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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  CHANGE - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By don - March 12 - 1:15 am

  I looked around for the best deal and the best looking and running and best warranty. Love the 5yrs 60,000 miles, traded in a one owner 94 Honda Prelude. We had some good times but glad to see it go and much happier not having to crawl in an out of it. The trunk space is unbelievable. The car drives like a dream. Even my boyfriend thinks its the best thing Ive ever done!

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  Great bang for the buck! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By xo1rider - March 11 - 6:53 am

  I was in need of a 4 banger with good gas mileage. Id settled on the Honda Civic when I saw the ratings on the Hyundai, read the reviews and checked out the warranty. For what I paid and how it is equipped I saved several thousand dollars over the Civic. I love the fact that it comes with standard XM radio, the interior room is great and the back seat feels like a full sized Ford.

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  Great job by Hyundai - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MJL - March 10 - 9:56 pm

  Just bought or vechile last month and we love it. My father just bought a new trail blazer and they are about the same size(TB has a little more cargo room but less room in back seat). We paid 20,500 for SF GlS w/4WD and he paid $25,500 for his and does not have 4WD and only has 3/36 waranty. Plus we had more features. He looked at ours and said I should have bought that one!

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  Great Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By messenger06 - March 10 - 8:06 pm

  Ive owned three Hyundais and all have been great cars with the 06 Sonata LX following the same example as the previous Accent and Tiburon. There have been no problems with this vehicle and the dealership as usual has been great addressing any issues.

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  It works for me - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By tampadave - March 10 - 7:36 am

  The price was unbeatable. Ride is smooth. Acceleration for passing is super. I get 24mpg combined city/hwy which is slightly below my expectations. Ride is smooth. Overall, I believe this auto has great value for the dollar without sacrificing ride or quality. A nice ride, nice looking, and it comes loaded with an awful lot of standard equipment.

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  Great choice. - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ron In Springtown - March 10 - 5:13 am

  Traded in 05 Maxima SE for this car. Am not disappointed in the least little bit. They say its suspension is load, but the Maxima had the noise in the front instead of the year. If you drive the speed limit in Sonota itll get 34 mpg at 4200 miles on the odometer. The Maxima SE might get 29/30 but on premium fuel, and when do you need 290 hourses driving around Springtown. Sonata is smoother than the Maxima but has more road noise, but not unbearable to any extent. XM is wonderful, infinity sould is on par with luxury brands. Well made car free of rattles, and never back but for oil changes, believe at this point I may as well not look further than Hyundai for my second car when ready.

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  Hyundais Done it Again! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By JohnD - March 9 - 5:23 pm

  2,000 Miles into my daughters new 07 Elantra and Im very impressed. Hyundais done a really nice redesign on this vehicle. I wouldnt have considered its predecessor, but Im thrilled with the quality and value it represents. Not only does it get great gas mileage, but its a very solid car and loaded with features for the money. My choice was narrowed down to it and the Honda Civic LX. The Honda was very nice too, but for nearly $3000. less, the Elantra offered more features and a longer warranty. My parents were the first ones in the family to buy a Hyundai, the 06 Sonata. I was impressed with the quality and value of that car and believe Hyundai is getting the formula down.

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  First Time Hyundai Buyer! - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Arnold - March 8 - 9:51 pm

  This is my first Hyundai and I must say that I am impressed!! Owned two Toyota Camrys before this and have had less defects/problems with the Hyundai then the Camrys... In fact, I havent had any problems at all... Im picky with my cars and I havent found anything to complain about.. All in all, Ive been very pleased...

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  Hyundai Sonata GLS Auto - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By don cook - March 8 - 9:26 pm

  This is our second Hyundai Sonata. I purchased a 2004 Sonata. We have been very pleased with the 2004. Over 60,000 trouble free miles.

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  I like it, but... - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By viktor - March 8 - 5:06 pm

  I started leasing Sonata 1.5 month ago. I expected its going to be easy on gas, but as it turned out its not. I had owened Buick Lesabre 1989 and found that both consume gas evenly. Buick with 3.8 engine and 250,000km and Sonata with 2.7 and 3000km. I like stepping on gas but this car doesnt inspire you to put gloves on. The rest is perfect. I cant say anything about reliabilty so far. Well see. The price, the features and the look are great.