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:

• 

  New Owner - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By PDR - October 21 - 8:48 am

  My daughter has a 2000 Accent and is wonderful. My wife has driven an Elantra for 5 years and it has been bullet proof. I just purchased an Accent and it drive great. PDR

• 

  Great Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By bucfan11 - October 21 - 8:23 am

  We have had this for four months now and love this car. Performance, handling, and ride comfort are outstanding. The mp3 player will also play wmas. The only complaint is fuel mileage. Dont expect good mileage from this car. We have averaged just over 20 MPG. You should test drive this before you buy anything else.

• 

  Love my Sonata - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Lisa - October 20 - 7:16 pm

  I bought my 03 Sonata brand new in 2003. I have loved the look and performance ever since. It now has over 100K miles on it and its still going strong. We drive from OK to Galveston, TX yearly without any issues. I would definitely buy another one, when this one gives out, that is.

• 

  Great car - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By rto2 - October 20 - 12:51 pm

  smooth, economical, and a great ride. Would buy again. Highly recommend. Bought from a dealer that was the easiest to deal with in 30 years of car buying. [non-permissible content removed]

• 

  2003 elentra - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By chebba - October 20 - 12:24 am

  Car was purchased new. It can handle quite a lot: I had several huge people in my elentra when I struck the mother of all potholes traveling at a high rate of speed on the God forsaken streets of Brooklyn NY, I really thought at the very least there should have been casualties but to my amazement the car was not affected in any way. Another time my father had a huge accident drunk driving accident, it cost so many thousands to piece the car together everyone suggested the car should be scrapped yet the insurance carrier insisted it be repaired. To my amazement the car still rides well after massive cross- your finger type of repairs.

• 

  Best Value out there! - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By Christopher - October 18 - 8:18 am

  I must admit i was a little skeptical about Hyundai at first. However, my dads 2004 elantra has 270,000 miles on it before the oil pump went and blew the engine. That said i decided for my job to get a el cheapo accent base, no ac, no radio (i installed one myself), and a 5 sp manual tranny. I only paid after tax title license $11,325 with a 20 yr powertrain warranty, yes a 20 yr, from Rick Case. I average 33-41 MPG per tank. Clutch is smooth, drivability is fun, and the best part of it is the price. I have 12000 miles on this car with no issues. I cant say enough about this little fun car, except I highly recommend this vehicle!

• 

  Dianes Delite - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By Diane birkhead - October 18 - 4:21 am

• 

  ITs nice but - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By George - October 17 - 7:57 pm

  I have owned a Lexus LS 430 for six years. When I test drove and purchased the Genesis 4.6, it was compared to Lexus and BMW. My Genesis has several little problems that my dealer claims is on all the Genesis cars and they cant fix them. Plus the programming of many of the cars functions leaves alot to be desired. I agree the the car has excellent performance but a car that frustrates you every time you drive it is not a pleasure. Perhaps I expect too much by thinking that a $40,000 auto should have all the bugs worked out before it is put on the market but I dont think so. Perhaps I am spoiled by Lexus but relatively speaking, this car does not meet my expectations of $40,000 car

• 

  Great Stuff - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By gdgoffnet - October 17 - 7:50 am

  Only 1400 K on this so far, and am looking forward to putting on another 300000. Smooth acceleration, quiet ride. Im 66 and this car is comfortable for me.

• 

  My New Santa Fe - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Santa Fe SE - October 17 - 6:40 am

  AT first the look of the vehicle caught my eye . Then driving is very tight which I like. There is little to no leanning when taking turns,switchig lanes,(in city or highway)or cornering. The transmission is smooth and accurate. You can also have fun with the sport shift. 242 horse engine is quiet and snappy along with a quiet cabin. interior I found to be impressive wit plenty of room. Also it doesnt have the old boxxy SUV look.