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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  GREAT - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By RUSTY00007 - July 8 - 2:00 am

  great car, I bought two. The car drives great and gets good gas mileage. Would highly recommend.

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  Bang for the Buck? - Oh yeah. - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By scottymac223 - July 8 - 2:00 am

  Well Ive driven pick-up trucks for the past 12 years so this small sedan is a bit of a departure for me. My wife did have a 99 Nissan Maixma SE for a few years, and while this would never be confused with a Maxima, it is fun. So far I love the way it drives. Its effortless. It dives into corners and zips through traffic. Basically for the money it cant be beat. I had looked at the Mazda 3s and to get it with the same features as the Elantra GT would have cost 4-5K more. The Nissan Sentra is... well a Sentra. The Hyundai warranty is simply the best.

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  An eye catcher with so so pick up - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Qball479 - July 8 - 2:00 am

  A fun car to own and drive. Suffers from a slight lack of decent accelaration power. Holds a ton, and will tow even more.

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  You get what you pay for - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By Spend More - July 7 - 2:00 am

  Ive had this car for 3 years and had to replace the brakes and roters twice already. Ive never had a car go through brakes this fast. I just found out that have have to replace the harmonic balancer.(not cheap and no longer under warrenty). I have had other work done on it while it was under warrenty. It seems like an awful lot is going wrong with this car for its age. I have to replace the flex pipe as well. I guess you get what you pay for. In the future I will spend more initially to have a fewer problems and hassles later.

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  Pleasant Surprise - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By djali79 - July 7 - 2:00 am

  After considering a few choices for compact cars, I narrowed it down to the Civic and the Elantra. I went with the Elantra because of price and given that it had received good reviews, I wasnt too worried. I was definitely surprised when I actually saw what it had to offer. Side airbags, 2.0L 140-hp DOHC engine, power everything, heated mirrors, excellent storage compartments, tilt height adjust driver seat, slick gearbox, etc. I bought mine with 31000 miles for $6,200. Similar civics were running around anywhere from $9-11,000. Obviously Hondas have better resale, but how much more can it depreciate from 6 grand? Great car, good build quality.

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  Great Buy - Great Vehicle - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Bob G. - July 6 - 4:50 pm

  More than we expected, even considering the excellent reviews wed read. This is our third Hyundai (2 Elantras), and over the course of 70K plus miles, weve never had a single problem.

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  4 days Old - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By cafeS - July 6 - 10:00 am

  Although it is only 4 days old (Ill write another review in a few months), it appears that this SUV is THE one! Forget the price (even though a huge benefit) since you have to live in the SUV. The overall drive and look of this SUV is awesome.

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  Outstanding Value - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Super Spook - July 6 - 10:00 am

  I looked at and drove all cars under 16k and this Elantra GLS was by far the best all around value. No delivery issues, no squeeks, no leaks, no rattles, no wind noise, great handleing, great ride and comfortable seating for long trips.

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  Its a car thats good at being a car. - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By Adam - July 5 - 5:10 pm

  The 2010 Hyundai Sonata (5th gen) is the car you want to get if youre shopping in the midsize/family car segment. It has what you want for the right price - about $5000 lower than its competitors. The powertrain is responsive, steering is slow but acceptable, the interior and trunk are very roomy, and nothing seems out of place. The exterior isnt too radical and the interior is nicely designed.

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  My 2nd Sonata - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By david - July 5 - 5:03 am

  Ive only had this car 13 months and already put 31,000 miles on it. Except for oil changes the car has never been in for service. Had a 2002 Sonata that I put 97,000 miles on. No troubles with it either. This time I got the 4 cylinder and I have no problems breaking the speed limit. Gas mileage is better then my V-6 2002 too! Lots of room and a comfortable ride. Huge trunk.