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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  One great economy car - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Blao - March 25 - 8:36 am

  Love at first sight, It looks and equipted much better than more expensive Corolla and Civic. Very roomy with hatchback model. Handling is better than my camry 95 LE V6. The engine is strong enought to move the car smoothly with traffice on both city and highway. Most of material used in the car look and feel great, only a few items look cheap such as the Glove compartment, antenna, muffler...

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  Outstanding contender among midsize - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Emile Banks - March 24 - 5:16 pm

  I typically only buy high end luxury vehicles, Porsche, Mercedes, Lexus, Jaguar and BMWs. This vehicle was purchased for my employees to use in my business. Since driving it I having second thoughts about making it a company vehicle. It looks great, drives well and has wonderful gas mileage. The interior is comparable to the luxury cars I am accustom to driving. Recently, while out of town, I rented a Cadillac CTS. The preferred the interior to my new Hyundai. i wasnt always a believer, but I am now. Great Job Hyundai, great job!

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  Love it! - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Love It - March 22 - 8:40 am

  This car looks good, and runs great. Very spacious, and well worth the money. I would recommend this car to anyone. I have a honda accord, and paid 5000.00 more than the Sonata. I find the sonata drives smoother than the honda. I never thought I would want a Hyundai, but I must say the Sonata changed my mind.

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  I cant believe its not a Lexus or Audi - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By John - March 22 - 4:30 am

  Audi performance with Lexus quietness. Even at 75 mph, I could hear my watch ticking. This vehicle performs and feels like an $50,000 car. Beautiful design added its value even further. This one was definately built to set new standards for its market niche.

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  Love it! - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Tracy - March 21 - 5:16 am

  Coming from a BMW, Im pleasantly surprised with Hyundai. They did a great job with the Tucson. Does it look like a luxury car, yes. Does it ride like a luxury car, unfortunately no. I notice the difference, but its not enough to make me run out and buy a 45/50k BMW again. My first tank averaged approx 26/27 MPG and the second tank averaged approx 23/24 MPG. I drive 30 miles into the city for work daily (stop/go rush hour traffic - Chicago) and love only filling up ONCE a week instead of twice a week...oh, and Im saving sooo much money since I no longer have to pay for premium!! Im also surprised on the acceleration. For a 4cyl, it takes off. Friend drove it and thought it was a 6cyl.

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  2011 Sanata SE - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By 2011Sanata - March 21 - 1:03 am

  I love this car. I test drove the Limited and the SE and liked the SE a little better. It does have stiffer (sportier) ride but, the feel of the of the SE was just better for me. I think the seats are different too and I liked the feel of the SE. Plus I paid about the same price for the SE with sunroof/navigation package, as the Limited would have cost. I would recommend driving both before you buy. The proximity key is an amazing feature especially for this price range. Car is fun to drive. All around a great car with an amazing warranty!!!

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  First Hyundai - Great Choice - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pjay - March 20 - 6:23 pm

  Traded in my 1991 Camry (203K miles) and compared Sonata 4 cyl with add on package vs 2008 Accord and 2009 Camry, to see why I should pay $2000-2800 more for a Camry or Honda. The Accord was not as quiet as the Sonata at 35- 45mph especially, had a slight blind spot in mirror, did not include alarm, had less trunk space, lacked split rear fold back seats (single), but did have superior steering. Camry did not have standard ESC, the clock was in a strange location on dash (look up!), and the body lines on car were bland. At 1900 miles, the Sonata drives well and very quiet, has enough pick up, mileage at 31-32 (mix highway/local), love the XM radio and ipod dock,great trunk /rear seat space

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  A great car - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By EDH Guy - March 20 - 5:36 am

  Im very please with my 2007 Sonota. I own a 2005 Accord and the Sonotas quailty compares very well. The Sonota gas mileage is averaging about 24 mpg after two tanks of mixed driving. Sonota handling is less crisp that the Accord.

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  Best sedan under $40K - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Jim - March 19 - 12:00 pm

  Compared to Maxima, Avalon, even Lexus ES and Infiniti G35, this Azera limited edition outperforms in a solid way. It is cheaper, but that doesnt mean that performance is worse. I feel that the quality and performance are even competitive with Lexus GS or LS series. Excellent car. If youre looking for a TRUE luxury car at a reasonable price, this is THE car.

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  Nice Ride, Poor Mileage - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Prttyinuniform - March 19 - 12:16 am

  I love the Tuscon. Its versatile, it fits all of my needs for around town and trips. Plenty of room to add on: roof rack, trailer hitch, etc. My only complaint is that not once have we gotten the advertised mileage. We mostly use it in the city, but our mileage hasnt been above 15 mpg, far enough below the advertised 19mpg that we were promised. All in all, not a bad car for your buck. Far more features for less than the competetors price.