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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  first Hyundai - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By justjoe13 - January 21 - 5:21 pm

  Great car,fun to drive. Gas gauge is notoriously inaccurate

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  airbags - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By sue - January 21 - 10:40 am

  i purchased this vehicle with the assumption that if the vehicle rolled over that the side airbags would deploy......did not happen. car flipped 6x and not 1 airbag deployed. just want to save someones life....dont count on them to save you.

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  8 Month update - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Pharmac - January 20 - 11:23 pm

  I have had my Tucson since Aug, and have put about 12,000 miles on it so far. Most of it on the Washington DC Beltway and 1 long trip. Overall very satisfied. Very responsive (for an SUV), never felt out of control, enjoyed the sound system. I really believe it has about the best balance of styling and features. NO real complaints. Mileage could be better, sure, but hey I knew what I was getting when I bought it so no complaints from me.

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  My Passion - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By bigrog6395 - January 20 - 3:51 pm

  I am the proud owner of a Hyundai Accent GL that I named Passion (its Red). Its a wonderful car she survived a 14-hour to and from trip from New Jersey to Georgia and other than usual oil changes and tune-ups, I would recommend it to any young driver in need of a car.

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  My Passion - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By bigrog6395 - January 20 - 3:51 pm

  I am the proud owner of a Hyundai Accent GL that I named Passion (its Red). Its a wonderful car, she survived a 14-hour to and from trip from New Jersey to Georgia and other than natural oil changes and tune-ups, I would recommend it to any young driver in need of a car.

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  Back to the Wagon - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By TPA-driver - January 20 - 11:20 am

  Traded in a 1999 Mitsubishi Mirage DS for the Hyundai Elantra Touring. Wonderful drive, nothing bad to write about. Its the Euro Wagon from Hyundai. Price was much lower than a similarly equipped Mazda3.

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  Very impressive\ - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By PDLynch - January 20 - 8:40 am

  This car is fun to drive, performs really well in all weather conditions (including canadian winters). Its been amazing for my family, drives, looks, and feels like a vehicle that costs 10k more!

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  Old /young car nut. - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By young/old guy - January 20 - 3:56 am

  I researched the 2011 Sonata to the point of being Well informed.. We stopped to look at our local dealer. They had a Limited, gls & SE. The GLS was my price range with great standard features. Loved the looks of the SE. Old Hot Rodder come thru again.. For the extra green stuff, the SE made the decision easy.. Love the looks, and after a road trip, the best part is the ride, safe feeling, above all MPG on average 35 at 75 mph. Gotta love it.. I love the linkage to Mercades, Lexus, among others. The only complaint is my wife said the passenger seat was too low. Black is great, but is harder to keep in concoures condition.. Still impressed!!

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  XG 350L - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Paul - January 20 - 2:33 am

  One sweet car. Perfect for the wife who doesnt drive fast and wants creature comforts. Price was right, car had no defects. Quiet, good sound system and every option most people want and need.

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  Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By TIKTAK - January 19 - 4:50 pm

  We love this car. We have 2 kids, and weve already driven up to Pennsylvania & Canada!! The space is amazing.