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:

• 

  Accent GT - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Donald - April 2 - 9:42 am

  I am thoroughly enjoying my Accent GT...fun to drive, peppy, good gas mileage. Down sides - small, stuffy interior, good for single younger people. Seats are a bit stiff. Definitely not a long distance drive car. Rear with spoiler sits very high and takes away from visibilty behind the car quite a bit.

• 

  Hyuandais are Awesome - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By tommigirl_tlc - April 2 - 2:00 am

  I love to drive my car.....It is fun and sporty and buying gas doesnt clean out my bank account....I can drive from Monroe Louisiana to Dallas Texas on one tank of gas....It is perfect for the college student who loves to save money and still have adventures.

• 

  Wonderful Car - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By sealie - April 2 - 2:00 am

  I havent noticed any roll, the features, quality and price are the best deal on the market. The ride is super and smooth. Havent noticed any searching for gears no touchy acceleration pedal. I think it shifts better than the Honda I also own. Beautiful auto all around.

• 

  Best Car I have owned - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By sealie - April 2 - 2:00 am

  This car is wonderful to drive on the road, everything in the car is luxury. I have only owned Hondas in the past. this car is far superior. I looked at VWs, Hondas, etc, and this car really out performs all of them, execpt for the VW construction quality. The price for what you are getting compared to the others is no comparision.

• 

  Mistake - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Cannon - April 2 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car like 5 months ago and I have had nothing but problems. The first month I had the car the Check engine light came on and the car wasnt shifting properly. They had to replace a switch in the transmission. 2 months later the car wouldnt start and I had to bring it in again. The car is overpriced and yea the options are great but the wind noise is terrible. It sucks to drive in the rain so far cause it seems the car tends to slide on the we roadway. Its not that fun to drive and even thought it says GT it doesnt drive like any other GT I have ever had. The only thing that makes this car appealing is the warranty, and you will need it.

• 

  More than I expected - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By velosterraptor - April 1 - 11:01 pm

  I just bought my veloster 3 weeks ago. Unlike most people who have reviewed the car, I was looking for the baaase model. Which ended up being more difficult than expected. The reason for me wanting the base model was because of a tight budget, and knowing that the base model has more features than some mid level to higher end models of other "cheap" new vehicles. It drives great. It is sporty. Its not fast. But it also doesnt leave anything to be desired if youre commuting in it. It goes up hills and passes on the freeway just fine.

• 

  I Love this Hybrid - 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By golfing713 - March 31 - 6:23 pm

  I test drove 2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE. 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid, 2014 Toyota Prius Plug-In, and 2013 Honda Civic Hybrid. All of these hybrid cars share the same feature, CVT. Continuous Variable Transmission. I work for Nissan and most Nissans have a CVT in the car which are consistently being replaced. Since there first or second year CVTs I passed on Honda/Toyota. The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited has a smooth quiet ride. Has a lot of great features and gas mileage so far has been in the low to mid 30s. Fit and Finish, seat comfort, back-up camera. nav, bluetooth make this car a great choice. Dont listen to the bad reviews, I feel this car has a great value for the $$ D

• 

  Smart choice - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By chris - March 31 - 11:30 am

  I bought my Azera limited after doing a ton of research on the net. I got fed up with spending a mint fixing my audi a8 continuously. I wanted to find a somewhat comparable safe, solid roomy vehicle that was built well and didnt cost an arm and a leg. I looked at used BMW, Passat, Jags, Saab, Audis, Avalon and kept coming back to the Azera. I bought it for about the same price as other used cars with 30-40k miles and now feel it might very well be one of the smartest choices I could have made.

• 

  best yet! - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Diane Noll - March 31 - 10:50 am

  My frist suv. After this , never again another car!

• 

  Unreal - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By jforrest8 - March 31 - 10:00 am

  "Lets not go overboard here" should post "Lets not post here unless youve driven the car"... With that said. I just purchased my Blue Shark yesterday. Got the shiftronic and am blown away by the power, look, comfort, and luxury incorporated in this sports car. It is a Supra/A4/Porsche at half the price. I am very pleased. P.S. Though I dont recommend it, I just dusted my first RSX in a 300 yard sprint and he got a better jump than I did...