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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  Pleased with the Sonata - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By ajsolorio - October 19 - 2:00 am

  We have loved our Sonata. The service we recieve from our Hyundai dealership is second to none. The car has been reliable and very fuel efficient. It is a comfortable ride and a great family vehicle with a great amount of trunk space as well as cabin space. It does not have a strong engine with a quick response but the shift-tronic is a wonderful added benefit for quick response.

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  After months of research, glad I bought this car - 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Karen - October 18 - 7:51 am

  So I agree with previous reviewer, so wish I had the features and hybrid stuff with a small suv (this is my first sedan!) but having said that, quite pleased with this car. Will come back and add to this review as have only had the car for a day, but I agree that controls (and there are LOTS of them) are laid out well and intuitively. My only problem? Being able to tell whether the car is on or not, keep trying to drive only to discover the car isnt on all the way. We have a 2007 hyundai sonata in the family, and the 2016 hybrid makes it look sad and forlorn. Bigger than the 2007, an unbelievably roomy rear seating area, trunk is crazy big for a hybrid, and how can you not love those LED running lights? So spiffy looking, feels like driving a luxury car for a whole lot less money. So glad I got the limited (WITHOUT the ultimate package, I dont like sunroofs), ventilated seats are so nice and looking forward to the heated seats in winter. Just a great car all around. Okay Hyundai, lets give the Tucson way better visibility out the back and hybridize it, and Ill buy that next!

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  Good first car - 1998 Hyundai Accent
  By Bullah - October 18 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Accent brand new in 1998. I crashed in 2000 and brought it back to life. Since then I have changed the transmission, but I later found out after 2 other transmissions gave the same problem that the problem was electronic. All in all it has been a good car with fairly decent gas mileage and a lot of speed when it gets going on the island roads.

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  More car than the Civic, for less $$$ - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By talldean - October 18 - 2:00 am

  I went out and intended to buy a Honda Civic, or something similar. I bought the 2004 Elantra, and Im *very* happy with that choice. 2/3rds the cost of a similarly-equipped Civic, I have no complaints after 15k miles. It also has 130 hp, instead of the 105ish that seemed to be the standard in this size/cost class.

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  top suv - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dim75 - October 17 - 6:40 pm

  Just buy it. It competes equally every other model Japanese, European or American get a test drive immediately.

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  YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Hotta - October 17 - 2:00 am

  PERFORMANCE IS NOT GOOD. HARD TO HANDLE AND STEER. SWAYS TO THE LEFT. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. COULD INTERFERE WITH SAFETY.

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  Junk - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Larry Smith - October 17 - 2:00 am

  Car has had a lot of parts replaced. I spend more time in the dealship then going places. I had to get rid of the car.

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  fun to drive - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By fjd1955 - October 17 - 2:00 am

  Great handling good mileage

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  Nice! - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Craig Pelz - October 16 - 3:43 pm

  This vehicle has the looks and ride of a $40,000.00 car. Could use better sound system.

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  Very Pleased - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Landon C. - October 15 - 6:26 am

  Having owned this vehicle almost 2 years I can say that it is one impressive vehicle. I was skeptical at first about buying a Hyundai but Im glad I did. The car has held up extremely well and there are no issues whatsoever. I drove the Rav4, CR-V, Vue, CX-7, and Murano before deciding on the Santa Fe and do not regret it to this day. A deer ran out in front of me one night not too long ago and had to replace the front bumper, driver side headlamp,driver front fender and various components. Though insurance covered it the total cost was close to $5,000.00, it is not a very cheap vehicle to repair if ever in a minor accident.