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 buy in its class - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rick Jones - March 31 - 10:00 am

  The Elantra is HUGELY underpriced. Dollar for dollar, its better than the Civic, Corolla, or Focus. Its a big improvement on previous Hyundais... quiet, responsive, and comfortable with more than enough power. Options galore, looks good, well built. A great buy. I didnt intend to buy Hyundai when I went shopping, but it beat out every other compact car, and I looked at all of them.

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  Mostly Love - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By luvcars - March 31 - 2:40 am

  This is my first Hyundai and love it for the most part. The styling, comfort and gas mileage is my favorite parts of the car. I do not like the steering at highway speeds. Always correcting one way and the other way to just stay straight on the road. I also have a rattle in the glove box area I will have the dealer fix. I would like to see Hyundai recalibrate the steering and I would love this car.

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  Hyundai XG350L - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By Jack Drum - March 31 - 2:00 am

  I think this car is a excellent in quality, and workmanship for any automobile. I have been pleasantly surprised in each new thing I find about this car. It has very good performance, and gives a stable, and comfortable ride.

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  Superb Car - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Valclar - March 31 - 2:00 am

  Best investment I ever made. The car handles excellent. Very roomy inside. Plenty of storage space. Drives very fast, although slightly slower on pick-up, but I am not a race driver. This is the car to have. You will love it.

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  All 10s!! - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By ToddF - March 31 - 2:00 am

  Face it...You are not going to find a better deal anywhere. Hyundai is not the company they used to be. What other car manufacture would stand behind their product for 10 years if they were junk? The Elentra GT is a great car. It is well built, solid, powerful and inexpensive. What other car are you going to get all power, LEATHER, alloy wheels, 4 wheel disc brakes, a/c, 6 speaker CD stereo for under $15,000? And those cool purple illuminated instruments are nice too! I LOVE THIS CAR!!

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  Superb Vehicle, Beautiful Design & Value - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Seon - March 30 - 9:40 pm

  Just bought this and it looks great from the outside. The inside is pretty good and I recommend the leather seats. The dash and the interior controls are very nice looking and extremely functional. The car drives very well with the larger engine and definitely handles well in passing.

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  Nice ride - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Dave - March 30 - 2:00 am

  I bought the 2005 Santa Fe used just a week ago. The gas mileage is a bit lower than what I expected for a small V6. The 2.7 is just a little bit underpowered for a vehicle of this size. It is very comfortable for an SUV and handles very well. A solid vehicle with a lot of nice standard features. Roomy interior and sporty design. Controls easily reached and easy access getting in and out of the vehicle. Roomy cargo space.

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  Great performance SUV for a low buck - 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By KSS - March 30 - 2:00 am

  It took one test drive in the Santa Fe SE to seal the deal for me. I am 64" and this car has enough room for five of me. It drives and handles like a truck; if youre into sharp handling this may not be for you. It handles bumps and rough terrain really well, and is loaded with power options, bluetooth, and other neat accessories. On my model there is a beautiful wood trim lining that accents the interior, and the paint is sharp and glossy. On the freeway, the shifting is smooth, the kick down with the V6 gets you to a quick 80-90 mph boost in no time, and braking is a breeze.

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  BEST CAR I HAVE OWNED - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By katgrl879 - March 30 - 1:02 am

  I love the car smooth ride, classy style. I had the smaller version of the Hyundai, but this Sonata is a great car for traveling far distances and also close to home.

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  Love This Car - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By brucew - March 29 - 8:42 pm

  We have had this car for one year now without any problems. I highly recommend it to someone that likes quality at a reasonable price.