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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  Awesome - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mastergolf - June 28 - 11:33 am

  I have just 2,500 miles on my car, but the Sonata LX 3.3L is great. Very impressed with performance and looks. Will cruise all day at very high speeds. 17" tires look nice but do contribute to more road noise in a otherwise very quiet car. Lots of good comments from lookers.

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  2016 discount dreamboat - 2016 Hyundai Azera
  By Joshua - June 28 - 9:03 am

  Actually just picked this thing up today and have to say when they put this together they really thought of everything and then some. The outside appearance of this car is very elegant with sexy slooping lines and accents in all the right places. The interior is well thought out and even without the limited you get a truckload of features that comparable cars dont unless u spend thousands more. And theyve thought of nice small touches to make u notice how amazing it is. For instance when you put the car in park at night the floorboards illuminate so you can see things.the infinity sound system is nothing short of amazing and is very crisp, capturing everything. The motor is slightly underpowered for the car but definetly provides adequate pickup while the transmission provides smooth shifts. So far weve averaged 23.5 mpgs average with both hwy and city driving and being able to whisper to each other at highway speeds. To add to it handling is everything youd expect from a premium sedan and you can literally turn the wheel of the car with your pinky sitting still... so not for handling junkies but for those that want to enjoy the ride. Backseat room and comfort i feel is 2nd to none. There is so much room back there we had no 2nd thoughts aboht trading our 2017 Traverse on this. Plus the trunk is HUGE so llenty of room for storage. Great job hyundai and bring this baby back with unparalleled marketing to make it sell!!! Why u got rid of it i dont know... but most wont know what it is unless u explain it so market the crap out of it and bring it back (with an AWD 2.0T).

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  Great Car, Good Choice - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Fibulator - June 27 - 3:00 pm

  First off, the guy that posted in here and said they didnt have 17 inch wheels is wrong. The reviewer that reviewed this car (John Pearley Huffman) is equally impaired and extremely biased, and most of the review is opinions. I sold my fully loaded 97 Honda Accord because this car won me over. A good number of my friends own Hondas, and this car has a more sturdy interior than Hondas. The back seats are a bit tight unless you have short friends. Take it for a test drive, its a great car.

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  So far, so good - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By ringside - June 26 - 11:36 pm

  My Black/Saddle int. 2011 Tucson Limited is just under 3 months old and Ive put 7k miles on it. The ride and steering are firm and a tad bouncy, but I love that about it. I went from a gas guzzling, but more powerful Grand Cherokee. My gas mileage is significantly better than my Jeep was, but is not quite the 22/31 on the sticker. I average between 18.5-20 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on hwy trips from Dallas to Austin. I need to point out that I drive the vehicle quite hard as, I sometimes try to make up for the power I was familiar with. I would surely get better mpg if I drove under "normal conditions". Overall, Im very satisfied with my purchase!

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  Nice, sporty, roomy, and fun to drive - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Kittykat - June 26 - 3:53 am

  Purchased my 2011 Sonata two days ago after looking and test driving Honda and Sonatas. Once I drove the sonata it was easy to choose the sonata. I love all the features that come with the SE and I added the Nav package and love it.

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  Great car - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tom - June 25 - 6:43 pm

  The 2009 limited model is one great car. Loads of standard equipment at a decent price. The interior is very upscale. We could not be happier with the vehicle. The ride and performance are very good and we are getting over 26mpg in mostly city driving.

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  former Toyota owner - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By My Santa Fe - June 25 - 6:40 pm

  This is a great car fun to drive - good on fuel economy for an SUV, but can be slow on pick up speed - very comfortable to drive and plenty of room in the back for traveling, shopping, etc. I have had no problems with the vehicle. If I could change one thing it would be the rear door it opens up instead of out and if your hands are full it can be a problem closing the door, but @ so much less $$$$ than the Toyota I came from. I am very happy w/my Santa Fe.

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  A great car and buy - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By bob mcneill - June 25 - 7:20 am

  It was love at first sight. I first saw the 2011 Sonata in the rear view mirror of my 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe, also a wonderful vehicle. After reading reviews of the car in Car and Driver and Motor Trend, I started shopping around for one, and purchased the Limited edition. Its absolutely a marvelous car . It drives great, the ride is smooth and it has all the power that one could want. The styling is spectacular as is the gas mileage. I have just returned from a 1,200 mile round trip from Md. to Michigan, and averaged 38.6 miles per gallon at highway speeds. The Limited edition has all the luxury features of autos priced at many thousand dollars more.

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  Fun reliable and gas mizer - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tony - June 23 - 12:16 pm

  The deal for this car was very easy. The ride is fun and the car is beautiful. My wife kept it for her and gave me the Infinity. We took it to the coast to break it in and got 38 MPG. There is a little road noise but overall this car is great for the price, would recommend it highly.

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  Truly a good car! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Izzy the Elantra - June 23 - 10:00 am

  I have enjoyed this car since we have had it. It gets wonderful gas mileage and the rise is smooth and quiet. The price was the best part. You will never find a car with this many perks for the price.