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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  best car for the money - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By jh - May 21 - 10:30 am

  I changed my car from Honda Accord to Hyunai Sonata because of car accdident. I am satisfied with the car so far. It gives me a lot of power and space for the money. This car also gives me good riding and low level of noise. The most sarisfied feature is the power. You can only get 4 cylinder one from Japanese bench marks such as Accord or Camry at this price. I like the quiet interior, too. However, sometimes I miss the engine sound of my previous Honda when I was accelerating.

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  Great SUV - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By David Ludington - May 21 - 10:00 am

  We have 31000 miles on it and have never had a problem with anything. We cannot say the same for the Ford Expedition, GMC Yukon, or GMC Jimmy and Suburban we have owned. It is a fun vehicle to drive.

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  Pathbreaking SUV from Hyundai Santa Fe - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Sambasivan S. - May 21 - 10:00 am

  Great ride. Superb Interior features. Great Exterior Styling. Roomy Interior. Overall Value for Money.

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  Loved it! - 1997 Hyundai Sonata
  By gr8scotto - May 21 - 2:00 am

  I just "retired" my 1997 Sonata due to a major mechanical problem and was very upset to have to do so because up until this incident this vehicle performed FLAWLESSLY for me. I had absolutely no mechanical problems whatsoever with this car and it was by far the best vehicle I have ever owned up to this point (I am 35 years old)

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  Back to Hyundai - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By back to Hyundai - May 21 - 12:36 am

  I was one of the the late 80s Hyundai owners and we gave up on the cars because of quality issues. So when my wifes Buick was going down, I decided to try Hyundai again because of rising quality ratings. So we test drove a 2008 Sonata SE and she fell in love with it. Not one problem with it! I now own the 2011 Sonata SE and am very pleased with the design and built quality of this car! I have over 1200 miles now and the Hwy mileage is around 35-38 MPG and the city around 25 MPG. Try one youll buy one. People do look twice!

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  haundi accent 4 door Sedan - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By John B. Hill - May 20 - 2:00 am

  Found car to be nimble and easy to drive no problems in the first two months .

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  True Luxury at a Great Price - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By jubilado - May 19 - 10:00 am

  I am just thrilled with my new XG350L. It is midsize, but totally luxurious. Other than a slight rattle in the moonroof when open, it came with no defects. And the quality of the materials is obvious. It has so many special features and drives so smoothly. The transmission is seamless. The seats are very comfortable (leather) and the drivers seat slides back to let you out just as in the Lincoln. All at a price well under $25,000. including a 10 year/100,000mile bumper/bumper warranty and LoJack (these are options I chose.)

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  Take a good look, BUT DONT BUY!!!!!!! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By TimmyJ - May 19 - 10:00 am

  I’ve had my tibby for 6200 miles and about 1/2 of those are from trips to the dealer for servicing. Watch for numerous recalls from a car that is full of defects! Spoiler light assembly, driver side window motor, sunroof, paint on door sills, gas cap leakage, window seals, tweeter blown, plastic sub cover in trunk may crack! BEWARE-THIS CAR WILL DISAPPOINT YOU IF YOU DONT KEEP THESE ITEMS IN MIND! I’ve had other problems w/ leather seat flaw @ purchase, plastic doorsill damage and grease on roof after 1 of the servicing. The HORSEPOWER was lied about by 11 horse in their ads.

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  Good Value, good buy - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By Joe D - May 19 - 3:43 am

  Bought this car 5 years ago and I love it. Have 65K miles on it and I never had any major issue. It has very good pickup and drives smoothly. It has many value added features that you find on more expensive cars, like wood grained interior, leather eveywhere, great stereo, power eveything, and great looks. Noone ever guesses that its a Hyundai. People think it is a Lincoln or Infinite. Overall a good value and a good buy.

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  A Sonata Weekend - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Rusty Pinto - May 18 - 12:46 pm

  Rented 2011 Sonata on recent extended weekend trip to SC. My basis for comparisons - Currently drive 2006 Sonata LX (V6). First impressions - Looks even better than in pictures. On the road - Impressive. While difference in power compared to V6 is noticed, adjusted driving style to adapt to four cylinder and a bit of time to settle in found me pleased. Quiet. Handles quite well. Tranny is very smooth. Ride is a nice compromise between hardness of sport and comfort of luxury. This is the entry level model and it was full of great features including BlueTooth and XM. Fit & Finish - Sleek and well built. Hyundai has taken a good car and made it great. Must resist the urge to trade!