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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  SE model has European feel - 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By obx2003 - April 3 - 3:30 am

  I bought this car when it was 33 months old with 31K miles from a Honda dealer. After a year I can say Im quite happy with the car. Sporty handling and a decent combo of power and economy. Im a DIYer so I was happy to see oil & filter changes are a breeze. Engine uses no oil between oil changes. The hatchback practicality is great. A golf club bag fits neatly across the back. I had narrowed my decision down to this car or a Toyota Matrix. Im happy with my selection. I average over 30 mpg in mixed driving and about 34 highway mpg

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  the tib - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By sassthat - April 2 - 6:40 pm

  I bought the tiburon sight unseen 3 months ago. I was pleasantly surprised by almost everything about this car. Although the backseat is tiiiny, it has comfortable front seats, agreat look, easy to drive and all the features I wanted. I was in an accident 2 weeks ago that totaled the car (flipped it). I walked away with a scratch on my foot. Fantastic car... really! My only complaints are: size of backseat, pretty big blind spot, a bit bumpy on older roads Highly recommended... especially after the wreck.

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  *** - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By marcy - April 2 - 10:00 am

  auto has had many repairs (under warranty), but still have had to go into the dealer to have the reapirs done and it take the servic department several hours at a time. I would never recommend this car to anyone. Save yourself the trouble.

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  Hyundai Means Business - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By alayman - April 2 - 7:16 am

  Great Car! If you want a solid car with the build quality of a Honda or Toyota without the sticker shock, this is it. Wife drives an 04 Santa Fe. She loves it, and it has performed wonderfully. Looked at a Sonata then, but the engines were just not that great. With the new/efficient engine and clean lines, Hyundai has a winner in the 06 Sonata. Anyone looking at an Accord or Camry would be well advised to drive a 2006 Sonata. Comparably equipped, its no contest! Sonata even looks better.

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  First Impressions - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Dexi - April 1 - 1:53 pm

  We bought our new Tucson about a month ago. The performance of this car is about average. It seems that something is holding it back, the ride is not smooth at all. Engine noise is prohibitive, maybe its just our car but at slow speed engine is whinning (reminds me of famous German planes Stuka during WWII). Gas mileage is awful barely 20 mpg mostly hihgway. This is 2.0L engine for Gods sake!; my 15 year old Chevy was doing 24-25. Gas pedal is in wierd position for me, get tired very easily during long drives. Leg space for passenger is OK. Overall, this is "you get what you paid for vehicle". For the money (we paid 16,250 before tax) its OK buy, dont expect great things out of it.

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  You get what you pay for.... - 1997 Hyundai Accent
  By jbheath - April 1 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car close to two years ago, and I have yet to find a feature that stands out as anything special. If I were to drive only dowhill, or only in an area where the air conditioning was completely unneccesarry, I would enjoy the ride much more. Unfortunately, it sluggishly makes its way around, and it cannot take hills with the AC on. If you want to have fun on your way to work each morning, this car may not be for you.

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  Accent - you get what you pay for. - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Merrill - April 1 - 2:00 am

  The clutch needs to be replaced with only 19,500 miles

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  NOT GOOD FOR LONG DISTANCE DRIVING - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Linda - March 31 - 8:36 am

  After driving the car now for eight months, I can now give a more authentic review. I am extremely disappointed in the gas mileage. When I first got the car, the mileage was great. Now eight months later, the mileage is no way as good as when I first purchased the vehicle. The Elantra is a great car if you are only planning to drive around town. The Elantra is NOT for long distance driving. The pick-up is lousy. I have a short commute to work, so the Elantra works for me. Its a nice car for short distance driving.

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  Excellent for the price, fun to own - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Pauline - March 31 - 4:36 am

  Great visibilty and handling in the rain; excellent sound system; nice seat lumbar support; ease of dashboard controls; solid drive and handling; spacious back seat area and good cargo room; ease on your back in loading and unloading and getting in and out of seats. Good gas mileage, good pick up.

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  2011 Hyundai Tucson Limited - What a Mistake - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By maximov - March 31 - 2:18 am

  I bought this vehicle in Nov 2010. The first thing I noticed was the gas milleage that I am getting compared to the manufacturer values. It was way off. I get less than 20MPG. So OK. I can live with that. Then the car turned 2 years old then the trouble begun. You name it and it broke. CV boot, fan motor, power sunroof, ABS and just yesterday, all the warning lights on the dashboard went off at the same time. That was scary. The ABS engages even when I am just going 30KPH on a bone dry road. I thought that Hyundai had fixed their quality problems from the past but they obviously havent yet. I had owned 3 CRVs in the past. I should have bought a 4th one. This is the first AND LAST Hyundai!!!