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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  "Do not test drive this car..." - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Johnny from Montreal - October 21 - 5:40 am

  Im a huge car fan and the biggest BMW fan. Test drove everything out there. Being an Insideline.com fan, was reading on the Genesis and how impressed everyone was. Went to test drive it at the Dealership & that was it. I was hooked like a drug. Could not take it off my mind. Waited a couple of days went to test drive it again and was still stunned how well it drove and how great it made me feel. I just had to have it, a total no brainer for me - got the 4.6 Tech. If you can test this car and go buy something else for the same money or even more, good luck. Bravo Hyundai, what an amazing job you guys did with the Genesis. Thank you!

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  Great Value for the Price - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By JohnnyV - October 21 - 2:00 am

  I would like readers of my review to keep in mind that I think very highly of this car because it has a lot of features and refinement for the money. However there are some negatives. The styling is rather bland both inside and out. The fuel economy is not as good as it could be compared to other commuter cars like the Civic and Corolla. The leather seats are not as comfortable as they could be. The cars value comes in when talking about the powertrain and build quality which are both very smooth, tight, powerful, and quiet. The car gives the driver the feeling that it will last for a very long time. I would recommend this car to anybody who values quality and price.

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  An Elantra to call my own - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Steven Graybill - October 21 - 2:00 am

  I am so excited about my Elantra that I thought I needed to let people know why. I looked at several cars in this "genre" before I made my final decision. I bought me a new Hyndai Elantra in 1993 so I was already familiar with the company and vehicle. I did look at the cars that everyone looks at ie Honda and Toyota. Price for price and pound for pound I will put my 2004 Elantra up against the Civic or Corolla anyday. The financial incentives were awesome, saving me $2500.00, which was what the 5 year extended bumber to bumper warranty cost so I went ahead and got it. Now I can rest easy knowing that for the next 10 years my Elantra is covered bumper to bumper no questions asked.

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  Catchy Title - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rocky DaBoxer - October 20 - 10:06 pm

  It is a Hyundai and if you have Acura or Lexus expectations, you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a competent, well equipped vehicle that is suited for long and short drives then you wont be disappointed. I drive 1,000 miles a week and love the Elantra. It handles the highway with ease, greats great fuel economy, and is very comfortable for me. Cons: OEM Nexen tires on my limited edition Elantra SUCK. They are the worst tires I have ever ridden on and are ok in dry weather but dangerous in rain or snow. Power is a little anemic especially at 7000 feet where I live (we lose 20% horsepower at our altitude). Vehicle easily cruises at 85-90 mph once it attains speed. Engine is VERY quiet and so quiet that my wife has forgotten to shut it off a couple of times. Seats are comfortable for me so no complaints there. It could use a little more power but when Im feeling the need for speed, I hop into my Santa Fe Sport 2.0turbo which is a sleeper. Great vehicle and I really like it and think the average buyer will be impressed.

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  Tried it and liked it - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Rod Rodriquez - October 20 - 10:00 am

  I had a Toyota Van before I got my Hyundai, I miss the room in the van, but once I got use to driving my Santa Fe, I found out, I had lots of room once the back seats are down. I like the 16 inch tires, makes a big difference when traveling. The one problem that I have is the gas miliage, its not quite the same as with the van, I get about 15 city and sometimes 23 on the open road.

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  03 Tiburon GT-V6 - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By dmcdaniel - October 20 - 10:00 am

  Very nice car. fun to drive! lots of power. get lots of comments about car.

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  great little suv - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By bg8031 - October 20 - 10:00 am

  fuel economy is right where the sticker said it would be, comfort is great. handles better than my other vehicle( 2002 camry). highly reccommend this suv.

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  2002 Sonata - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Cleme - October 20 - 2:00 am

  Great car ! I have enjoyed the ride, style and everything. Could improve the interior light range of flexibility.

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  Plain - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By mike cook - October 20 - 2:00 am

  I have only had this car three months and already had to replace the fuel pump. two motors in the windows. It run ok. But other than that its just plain boring car That cd players should come with

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  Not bad after awhile.... - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By kb9mnm - October 19 - 2:00 am

  My wife and I bought the GLSv6 w/50+k on it. After 4 trips to get known problems fixed, all seems to be well. I now have put over 20k more miles on it, have not been a regular oil changer, but it seems to be going well. Front suspension seems to be getting softer, lots of "clunks" over bumps.Lots of body lean. Did have both rr whl bearings replaced after finding one that was very loose while taking a break during a road trip. That would have been very disasterous! Hyundai paid for everyting. No deductible required.