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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  The Veloster is my favorite car yet...and Ive had 20! - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By boscoosgood - October 11 - 7:05 pm

  I traded my 2011 Fiesta with Dual Clutch Powershift for a Veloster with Dual Clutch EcoShift. The Fiesta was very clunky at low speed and my commute is a lot of crawling at less than 5mph. However I really like the idea of a Dual Clutch so I tested the Veloster and I can tell you the difference is astounding! The Veloster Dual Clutch Transmission is smooth, quiet and seamless...even smoother than many conventional Torque Converter transmissions Ive driven. A lot of folks talk about the Veloster being slow...well thats a subjective opinion. Its certainly quicker than the Fiesta and while its no sports-car it certainly gets up to highway speed quickly and without drama in my opinion.

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  complete package - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By tallygtv6 - October 10 - 2:00 am

  its got some giddy-up to it. the response to acceleration, braking, and steering is unbelievable. and the car is very quiet for so much power. beats the rsx type s and celica gts in all catagories. couldnt be happier

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  can do - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ramon - October 10 - 2:00 am

  This car continues to amaze me. power for average use, handles very well for an suv, but half to drive accordingly.Fuel milage is good almost 30 if you keep your foot out of it,its not a race car just good all around pracital fun car to drive

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  Great new Santa Fa - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By IslandJoe - October 10 - 2:00 am

  After trying several others, was drawn back to the Santa Fe. Room & handling was great. Warrenty was major reason also.

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  Great car but I hate the radio - 2014 Hyundai TUCSON
  By deking - October 9 - 5:40 pm

  The Tucson is a nice solid SUV that drives and rides like a sedan. The seats are very comfortable, the A/C works perfectly. We love everything about the car except for the radio, which needs a copilot, especially a very young one, to operate. What ever happened to user friendly? Every new Hyundai I get has a completely new radio design and every one gets harder to use. No pushbutton resets on this one, and there is a small display that is impossible for the driver to see and use while driving. A very unsafe situation if you want to change stations on the highway. I have complained to Hyundai but they dont seem to understand.

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  Automatic Tibby 03 - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By RyanPaton - October 9 - 10:00 am

  Love this car, turn a lot of heads. Great all around car, back seat is a little tight but what do i care, im not sitting in it =)

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  I Will Never Go Back To A Ford - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By DONNA RENNINGER - October 8 - 9:26 pm

  I absolutely love this car for its comfort, fuel economy, the style of the vehicle and performance. With my cars acceleration ability, as well as its anti-lock brakes, I could not have asked for a better vehicle to save my life. I have been a Ford person all my life and last year I decided to check out the Hyundai Elantras because I liked their style -- now I will never go back to a Ford.

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  Satisfied with purchase - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By JoJofive - October 8 - 7:51 pm

  So far, so good with the car. I didnt really know what to expect with a Korean brand car. But the Genesis has proven itself capable to me. the Car is very beautiful, a little derivative. but most people think that it is a mercedes, which is a compliment. The dealership where I purchased it was definitely an interesting experience. Some of the team members were a bit oblivious to the features of the 3.8. but I finally got a guy to help me out with some important questions. Financing the car was good. got it for about 424/month with 1.9 APR.

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  Best Car For The Buck - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By jc1979us - October 8 - 10:03 am

  Great car. Best bang for the buck in its class. Has more safety features than its competitors. Excellent gas mileage. First new car Ive owned and worth every penny.

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  its a SHARK - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Mokael - October 8 - 2:00 am

  First time I saw it, I knew that this I will own it. I still test driven Civic and Sunfire, but Tiburon was the winner hands down. Awesome basic features (I have 2nd package with CD, sunroof, and stuff), as they say "zippy" engine, pretty small (good for in-city parking), more powerful than Civi will ever be, and much more comfortable and better looking that Sunfire (or Cavalier, or Saturn, or Escort). By the way, should I mention that it has a large and more powerful engine that Celica? Anyhow - if you are looking for a sporty coupe, give Tiburon a try.