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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  This is the one - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Popps - October 16 - 2:30 pm

  This is third Hyundai we have owned and it wont the last if we live long enough. Cant beat it for the price.

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  Love my Orange Go-Kart - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By sduquette27 - October 16 - 1:09 pm

  I bought my 2012 Veloster used with the Hyundai CPO warranty and so far I love this car! It handles like a dream and is so much fun to drive, the features that this car has are great especially for the money! Super fun and fuel efficient!

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  best car ive ever had - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By b.migliosi - October 16 - 10:00 am

  ive got only good thongs to say about this car. i absolutely love its appearance and performance.

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  Im trying it - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pamela8 - October 16 - 10:00 am

  I think it is a great car for the money

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  Sonatas are GREAT! - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Chantelle - October 16 - 10:00 am

  i had purchased a 2002 sonata GLS, but traded it in after a year and a half with 41,000 miles due to problems with the windows, engine and reliability. Now that i am in my 2003 sonata GLS i could not be happier. wish i got better gas mileage, but it is great considering it is a 6 cyl.

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  Tiburon - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Nick Gerard - October 16 - 10:00 am

  Believe it or not but i made the driver of a mustang gt cry because he couldnt keep up with a hyundai!

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  Love my Tib - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By JamzD - October 16 - 10:00 am

  Drove every car in this class...much more pickup than ANYthing in this price range..gets more eye than any vehicle Ive ever had...Did 145 easily on Montana interstate...corners like a much more expensive sports car.. great sound system, feels like a cockpit inside, lots of hatch space...best warranty in class...very responsive and proactive service from Hyundai, who wants to step up into Toyota/Honda territory as far as reputation...

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  XG350L - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Downtown - October 16 - 10:00 am

  After great experience with 4 Sonatas since 1990,the XG350L is all its made out to be!

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  XG350 - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Larry Swiger - October 16 - 10:00 am

  I totally like my new XG and have no complaints after driving it everyday for 9 months.

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  13,000 miles and stilll happy - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Brooklyn based - October 16 - 10:00 am

  Fell in love with the car on the test drive and havent regretted the purchase yet. Very firm handling and good pickup on expressway driving - much better than former car (Saturn) Really like the exterior design - still see other drivers checking out the car - and the leather interior is a nice plus. Was initially skittish because of the (old) Hyundai reputation and fear that trade in value would drop like a stone, but have been happily surprised by performance (and I tend to drive my cars into the ground)