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 Elantra GT checks all the boxes - 2015 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By elantragt1 - March 28 - 3:35 am

  Weve had our Elantra GT for about a week and are delighted with our experience. While the car appears small on the outside, it is roomy and airy on the inside. Some of the other cars we looked out felt cramped by comparison. From the first moment we sat in this car, we felt there was something right about ithis car compared to the other small cars we had looked at. The controls and seating position fell natural, the build quality is outstanding, and the head and shoulder room are abundant. The back seat also has plenty of headroom, something we found missing in other cars we looked at. On the road, the car has plenty of acceleration , handles well, and is fun to drive.

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  Much underated - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By D Lee - March 28 - 3:09 am

  I test drove every car in this class, and none of them drove as smooth and quiet as the Sonata. One of the pitfalls of front wheel drive is road noise. In this area, the Sonata excells with a very quiet ride. Its time for Consumer Reports to get over its love affair with the Toyota Camry (a much overated,overpriced car.)The Sonata is an excellent vehicle, and a real bargain!

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  10 Year Review - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By red70 - March 27 - 12:07 pm

  LX 2.7L V6 4WD. I have 63K miles on the vehicle as of today. Just replaced the rear brake pads. Change the oil once per year. Vehicle is still running fine with no problems. I still enjoy driving it. This was a good value for the money. During the 10 years, there were only 3 main issues. The trans-axle leaking oil, The battery going dead randomly, and the intermittent door locks is ongoing.

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  Why Pay More For a Honda or Toyota - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By PL GraBois - March 27 - 5:22 am

  The 5 door GT,has the ride and feel of cars costing 5 - 10 thousand dollars more. Good gas mileage, 27-29, very quiet and euro looking. Never thought Id like it till we drove it. Save your money as the warranty makes it worth owning

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  What a Great Little Car!! - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Okie - March 26 - 11:20 pm

  Ive put over 110,000 miles on this Accent and it has been the best car Ive ever owned. Would like to have about 10hp more, but for $9500, its really been fantastic. Gets 40mpg on the highway. Reliability is great had a lifter making a little noise at 98,000 miles and Hyundai honored their warranty with no problem.

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  Stylish comfortable ride at a great pric - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Coloradoskier - March 25 - 10:00 am

  I bought my 2002 Sonata after doing quite a bit of research and so far I love it. Very smooth and quite ride and very classy design with many features standard. I got a Silver GLS with moonroof. Couldnt find one with abs. Payed $17,200 plus tax. I wanted a six cylinder for accelleration on the mountain passes and Im not disappointed. Was able to easily do 80 going over the passes with power to spare. Others have commented that it looks like a jag, a lexus and a mercedes. Im still in the first thousand miles so time will tell how reliable it will be, but they back it with a great warranty. So far, I love it!

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  Good value - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Keith - March 25 - 2:53 am

  The car has been pretty reliable.Only one small problem. I have owned it only four months. It has a pretty nice ride.

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  much better than my kia - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By januarygirl7777 - March 25 - 1:20 am

  This car is so fun to drive. This car has enough power for me even in the 4 cyl version. The only problem I have is condensation that forms on the rear window when the defrost is on and the defrost takes a while to clear the windows, but other than that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this car.

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  Engine change after 1200+ miles...STAY AWAY!!! - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Richard - March 24 - 10:57 pm

  I purchased this car with the understanding that Hyundai has improved quality and how I was wrong. At around 1200 miles, my car started running rough and the oil pressure light came on. Long story short, it was determined my car needed an engine replacement. STAY AWAY!!

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  Great Car - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By orcas828 - March 24 - 12:15 pm

  Cant beat the Sonata for the price. Great ride, beautiful exterior.