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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  Try It You Will Like It - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Gray Panther - November 28 - 1:43 pm

  After my retirement I decided to purchase the XG350L rather than coninue with a mid-size luxury car. I now have an attractive, comfortable, reliable car with more amenities than previous cars. My friends are marveled with the ride and interior. Several have noted the Infinity sound system and said, "wow, you are now driving an Infiniti"! I have concluded that all autos have one or two shortcomings. I am pleased with the Hyundai and can make a larger donation to charities with the money saved.

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  excellent!!! - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By dvid - November 27 - 1:00 pm

  Fun to drive, especially with shiftronics. I also love the 4 wheel drive lock mode I can use in slippery places instead of waiting for the "real-time" mode that many other SUVs use to kick in. Great looking vehicle, always get compliments wherever I go. Test drove CR-V among others and this is the best looking, best performing out of em all with many many features not to mention a 100000 mile warranty. E.g. front passenger seat that automatically turns off the air-bag if the passenger is less than 100lb, air bags in the back for side impacts, heated wipers..and so forth.

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  Amazing Value for the Money - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ike - November 26 - 10:46 am

  My son has a 2006 Sonata which has been completely bulletproof, so when gas prices forced me to begin looking for an economical 4cyl, I started with the 2009 Sonata. Opening the door on the GLS for the first time, I was amazed at the beautiful, classy, high- quality interior that, yes, reminded me of a Lexus. The test drive was even more impressive; unbelievably quiet and smooth at 80mph, smooth-shifting automatic, little wind or road noise. I still test drove Accord, Camry, Altima, even Corolla, but none compared. I bought the Sonata because I liked it the best, not just because it was thousands of dollars cheaper.

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  Hyundai Accent GS hatch best ever - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By Finnius - November 24 - 4:33 pm

  This has been a great car runs amazing drives like the day I bought it never let me down best car Ive ever owned

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  so far, so good - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Iowason07 - November 24 - 1:26 pm

  Very nice ride, quick, quiet, comfy. MPG could be better, but might improve with more miles. Light grey interior looks great, but is hard to keep clean. No problems at 3000 miles. Many safety features and standard features that are options on other makes, plus the warranty, sold me on this car. I also think it looks better than the competition. I just hope gas mileage improves to EPA ratings, especially with fuel prices going sky-high.

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  Great car for a great price - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By clayt88 - November 23 - 6:36 pm

  This is a great little car that my wife and I just bought after finishing college. Were very pleased, overall, with its performance. Weve had Civics and Mustangs in the past and this Tiburon rates right up there. It doesnt handle nearly as well as a Civic Si, but it handles better (and is more fun to drive) than a Mustang.

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  My Favorite Car of All Times - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By CarolinaGirlOBX2 - November 23 - 11:16 am

  I had a choice, lots of them...and still to this minute a year and a half later am the greatest fan and driving advertisment of this wonderful black Santa Fe.

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  What a Great Car!!! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Simon Steele - November 22 - 9:33 pm

  Did a lot of research on similar cars before purchasing - Toyota Avalon, Lexus and Ford 500. None of these cars offered all of the options for the price!! We got the Limited with the Ultimate package. Beautiful car........it was a hard sell to my husband who wanted a Lexus, but since he has driven over the past month, he loves the car too!! Great Warranty - watch out everyone Hyundai is on the move.

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  Like this vehicle! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By The Rev - November 22 - 5:26 am

  I previously have leased Nissan Maximas and have been very happy with these cars. Living in Minnesota, this time I decided that Id like to try an all-wheel drive vehicle. Although I have only had the Santa Fe a short time I can see that I am going to enjoy driving this vehicle. So far I can find nothing major to criticize.

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  hyundai value second to none - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By dblg - November 22 - 2:53 am

  Excellent build quality combined with luxury options brings this vehicle to a level second to none. Why pay more for Camry & Accord when you get the same degree of quality and I have owned both. Love the power on the V- 6.By the way this is my second Hyundai.I own a Elantra 5-door GT dubbed it the red rocket and that car is a winner too! Go Hyundai.