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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  Love It !!!!! - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Sante Fe - February 28 - 5:30 pm

  This is probably the best auto maker out there. After working for GM/Delphi and knowing what they make and owning GMs my entire life I wanted something made better, more reliable and an alround better deal. I found it with Hyundai. I bought a SAnte Fe and a Tiburon GT this year...that is how great they are!

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  Good Car, if you have a child graduating - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Matt Skeens - February 28 - 12:13 pm

  If you have a child graduating from High School or College and plan on buying them an affordable SUV. You cant beat a Hyundai with its value. The new Tuscon is a great car. I would recommend it to anybody.

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  Great car and value - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Al_W - February 28 - 10:00 am

  At just over $14k, this car may be the best value on the market in its class. After 3 weeks, we love it all the more. Its more comfortable than expected for its size, has just enough pep, and looks good. The GTs hatch is versatile for cargo. Rear 60/40 seats fold flat by flipping up bottom seats - nice. You cant get more for the money. After over 8 years & 120k miles with a Hyundai Excel, Ill attest to the long- term quality, low mtc. cost and reliability. Not to mention how far theyve come in that time with design and value-added features. You cant go wrong with a Hyundai.

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  My 2004 Accent sedan - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By E. Corser - February 28 - 2:00 am

  I recently bought a 2004 Hyundai Accent sedan. It has automatic trans. and has the popular equipment package. So far I have had no problems w/ it and enjoy driving it. Its comfortable and looks very attractive inside and out. My only complaint is the limited handling on winding roads due to the small tires.

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  02 accent no problems - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By lasacar - February 28 - 2:00 am

  I have put 67,500 highway miles on my 02 accent. At 35,000 the car had a tune up, and I replaced the front pads and had the rotors turned at 48,000. The car runs fine with no breakdowns. It starts fine in below 0 weather.

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  Good Car - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By wenixonii - February 27 - 2:00 am

  For anyone who maybe skeptical about buying a Hyundai Accent, dont be. I have had this car a year now, very good car, excelent gas mileage and I absolutely love it. Plus to top it all off, I didnt spend 25,000 for a brand new car.

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  Hyundai added features are nice. - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By BaryKerySC - February 26 - 6:36 pm

  While GM keeps cutting features from their vehicles, Hyundai keeps adding more technology and value to theirs.

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  Poor gas Mileage - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Olivarr - February 26 - 10:00 am

  Car does not perform as expected.

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  AWSOME - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By savitels - February 25 - 3:20 pm

  All I can say is this is a great car...I had a nissan sentra before my Sonata and it is like Im gliding on the road instead of feeling every bump.Im very happy with my car its nice and roomy and good on mileage and it runs great!! Thank you Hyundai,you are Awesome!!

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  The Way to Go..! - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Five0retired - February 25 - 2:00 am

  I have owned this car now for about 1 month..have driven 1000 miles....It is quick...clean looking...excellant stereo...handles well...nice headroom...good dash setup....with the 10year warranty it is the way to go..it is the complete package...very little to trick it out..I added the Hood protector(the Bra).mud guards front and rear. Auto vent shades for the doors...the cargo net ..floor mats (the primo ones from weatherguard) and cargo area mat...my other car is a BMW 2003 325I....and I like them both equally