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:

• 

  Hyundai Sonata 2006 - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By sselfe - January 9 - 4:03 pm

  Theyve come a long way! Ive driven Camrys for 21 years and this car is better in both performance and fit & finish. The buying process was also much easier and far less aggressive than Toyota. After 2500 miles, my only disappointment (?) is that I dont get 30 mpg with the air conditioning running constantly--not that I REALLY expected it.

• 

  Great Car - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Brian - January 9 - 10:10 am

  I have only had it for a month, but so far I love it. Very smooth ride, very quiet vehicle. Build quality seems to be excellent, and the warranty is great. My mom just bought a 2010 Chevy Equinox, and hers is an 2LT, which is not the top of the line model, I got my top of the line Limited Santa Fe with more options than her Equinox, for about 4,000 dollars cheaper. Its the first foreign car I have owned, but I loved the look of it, and loved it when I took it for a test drive. And then add on the price and it was too good to pass up.

• 

  Great Car - 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By mbowles - January 8 - 7:25 pm

  Had this 3.5 Santa fe about 3 months.Love the power the engine has. We owned a 2011 2.4 liter santa fe before and hated the engine.Had no power at all. Make shure you get the 3.5 engine . Its like a whole diferent carr. We love it.

• 

  Love my new 2011 Sonata Limited - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Carl - January 8 - 10:00 am

  Beautiful car. Just bought it but 4 days later, Air conditioning failed, here in Florida, not a good thing. Took back to dealership today and they had to order a part. High pressure A/C line got a leak.

• 

  Suprised - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By New Hyundai Buyer - January 8 - 10:00 am

  I have really been surprised and happy with my purchase. I bought the 2011 Hyundai Sonata limited version. I was hesitant to buy it because I dont like the look of other sonatas but i saw this and liked it. I traded in my Yukon for this to save on gas and that has paid off Big time!! I am averaging 32 mpg in the city! Ride is smooth and I receive so many compliments on my car. People think its a Mercedes or Lexus at quick glance. I am very pleased with this purchase.

• 

  love it - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By maryann - January 8 - 5:40 am

  great car! Hyundai has done a wonderful job making an affordable family sedan.

• 

  So Far, So Great! - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Allan J. Pontiere - January 7 - 7:16 pm

  We just purchased the GLS AWD Drive with the popular equipment package in Garnett Red. It has brown, taupe, and red interior. Really beautiful SUV that is turning heads. I have only had it a few days and so far we love it. The ride is solid with no rattles. But I have to say, we live in Pittsburgh where many of the roads infamous like riding on the BAJA trail. On these bumpy surfaces, it is a rough riding vehicle but very stable, controlled, solid, and quiet. If you are concerned about that aspect, you might want to opt for the fwd. It supposedly has a very supple ride. On two tanks of gas, I am averaging highway and city, about 25 mpg! So far, this vehicle is quality inside and out.

• 

  Great Value...Great Ride - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Johnny_Bravo - January 7 - 2:36 pm

  Just purchased vehicle a week ago and already have over 500 miles on it. Drives great...ride is smooth and acceleration is more than adequate..shifting is very smooth. Took it on trip and it gave me 27.5 mpg driving between 75 - 80 mph. Not bad! Avg mpg in the city 20 - 22 mpg. I traded my gas guzzling 06 Nissan Titan Crew Cab and dont regret it. I dont miss the power and the ride is much more comfortable. The high safety rating is a plus for my 1 yr old son :) I would recommend this car or any Hyundai to anyone. My wife drives a 08 Santa Fe and we are also very satisfied with both our vehicles.

• 

  Incredible Value for $$$! - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Propellerhead - January 6 - 6:46 pm

  Moved from 2006 Azera Ltd to this. Other cars currently owned are 2006 BMW "M" Roadster and 2008 Infiniti M35. Prior vehicles (since 1994) -- 1998 Mercedes SL600, Infinity Q45(2), Lexus ES(300 & 330), a 2002 Porsche Turbo, and a VW Phaeton. It is our experience that the 2009 Genesis is absolutely the best value of any of the above cars - there is NO comparison versus what Hyundai packs into this vehicle for $40K when fully loaded. We could have chosen ANY car we wanted and yet opted for this because of our prior excellent experience with the Azera and the fact that the Genesis offers far more features and performance for MUCH less money than ANY of the autos we have owned.

• 

  I love this car! - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By sara - January 6 - 9:50 am

  I just got my Tiburon. Not only am I happy because it was cheap with only 15000 miles on it, but it is by far the best running, and good looking car Ive ever had. I would strongly recommend anyone to get a Tiburon.