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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  Im officially brand loyal! - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tom - September 7 - 11:06 am

  This is my third Hyundai and must tell you that they continue to exceed my expectations. I purchased a used 2003 Santa Fe on the recommendation of my good friend who works for BMW. I was looking for a commuter car to take me from my North New Jersey home to my NYC office each day. 150,000 miles later and very little maintenance I decided to purchase another Santa Fe. I love the evolution of this vehicle. It looks great, handles great and is fun to drive. At the end of the day, you cant beat the warranty and I must say their service has been excellent. Maintenance a very reasonable as well!

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  the new toyota - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By cool warranty - September 7 - 10:00 am

  We have had our santa fe for about 3 1/2 months now and we love it. We took it on a road trip from southern cali all the way up north to napa valley.The ride was great, smooth, quiet, and fun. Despite some reviews ive read saying its underpowered i do not believe so with the 3.5 liter engine. Its no sports car but it does have get up and go. We researched almost all the suvs out there (ford tribute, rav4, nissan xtera, jeep, montero, the hondas, mountaineer and kia) and for price, features, warranty and safety the santa fe was our winner.The price, safety, and warranty lead us to the santa fe. (check out the warranty and research it online.)

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  Awesome Car for the Money! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Julie S. - September 6 - 8:13 pm

  After reading other reviews, I wanted to say you can get a navigation system for this car - check with your dealership. Mine quoted about $2500 including installation. This car replaces my Tiburon which I loved, but this is way more practical for everyday driving as a RE Broker. I upgraded to the Ultimate pkg so this has everything you could ever want in a car! I shopped for a while and for the money you wont find a better deal with the warranty to back it up! It is comfortable for all of our family, and with 2 teenage boys whos legs go on forever, it was hard to find a vacation vehicle they could be comfortable in for hours of sitting while driving. I love this car!

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  Best Value in Town - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Jeff - September 6 - 4:20 pm

  The Hyundai Azera not only has its competition (Avalon, Ford 500, Montego, etc.) beat, but ES330, Caddy CTS, Infinity G35. Ive never seen a car with so many safety, convenience, and performance features for such a low price. Add the warranty and you have the bargain of the year.

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  Best new car Ive bought! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Chris - September 5 - 6:30 pm

  I tend to hold on to my vehicles for a while so this is only the third new vehicle Ive bought. I have to say that its a pleasant surprise to see Hyundai has stepped up to the plate with a car that challenges and beats Honda and Toyota in my opinion. Im very happy with everything from the roomy interior with great stereo, to the stunning exterior styling. Gauges are fairly easy to read and the controls are easy to adapt to. Everything is where it should be. Ive never really been a fan of cars due to my height, Im 61", and have had problems with anything other than trucks. This car is very comfortable for me. Entry and exit are easy and cause no issues. Highly recommend this car!

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  Santa Fe - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By mary - September 5 - 4:20 pm

  Great vehicle; was not sure about a compact SUV after two Durangos but this has met and exceeded my expectations. The reclining back seats and cargo areas are great ideas and convenient.

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  one nice car - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By susan78 - September 5 - 1:00 pm

  This car is fantastic! It is so fun to drive and as far as reliabilty, mine is too new to know, however with the great warrenty Hyundai provides, if I do have any problems, they will fix it for a very long time. The car is affordable, so stylish and just plain awesome. The seats are so comfy and everything is well within reach and simple to access. Stero system is great and sounds fantastic. I would recommend this car to anyone.

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  first time hyundai owner - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By san antonio ramos - September 5 - 12:56 pm

  We are a retired couple and researched for 6 months looking for a reasonably priced (under 20k), fuel economy, midsized car (were not compact sized people). Test drove altima, accord, mazda 6, fusion, malibu, and camry. Got this car with electric driver seat, moonroof, floor mats and ipod outlet for 17k. Were averaging 27 mpg city, havent driven more than 40 miles on hwy, but looking forward to long trips during retirement. Large trunk for our luggage, comfortable seating and cheap gas mileage makes it feasible for us to travel crosscountry and enjoy our retirement in a highly rated safety featured auto. No disappointments here. Also, long power train warranty, 100k from manufacturer

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  My Butt Hurts - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By bgenesis - September 5 - 9:54 am

  Comfort is lacking. This is my only main complaint. I had to keep changing my butt cheeks after 4hrs. Horrible side support are like rocks.Gas mileage is next. The best I could do was 28 full highway. When a V6 Accord or Camry can provide better performance in a straight line and achieve above 32 mpgs.....hmmmm. Not a very efficient motor from the Mitsu Evo group. Should have bought a v6 accord coupe. Thought it was quick until a Mini Cooper S was coming up on me at full throttle. Now it is just a daily commuting vehicle.

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  GT rocks! - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By capte - September 5 - 6:54 am

  I purchased a 2013 Elantra GT with the 6 speed manual shifter and am more than pleased. After breifly owning a 2012 Ford Focus Hatchback for a week and returning it because of automatic transmission issues, I decided no more automatics in small cars. The manual tranny in the GT is smooth with reasonably short throws. I installed 17 inch wheels with Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires and the improved cornering and traction is noticeable. It now handles as well in the corners as the Focus did, without the reliability issues that Ford has always been known for. The interior quality and noise levels are better in the GT than the Focus and the controls in the GT are much more intuitive.