling. I love the little touches and attention to detail such as when you get out of the car at night the Genesis logo shines on the ground on either side of the car in LED lighting. Might sound dumb or pretentious but you know you would like that. As I am still learning all the tech I do have one con. The rearview camera. The quality is ok. Not the sharpest. It does have trajectory lines and even can turn down to look straight at the ground for that extra inch but for some reason there are no front or rear sensors on this model. You have to get the Ultimate package for that which I feel at this price point it should come included. I also agree with one of the other reviewers that it should include remote start (although I dont have much of need personally). Having to subscribe to Bluelink for that just seems like a bad move. Of course driving it is important too. I was surprised by the power of this car. It really does have some kick to it. The Sonata had fairly decent wind noise reduction but this is far superior. You can whisper in the car going 70 and hear a pin drop. Might not be the quietest overall but it is definitely the quietest car Ive ever owned. Very smooth ride. It does not drive like a BMW but I like to drive luxury type vehicles in chill mode. Although I feel like it leaves just a few touches out from its competitors, I feel like they will only get better as they transition into its own brand and would recommend them to anyone. Hyundai has really made itself a real competitor.

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  A Great Car - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Steve Dobbins - June 5 - 3:07 pm

  103,000 mi as of 6/05. Has been extremely reliable. Looks great inside and outside. Recently had failure in power steering hose. $400.00 incl. labor for a hose? Air bag warning lite on, $1600.00 for an air bag sensor? They have to rip and send out seat because sensor is under upholstery...needs to be sent out to upholsterer. Engineering is said to be brilliant I have a hunch from now on is where the money will really go out because of the "brilliant" engineering of a 10 foot long power steering hose, etc. P.S. When my 11 year old daughter moved the front seat forward the warning light went off. I wonder???

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  Love my Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dombrolo - June 5 - 2:20 am

  Bought this SUV after our Aztec & S10 got flooded in Hurricane Wilma. We had to find something quickly and the supply down here in the Keys was very limited as all the dealers lost all their stock also. About a week and half after the hurricane, I was driving past Niles in my rented car and saw this Santa Fe on their lot. It had been shipped in from a sister dealer in Tallahassee. I always had wanted a Santa Fe, I love that is wasnt boxy like most SUVs, and it was exactly the color that I had wanted. We test drove it that evening and were able to keep it overnight. We bought it the next morning and have never had any regrets. I get about 22-23 mpg which is great for SUVs. I love it!

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  Limited 4cyl with Navigation - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By howard.mergler@theme - June 5 - 2:00 am

  Narrowed down my purchase to a Jetta or the Sonata and the Sonata just blew the Jetta away with features and lower cost. I also found the Sonata to be extremely comfortable with a very smooth ride. The iPod connectivity is great although there are some quirks with the software that could be improved. They also need to make the center console just a tad bigger to be able to hold a normal iPod well. The one area I have not been impressed with is gas mileage. I have routinely gotten about 22 MPG even with a good bit of highway driving. Not as good as I hoped, but still much better than what I had before.

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  Serves its Purpose - 1998 Hyundai Elantra
  By to dust - June 5 - 1:47 am

  I bought the car(new) because I was saving for a house. Now 3 children later, I use it to commute 70 miles a day. It now has 110,000 miles and it is a perfect car for my needs. It does not handle great, it is not the most comfortable car, and over 70 mph it sounds like the rubberband is going to snap. Overall, it has been very reliable and I still get better then 33 miles to the gallon. I have been very satified with the decision to buy this car.

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  Well Satisfied - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Don L - June 4 - 3:06 pm

  I purchased my Hyundai Tuscon about 6 months ago. I have been nothing but pleased. The vehicle is fun to drive, roomy and certainly is a good value for the money. No other SUV can match this one for features for the money and sporty appearance. The warranty is a big plus though havent had even the first problem.

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  Real World Drivers Car - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Franknspeed - June 4 - 4:40 am

  Picked it up last night. Sharp looking car, sporty driving (still need to break it in properly) and commuting are possible without sacrifice. Plenty of power. Perfect ergonomics, lots of room, good visibility. Handling is great, good feedback, brakes are wonderful. Drove both the 3.8 and the 2.0T and found the turbo to be more than enough, actually prefer the sound of the 2.0 over the 3.8. Suspension is tight, but not bone jarring. And the price was right, too.

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  THIS 2010 TUCSON ROCKS !! - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Robin - June 3 - 11:33 pm

  This SUV ROCKS!! I love the workmanship of this SEXY vehicle. The interior is very well built. The new style is unique and sleek. The power is Amazing!! It brakes very well. I really enjoy the smooth ride it gives. I have the Kiwi Green one and I so love how everyone on the road stops and looks at my TUCSON..

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  a decent size car thats decent on gas - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By drew - June 3 - 7:36 pm

  This is the first Hyundai Ive owned and I can say I may very well own another in the future. This S.Korean company has made many improvements since the infamous Excel, but this little coupe has good pickup and good handling in the rain. (unlike a Mustang) Turns are a different story, esp. at a roundabout but it is very good on gas and when pushed the right way has good acceleration on the highways. The 4 cyl engine lacks some horsepower but it is a small car so dont expect the performance of a Miata.