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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  The XG360 is a good deal - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By jeremy satterfield - December 12 - 2:00 am

  i got my xg only a few months ago i have been impressed with it. I thought that it wasnt going to be a good car but i was wrong it has performance if you put it in manumatic mode which is not even a option on its comp. which it comes standard on the xg it can get to 60 in about 7.5 in manumatic mode and can do the quorter mile in 17.5 which that isnt to shaby for a mid size car especially by hyundai. if a car comes standard with 6 way power driver seats,4 way passenger,leather,manumatic,10 year 100k mile warranty,digital ac/heater,rear vents, cd and cassette,

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  XG350L--Excellent Choice! - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By jimbo33 - December 12 - 2:00 am

  What a great value! So many comments about the luxury look!

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  so so - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By henny - December 12 - 2:00 am

  hard seats front and back....power adequate....wind and road noise...great warranty (if they stand behind it).....but suggest paying a bit more for a more refined car.

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  Creaky and unstable - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Stinky - December 11 - 2:06 am

  Ive had this vehicle for a year. The thing has more creaks and protests from its interior than my mother-in-Law does about her aging frame. The handling on pristine pavement is fine. However, if the road surface gets the least bit uneven/rough the suspension simply becomes unpredictable. Ive learned to modify my driving style when confronted with such conditions. Not the hallmark of a true GT/Sports car. At this point in time Im glad that I leased as this vehicle. So, build quality and handling are things that Hyundai needs to consider if they want to be something other than a company that produces affordable cars that merely satisfy as opposed to excite and generate loyalty.

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  Simply a great value - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By M Heider - December 10 - 10:33 am

  Blown away by the overall look and feel of this car which cost $19,700.00 My friend has a G35 and I still cant figure out why anyone would pay twice the price for more horse power and a nav system. Just a great overall value for a driver who is financially smart without a need to impress.

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  Unsafe and terrible customer service - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Marina - December 10 - 3:22 am

  Ive been leasing this car for about 2 months and the brand new car shut off on me randomly twice! First time it shut off I had to pick my toddler up from daycare that is 40 min away and they told me they will come in about an hour and half to tow my car and they will not give me a loaner or anything g to replace the vehicle while being looked at while my toddlers school closed and they are waiting for me to grab him I kept trying to start the car in a panic and 2 hours later befornethentow trick got to me the car started and I rushed to get him. The next day took the car to get looked at at Paramus Hyundai service center and spent the whole day there with my baby for them to tell me my car is fine and told me I gotta go that they are closing, meanwhile I tell them I do not feel safe driving with my baby in a car that shuts off with no warnings in middle of the road and I want a loaner and this car looked at more to find the problem they said no and thats not their problem. Following week sure enough the car shuts off again at 8pm in middle of the road with my dogs and baby in the car and this time it never went back on, cops stopped the traffic moved the car off road and when I called the sos they told me they cannot tow the car because the service center is closed and they cant get permission to part the car there... So we walked home from that area about a 15-20 min walk at around 10pm I had to drag the baby back with me early morning to tow the car and sit at the crevice center all day with my poor son crying and eventually that place brought me to tears, having me there all day not tellin me anything till the very end of the day giving me a lot of problems about giving me a loaner car and only "pulling some string and giving me a car seeing that Im stuck there with a fed up toddler. No one helping me no one cared the first time it broke, now I do not feel safe in this car I also want money back from the time I spent without a working car I pay so much money for for for my time lost sitting on the phone and being transferred from person to person to tell me they cannot help me, calling corporate for them to transfer me from person to person for an hour me explains my issues over and over again to different people for them to tell me someone will call me that can help me in 3-5 business days!!! Are they crazy?! I dont want this car I dont want to deal with anyone from Hyundai anymore!!!!!! Im fed up my family is fed up I have never had so many problems with a car or with customer service as I do with this Hyundai Tucson limited! Im disgusted with the way I have bk even treated and I cannot believe Im still in this unsafe car that supposedly was fixed, a car that shuts off like this after 2 months of driving it brand new is not a safe car and is not worth $466 a month!

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  Leader of the Smaller SUV Pack! - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Christy A Jacobs - December 9 - 1:50 pm

  Only have had the car about a week but it drives great, real smooth and has comfortable seating. I love the Nautical Blue color I have. So far no issues, but I have only 320 miles on it. I am a loyal Hyundai owner (traded in my Elantra plus my husband has an Elantra) and the Tucson does not disappoint what I have come to expect with Hyundais. I got the base model, but boy is it loaded with features for a base model! The only complaint I have is the GLS seems to be a touch underpowered at a 140 HP 4-C engine. But then again, the 4-C gets better gas mileage too. Got almost 400 miles to my 15 gallon tank full, so thats not bad.

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  IMPRESSED - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By suprised texan - December 9 - 1:18 pm

  Great car, awesome handling, teriffic gas mileage! I have never recieved so much buyer satisfaction with any car I have ever owned. Compare other 5 door hatchbacks, include all the bells and whistles (leather, moonroof, cd, front bra, front and SIDE airbag protection) and you WILL NOT FIND A BETTER DEAL OR A BETTER VALUE! While all of my friends pay OVER $350/mo-$450/mo for their gas-guzzlers/clothed-autos, it makes me feel wonderful about the decision I made the day I decided to test drive the elantra GT hatchback. I fell in love with this car as soon as I opened the drivers side door.

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  Must Buy - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Drew - December 9 - 10:53 am

  This car is the the most underated vehicle in the market. A must buy if you are looking at 4-door sedans. It has everything you need at a fraction of the cost, plus a great warranty. One word to describe this car...... SMART!

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  safty issue - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By walter37 - December 8 - 9:40 pm

  driver side floor maps are constantly getting tangled up with gas and break pedals the hooks installed cant keep them in place. Passengers side does the same but not a safety concern.