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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  Very satisfied! - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Beth - March 19 - 8:45 pm

  The 2005 Hyundai Sonata GL has a great warranty, smooth ride, classy body style and great cargo space.

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  Good Car - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By sai - March 19 - 7:16 pm

  The car is good for the money.

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  Great Value Sports Coupe - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Shane - March 19 - 1:40 pm

  I used to sell Infinitis for a living and its easy to see what the benchmark for this car is. For almost $20,000 less for a similarly equipped car, the Genesis is 95% of the way to a G37 Coupe. Yes, it does ride firm but its a sports car. Being British, Im probably more used to firm riding cars. The road noise is noticeable. Im looking forward to changing to high performance tyres in the spring to see if that helps.

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  Second Hyundai - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Happy - March 18 - 6:10 pm

  Traded 4 year old Santa Fe in for Tucson. Sales lady was very friendly. I wanted a 4 cylinder, but they were out of stock. I am glad I got 6 cylinder. It has enough power for everyday need. The content level for the price is outstaning, including the warranty.

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  Great Car - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By widners - March 18 - 5:47 pm

  This is a great car for the money!

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  TOTALLY AWESOME CAR. Best Ive owned. - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By zephski - March 18 - 2:58 pm

  Ive owned everything from a Vette to a Mercedes SL convertible and everything in between. I LOVE my Sonata and would buy another one in a minute. Ive got friends who have purchased Sonatas and one that has an XG350 and they feel the same way. Hyundai has made tremendous strides in quality and reliability. My 2003 Sonata had ZERO problems the whole time I owned it. Quiet and smooth ride and fabulous interior and exterior design.

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  Great Midsize Car for the Price - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By Paradise_City - March 18 - 2:26 pm

  Have this car less than a month. Very nice ride when the road is not too bumpy, the designers should travel on Pennsylvania roads to fine tune the suspension. Superior interior design, & comfortable seating. Gas mileage seems to be 26-27MPG so far. Overall Im pleased. Got a good price with a $2500 rebate and a $1000 rebate with my 07 Toyota Corolla trade in. Interior very roomy.

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  Great Value - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Joe A - March 18 - 11:01 am

  Love the vehicle.........Great Value for $ spent

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  Love my Tucson Limited with Ultimate package!! - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Anindya Dutta - March 18 - 5:10 am

  When you first drive this vehicle you will notice that the cabin is exceptionally quiet, as if there are no other vehicle on the road. All the instrument cluster are placed perfectly and can be used as needed. One of the many feature I like is the panoramic sunroof perfect for any weather and I like it when it is raining :) I drove the dCT aka dual clutch transmission for the first time. It needs a bit getting used to as the other car, which is a Honda, that I have is the traditional A/T transmission. Overall it shifts pretty well and fast and you can feel the turbo kick in as you throttle it. The price point wise I would say it is value for money as the features you get are some of the top of line segment. I would highly recommended this SUV!!

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  We love our 2013 SFS Limited - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By miker204 - March 17 - 9:01 pm

  My wife and I picked up our Limited SFS a week and a bit ago and it has been fantastic. I have been reading reviews on here prior to purchasing the unit but after a few test drives we decided to trade in the Tucson and upgrade (and what an upgrade it is). So far we have put on about 650kms but so far so good. No issues with steering, no leaking (ran it through a few touchless car washes) and heat in the rear seems fine (my wife says its comfortable for her and our 1 year old). Knock on wood nothing to really complain about except that its missing a power lift gate!