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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  Santa Fe is a Winner - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SGoldsteinEsq - December 1 - 10:00 am

  The Santa Fe runs flawlessly. Interior quality is very high. The dealerships leave a lot to be desired, but overall, this vehicle gives a lot of value. Im very happy with it.

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  Good buy - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kemp - December 1 - 10:00 am

  An excellent value! No other car comes close to the safety features for the same price.

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  Nice for the $$$ - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Chon - December 1 - 10:00 am

  Great car for the $$$ & beast basic warranty... Cant beat that.

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  Best Sedan For 15 Grand - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By XxChevyFreakxX@aol.c - December 1 - 10:00 am

  It is an excellent car to drive. It has some awesome features like cd player, sunroof,and many more, I cant wait till i get it when i turn sixteen. Its one of the best sedans for under fiveteen gs.

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  Hyundia Elantra - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Frank Kim - December 1 - 10:00 am

  Interior is very comfortable. All gauges are readable and the seats are the most comfortable Ive used for long drives. During a trip from Virginia to Texas the vehicle produced around 36 mpg and with two children the back seats were roomy.

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  Great Car! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By abbie - December 1 - 10:00 am

  Im really enjoying my new Hyundai!

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  great first car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By mschaltegger - December 1 - 10:00 am

  I have been very pleased with my Hyundai Elantra GT. Its pretty quick, has every option, good sound system, and it looks good too. The gas mileage would be good if I didnt always drive over 80 mph. Everybody I work with thought it was a Saab 900 until I told them otherwise. The warranty is the best thing about it. Ive had a couple of minor issues, and theyve been resolved the same day. Since I bought mine, my sister and her husband also bought on based on my recomendation. I would recommend this vehicle to anyone, and to add a little credibility to my evaluation, my last vehicle was a Kawasaki Ninja ZX6, I wont drive something that isnt fun.

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  Tough as nails - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Dave - December 1 - 1:48 am

  We tend to be rough on vehicles. With six grandkids (five school age) riding to school each day, then an average of seventy to eighty miles per day being put on this vehicle, it has held up great. Any warranty issues were handled by the dealer with no problem. One hundred and sixty thousand miles and counting!

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  I Love It - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By char - November 30 - 10:23 pm

  I love driving my tucson. We have four car seats in the car! We have no problem fitting in. Also it is pretty fast for the price. I chose this car over the Ford Escape because of price and power.

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  Never again - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Angel - November 30 - 7:53 am

  it looked nice. it ran like junk . When it rained the lights blew out. The tranny was bad and the color was awful. The paint job on them was bad and honestly i will never ever buy another one ever again . We let them know the paint was peeling and they said its under warranty . Well yeah if i wanted to pay 500- and whats more it was only 6 months off the line. Thxs and sorry never again