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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  Im so glad i did not get the Camry - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By fc - May 12 - 11:56 am

  Im so glad i got this car instead of the basic camry which was about the same price and it had a 4 cylinder, hyundai offers 2 more cylinders for the same price so i decided with the hyundai because of the comprehensive standard safety equipment like Electronic Stability Control with traction control, active head restraints, Plus the other goodies like the 17 inch alloy wheels and power sunroof i did not need a second opinion .

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  Impressed - 1995 Hyundai Sonata
  By Brudzio - May 12 - 2:00 am

  Bought new and still driving 9 yrs later. Fun to drive, especially at 190km/h. Had front crash at 80 km/h miraculously nothing happened to us, car took all the impact and was severed. Mechanically excellent and snappy. Body mouldings rust inside and swell - had to replace 2 times. Door locks rust & freeze, takes time to get in - can turn the key, however cant open. Hardware falls apart (sunshades, door knobs). Upgraded stereo to Hyundai CD combo - far much better sound. A/C still works well. Fuel tank rusted - had to rebuild. Manual tranny rebuilt in 5th year, wheel bearings noisy. Overall quite positive experience

• 

  Excellent car - 1995 Hyundai Elantra
  By Krek - May 12 - 2:00 am

  good car worth a test drive and for its money you cant get anything better so go and grab the keys

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  New Generation Hyundai Try it! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Digitalman - May 12 - 2:00 am

  Great car. New generation Hyundais have nothing to envy the other manufacturers considering the low price tag it and the lots of standard features you get. Good grip, handling, powerfull engine. Gearbox is a bit long. Air conditioner punishes performance. Not very confortable front seats. Ugly exhaust pipe, average fuel economy. Anyway, people who say it´s better buying an old japanese instead of a new korean are people who haven´t driven the new Elantra. Try before you buy I and think you´ll end up liking this car as much as your Neon or Civic, for a lot money less.This car is definetly a serious competitor for the japanese and europeans when choosing a new car.

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  I am in LOVE with it - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Janel Davis - May 11 - 10:20 pm

  smooth ride, good price. well worth the money. luxurious inside, leather seating, would buy another Hyundai in the future.

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  What a nice truck - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Ric - May 11 - 9:06 pm

  We were looking for something that we could "put stuff in" and didnt want to pay $30,000 plus for a Jeep. Looked at Chevy and wouldve paid more for a lot less. More airbags than my Volvo, took it on a trip from Jersey to Florida over the holidays and it was great!!! And I needed the 4WD in North Carolina of all places.

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  great - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By fred - May 11 - 8:26 pm

  i love driving our new sonata. it has a smooth ride and plenty of powerv when you need it . i also like the new stle change

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  Sonata Rocks - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sonata ROCKS - May 11 - 4:13 pm

  I traded a 2002 Elentra for the Sonata. I had 160,000 miles on the Elentra and never had any issues with the car. So my natural choice was Hyundai and I wanted to upgrade. I commute 125 miles a day and after a month I am averaging 32 MPG in mixed city/hiway driving. With a commute of so much distance comfort is important and the Sonata is very comfortable and I am 62". I was worried about the cost of my insurance going up but with all of the standard safety features my cost actually dropped by almost $150 a year from the Elantra. The bottom line is buy a Hyundai Sonata, you wont be sorry. Great gas mileage, comfortable and it turns heads. I may buy Hyundais forever!!

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  Excellent Car - No problems for 80k - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Roger - May 11 - 10:30 am

  No problems for 80k miles. Gas, oil, tires, brake pads, wiper blades. thats it. runs perfect and smooth, quiet, good acceleration. its time for a second set of brake pads and tires. i will get the belts replaced. i am keeping it.

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  simply ahead of its class, unmatchable - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By qausarali - May 11 - 7:36 am

  astonishing and cannot be even compared . fun and comfortable to drive