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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  I love my hyundai - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jerry - March 28 - 3:23 pm

  Ilove the way it handles and holds the road. The brakes are awsome on this vehicle. The transmission is perfect it shifts up and down, like a standard shift.

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  $15K Great Car - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By la gt owner - March 28 - 10:00 am

  Handles well and quality seems pretty good.

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  5000 miles with a wonderful car - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By walt - March 28 - 5:56 am

  Compared to M45 and 535i. The Genesis won before considering the 18-26k savings. quiet reserved car until 5k rpm at which point this becomes a drivers car. I still dont know the corner limits of this car. After 5k sometimes hard miles no rattles or other issues have come up. If your looking for high end content without the high end badge this is the car for you!

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  the first 2000 miles - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By chilidog - March 27 - 1:46 pm

  After 3 weeks I think this vehicle is terrific. Not a single complaint - it has plenty of pep, good looking, quality touches (small body gaps, plastics look good, refined dash panel, smooth lines), very quiet, high safety ratings, unbeatable value. The new design caught my eye. I approached skeptically as previous version was rough and noisy, but I was completely turned around after a test and research. Hwy mileage 25-27mpg (driving 75mph vs 55), and 17 in city traffic of Washington DC. About what I expected. This car is a keeper. Very comfortable city-hauler. My other car, which I bought new and still own after 16 years is a Lexus LS 400. Lexus, Hyundai is coming. No joke.

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  The car of my dreams! - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By Lisa Crumpton - March 27 - 11:42 am

  The Sonata is comfortable ,fun to drive and a great value!

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  Great buy! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By gld226 - March 27 - 12:10 am

  I love my car! Most bang for your buck!! I shopped around quite a bit before buying. I really had to think of my priorities, especially with a mortgage resetting in 2 year. Even without a "mortgage budget," Id still pick either this car or the Sonata. I love the standard features. My bf was really pushing me towards Toyota or Honda until I showed him the price breakdowns including taxes, license, and interest expense. It adds up! Also, I was able to get the dealer financing promo of 1.9% for four years. I love the blue control lights!

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  My new car is a sporty SUV - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Sarde - March 26 - 10:36 am

  I bought this car last week when my 90 Civic gave up the ghost. My wife and I are just married and we wanted a car we could take the future family and dog camping in. Plus it will be fun for our active/cycling lifestyle. I can fit a tandem bike in it with all the seats down! It was also important as this would be a family car that it have good safety features, it does! My wife has a 07 Sonata and we love its safety and quality which, is why we considered getting another Hyundai. And it rides so very smooth on my 40 mile daily commute. It was priced so competitively that we came in under budget, which makes up for the lower MPG. I can live with that now that I have a little more power-v6

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  Great Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Doug - March 25 - 11:30 pm

  Well I have never been as happy with any new car as I am with this one. This is one great car. I cant get this car away from my wife nearly often enough. The V6 is spectacular, loads of power and very smooth. The manual shifting option is great in the mountians especially for passing. The front passenger seat could be more comfortable though. All in all a great car for the money. I am considering buying one for myself, as we like it so much.

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  Reliability - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Lorraineas - March 25 - 10:00 am

  Well allI have to say it is a cheap vehicle and affordable.. I have travel cross country and back and had no difficulties with my car.. It rides smooth and handles well on bad road conditions.. I just love my car

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  Great SUV with good gas mileage ! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By merkyman2003 - March 25 - 10:00 am

  Great SUV with good gas mileage. The Santa Fe has exceeded the expectations and continues to perform without flaw. This is a tough little SUV, and its not really made for serious off-road use. Its a comfortable car for larger sized people, most foreign automakers are made for smaller size of people, which makes it hard for most large American car buyers. This ones a keeper, so youll just have to find out for yourself, why these SUVs may just be one of the better keep secrets. But do not let anyone know just how good they are! Then the Hyundai Santa Fe will be a vechicle that everyone will be wanting and others will copy.