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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  I love my santa fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ellie - March 2 - 1:26 pm

  My husband and I went looking and test drove a few and with his severe back injuries could not find one that was comfortable for him, until he sat in the Santa Fe, he said this is the one. This is my first suv and I am loving it, roomy and fairly economical. We love it and I like it better than driving his 30+ thousand trans sport van.

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  Good Decision - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By idfored - March 2 - 10:00 am

  I could not pass this good deal(price). I enjoy all features; I like the way it drives(highway star). Seats are so comfotable. My engine is little noisy for a new car.

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  Tiburon Review - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Caron Strutz - March 2 - 10:00 am

  Really a fun car with some oomph

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  My recent conversion - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Timsmitty - March 2 - 10:00 am

  STAY AWAY from SAN LEANDRO HYUNDAI! WORST in the car business. LIED to me there wasnt a 3.5 liter because didnt have one on the lot. Found on Hyundai website it does exist. LIED to me about the 0% financing but had ad with me so hard to deny. Inept paperwork through mail, leaving half address, getting whole cities states wrong but having correct zip code? Turly did NOT care care once I left with vehicle. Left messages with people trying to help get paperwork sent to the correct address. NEVER got answer. Ill NEVER give them business again, dont deserve it. Sorry but true. Want to build loyalty? Start with those that sell you car to.

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  2003 Santa Fe LX 2.7L - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By smt - March 2 - 10:00 am

  Very impressive. Looked at the competetors (i.e. Sorento and Axiom) and neither of these came close. Everyone who has seen it has been in love with it. The comfort features are great. It is worthwhile to pay the extra money to get the sunroof and running boards; they complete the look.

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  Best economy station wagon ever !!! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Steve K. - March 2 - 10:00 am

  All of the car manufacturers have stopped making big, low priced family station wagons. Definitely buy this "SUV" without hesitation if a big station wagon is what you really need. You will not be disappointed! And dont assume that you need to upgrade to a six-cylinder engine just because all of the "professional" reviews say so. If you cant live with the base four, you probably didnt want a station wagon to begin with.

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  Best Value For The Money - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By rtgeleynse - March 2 - 10:00 am

  What can I say, it is a whole lot of car for the money. Its fast, its fun, it gets good gas mileage, and I only spent 16k on it. Watch out Honda! Hyundai is taing over...

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  Great Car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By stoddsmith - March 2 - 10:00 am

  Was a little hesitant buying a Hyunda, didnt know much about them. But what I could get for what I wanted to spend drew me into the dealership and the car itself hooked me. The car performs like a higher priced sedan for about 15,000

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  Disappointed - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By rxc - March 1 - 10:06 pm

  Overall, the vehicle is decent but weve had issues with water leaking through the seal of the sunroof after a modest rain fall or through a car wash. Also, there is an associated whistling sound from the sunroof at speeds above 60 MPH. Have seen other Tuscon have this same problem by making the dealer apply a garden hose over the sunroof. Hyundai claims this is this designed to happen. I dont believe their claim and I did not spend money on a brand new vehicle that is supposed to leak into the interior. Very disappointed and will take my business elsewhere in the future to more reliable auto manufacturers.

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  GL, I recommend it to my friends - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mohamed - February 28 - 11:29 pm

  I have had the car for two days only and I like it. For this price it is wonderful. Smooth engine (not noisy like I read in some auto web sites) and enough room for driver and passengers. Its acceleration is great and suspension is good enough. For these features another car will cost you at least 5000 dollars more. I recommended this car to my friends.