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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  Tiburon GT - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Arion - September 20 - 5:10 am

  The car is a surpirse and a blessing from Hyundai after the last Tiburon. The previous model was ugly, underpowered and worthless.

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  Gas Mileage - 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ccr717 - September 19 - 8:04 pm

  Just purchased a 2012 Santa Fe two weeks ago. This is my fourth Santa Fe but this time I bought a 4 cylinder instead of a 6 thinking it would save a little more on gas mileage. Love everything about the vehicle but the gas mileage. Im getting less with this one than my previous 2008 Santa Fe. I was told I would get a couple more miles per gallon but didnt expect to get less. It didnt benefit me like I thought it would to get the 4 cylinder. Wouldnt recommend a 4 cylinder over a 6 to anyone.

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  LOVE MY HYUNDAI - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By LEON - September 19 - 1:33 pm

  Love it. Runs great, looks great and have not had any problems. It is very comfortable, and the cabin is very roomy. Would not hesitate to buy another Hyundai in a few years.

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  Great purchase - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Louis - September 19 - 2:10 am

  Its been a very good and reliable investment. Being driven every single day, it has most of the great features you find on premium brands. The performance is outstanding. It drives with no issues on surfaces covered with snow - original tires. So far nothing to be concerned about during my first year and a half. This new generation of hyundai is truly catching up with japanese brands. The gas mileage was not really the one I expected, but still acceptable.

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  Azera - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Jose - September 18 - 9:13 pm

  I bought my azera about a month ago. There were some reasons why I decided to buy this vehicle. One of the reasons were because I have this korean friend who told me how expensive this car is in korea. This car costs more than 40,000 dollars in korea. dont know why hyundai lowered their price so much. anyway its good for me~. this vehicle performs like luxury, very nicely equipped, built, and most importantly, its price in the U.S is not even 28,000 dollars.

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  Great value!-minor gripes. - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Izzy - September 18 - 5:40 pm

  Have this car for 1 year and this is my first review. Very smooth and brisk 4 cyl. Powertrain. Like the shiftronic feature. Interior is beautiful and comfortable. Controls feel like quality and work flawlessly. Body design is classy in my opinion. Highway mpg exceeds epa, can average 34, mixed driving is around 22. In all fairness I do lots of driving in an area with poorly timed lights, lots of heavy traffic and idling - that alone yields an mpg of 14! Hence the 8 rating. Minor misalignment of few body panels. Creaking from interior parts and yes, the distracting suspension noise that doesnt mar a smooth ride too badly. Still, lot of car at a great deal. Pleasant ride. Couldnt do better.

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  03 Santa Fe - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Glenn - Las Vegas - September 18 - 2:00 am

  Purchased new Santa Fe GLS 6 cyl. Fun to drive, fuel efficient, good ride. Only complaint is that when I purchased from Planet Hyundai in Las Vegas they had over 100. Every one had a tow hitch and mud flaps installed at the factory which most people dont want. However, none of the GLS models had ABS which saves money on insurance....had to up one grade and take a moonroof in order to get ABS....every vehicle sold in US that has ABS available should have it installed at the factory.

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  Glad I bought it - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rilo - September 18 - 2:00 am

  Great car for a great price! I wanted a work/commuter car thats comfortable and gets decent gas mileage without shelling out a lot of money. Elantra GLS is all that and more. Smooth ride, nice engine and smooth shifting automatic, decent handling, spacious, average 28 to 29 mpg. Leather, sunroof, aluminum wheels, front/side air bags, heated mirrors! And the bonus is the GT hatchback stands out in the crowd. I wonder why anyone would pay $2000 - $3000 more for a corolla/civic. Its giving my 92 Protege LX a run for my best buy ever.

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  Replacement Elantra - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Crazyboy - September 18 - 2:00 am

  After losing my 2000 Elantra to a wreck in which it was totaled; safety features worked like a charm. We walked away with just bruses. We looked at other cars in this class and none could be had with these features even for alot more money. I had 96000 miles on the 2k Elantra and had no problems at all and it still ran like new until stupid me ran off the road and front- ended a telephone pole, witch I snapped off.

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  Buy this SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Roadturtle - September 17 - 6:36 pm

  This SUV is great. Good gas mileage, rides like a very expensive car, awesome 6 cd stereo, heated leather seats my wive loves, plenty of head room, six air bags, stability control, abs brakes. This SUV has it all for only $ 20,000. I truly recomend this SUV