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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  disappointing exprience - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By kalmanzar - June 11 - 12:05 pm

  This is my 13th car, have had toyota, ford, honda, subaru, mazda, acura, bmw and now hyundai. Have 20k mi on the car, wrote a review when I first brought it and gave it overall a seven , thought overall it was solid, major complaints where harsh ride, lack of road feel. But liked style, value, power. Now a year and a half and 20k, i give the car around a three. Ride is still way to hard, have had a lot of mechanical issues, a lot of recalls, poor service, build quality is very bad. First one of all the cars ive owned that i could not recommend.

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  Great bargain - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Florida Deb - June 10 - 11:40 pm

  Bought the Limited today with an MSRP of $25K and invoice of $23K for $20K with the $3K rebate. With $5K for my trade I financed about $17K. Beautiful in camel pearl. Comfortable leather seats. Lots of headroom even with the sunroof. Beige seats with black carpet & dash is really something different. Great sound system. Comfortable ride. Very pleased. Honda & Toyota had very incentives & wanted to have faith in the Ford Fusion, but couldnt. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

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  Denver Winter Vehicle - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By susborg - June 10 - 11:23 pm

  After lengthy research I finally settled on a beautiful navy blue 06 Hyundai Tucson V6 4WD with sunroof package. I love it! I live at the top of a pretty steep hill which has always been something of a winter challenge for me in the past. Not any more. The Tucson is heavy enough and peppy enough to get me home every time without fail. It handles wonderfully on ski trips and is super easy to get our gear in and out with the quick release rear seats that fold to a flat deck. Its been on a road trip to AZ and zoomed right on through the mountain passes. Its still pretty new so Im hoing that it becomes less thirsty with a little more break in time.

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  A Dream Vehicle - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By WhidbeyIslander - June 10 - 12:03 pm

  Our Santa Fe is, without doubt, the best vehicle we have ever owned. Until recently, when a dragging brake manifested itself, there was not so much as a rattle in the car. The Santa Fes handling is outstanding though the car is a bit underpowered. Service has been beyond excellent at Bellingham Hyundai. The longer we have the car, the more we like it. Fit and finish is superb. About the only improvement which Hyundai could make would be to increase the gas mileage.

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  Good - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Trymore - June 9 - 10:43 am

  Do not buy it until HD has parts to sell. I needed a bumper cover to repair front damage, my body shop ordered 2 weeks ago and still waiting. HD should learn that selling is not all. I would not buy HD in future and recommend anyone I know not to buy it.

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  Still makes me smile! - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By yulia_gk - June 9 - 12:17 am

  I am the second owner of my Tib, and it has been a pretty decent car in all respects. The V6 is still sharp after all of these years and Ive been able to keep the car in good shape with relative little expense. With good attention to vehicle care, the factory leather and interior still look outstanding. Reliability is worth considering if you look at a used Tib - sensor quality is low and many are prone to failure. The clutch is also known for premature failure in Tibs - my car is on #3 in 110k. Modification of the clutch slave delay valve can improve clutch performance. In spite of all of that, I find the car relatively easy to work on and fun to own! Great value overall!

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  I would recommend, - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MMH - June 8 - 7:46 am

  I have had a great experience. Almost one year. Only trouble thus far cloth came away from driver side door handle, will be fixing. Also the esc light came on. Took it in to dealer was fixed right away, awesome service. There is no button or lever to "pop the trunk" even on key chain. Would love this when carrying a baby & bags in & out of car. Drives smooth, everyone who rides in car is always impressed. This is the best value after lots of research with other brands. Spend the extra money for the sante fe over the Tucson. Its worth it.

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  Just bought one....boy am I glad! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By dancsontos - June 7 - 10:00 am

  Bought a rebuilt salvage GT V6 with 15,000 miles for super cheap, and it runs like a dream. AEM cold air intake and Moog oversized fuel injectors (Borla cat-back exhaust coming soon) have allowed me to beat a 5.0 Mustang at a stoplight. Needless to say he rolled his window down and said, "Wow, what the heck kinda car is that?" I have the car badged with Tuscani logos, so he didnt know what it was. I get so many looks from this thing that I almost get cocky about it. Its as if Im driving a much more expensive car. Thank you, Korea!

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  One of the Best!! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Brenda5204 - June 7 - 10:00 am

  One of the best Suvs out there. Everywhere I go people want to get up close and look. Very Impressed!!! Very comfortable and safe for my Kids.

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  Very Nice Car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By joeveto - June 7 - 10:00 am

  This is a great car. The size is deceptive, as its much larger on the inside than you would think. The car looks a lot like a Saab 9-3, but has more interior and cargo space. And its more efficient. We go on trips with our two kids and the dog, or with four grown adults. The car handles all our stuff and returns 34mpg. Weve had no mechanical issues with this car. No squeeks or rattles. Great car.