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:

• 

  Biggest Lemon - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By Steve - January 18 - 9:11 pm

  My 2012 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0t on the outside/inside appear to look nice and comparable to a high end luxury vehicle. Mechanically it is garbage! Owning this car for 3years 90,000 I had to the replace turbo sensor, fuel pump, 2 batteries, and run into multiple situations where the car would not start. Hyundai corporate and dealerships have been useless and do not stand by their products. This is my second and last Hyundai buying, next time Ill put the money towards a Toyota, a company who stands by their products and who has proven reliability.

• 

  My Review - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By yoda9111 - January 18 - 2:00 am

  I love this car. I am completely happy with it in every aspect. Its nice to both drive and look at, especially if you ad the Korean, Tuscani badging. The only thing is I feel like Im always filling up with gas when using it in the city. I seem to get great highway fuel economy.

• 

  2004 XG350L - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By DFD - January 18 - 2:00 am

  HAD AN ACURA 3.5 RL FOR LOT MORE MONEY BUT YOU CAN HAVE IT, ILL TAKE MY XG350L . HAS JUST AS MANY SIRENS AND BELLS WITHOUT THE FANCY PRICE TAG.

• 

  STUPENDOUS car!!!!! - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Matt639 - January 18 - 2:00 am

  This is one of the best vehicles I have ever drove!! It does just about everything right. I own a 2002 Hyundai Elantra GLS nad it has over 40500 miles on it. I can honestly say that I havent had any problems with it yet. The ride is smooth and quiet, and the engine delivers decent power and acceleration.

• 

  HYUNDAI 2000 SONATA SEDAN GLS - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By TYRANSKI - January 18 - 2:00 am

  I HAVE FOUND THE HYUNDAI SONATA TO BE A SOLID AUTOMOBILE. IT HAS APPEARANCE, IT HAS VALUED EQUIPMENT FOR THE DOLLAR, AND IT HAS PERFORMED VERY WELL BOTH LOCALLY AND ON LONG DISTANCE DRIVES. I USUALLY AVERAGE APPX 27-29 M.P.G. WHILE HIGHWAY DRIVING ATSPEEDS FROM 55 TO 75 MPH. I HAVE USED THEIR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TWO OR THREE TIMES AND FOUND THE RESPONSE TIME AND SERVICE TO BE EXCELLENT. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS AUTO TO ANY FAMILY SEEKING A SOLID, WELL BUILT CAR LOADED WITH EXTRAS FOR THE PRICE.

• 

  Cheapest SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By amby - January 18 - 2:00 am

  We like it for our family of four (parents and teenagers). The size is not too small as you might think. It is really just roomy enough. The mileage is coming up to 21 mpg this last fill up(1200 Miles). We can not wait to take a 4 hr trip to Lubbock soon to see how the ride is on a longer drive and how the milage comes out. Around town this is a fun little car. The kids call it our suv. It is a lot of fun to drive. Peppy and responsive is the word. We got the 2.7L V-6 for the extra milage. Frankly more power is not necessary. The torque steer is very strong with the little engine.

• 

  If it were a woman...Id marry it!!! - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By George - January 17 - 4:20 pm

  Every morning I wake up, I still cant get over the fact I bought so much car for so little money. Its super comfortable and quiet on the road. The interior is truly top notch in terms of quality and lay out. The braking, steering, and acceleration are great. Im averaging 32mpg with 60% hwy and 40% very heavy city driving. I also test drove a Honda Fit which was a joke in comparison to this.

• 

  Not a better Value! - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Chris Debenedetto - January 17 - 10:00 am

  Just wanted to say that there is not a better car on the market under $15,000.

• 

  Absolutely Love This Vehicle - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ncastor - January 17 - 3:05 am

  I purchased this vehicle used and by far my favorite. I have owned all types of vehicles and this is by far my favorite in terms of performance and luxury. My girlfriend has a BMW X3 and the Hyundai compares in terms of luxury and performance. In fact if you look at the specs the two vehicles are almost identical. The only difference is the BMW feels "tighter" steering wise. Overall plenty of power and luxury. The seats are comfortable and the ride is extremely smooth and quiet. Getting about 20.7 mpg in primarily suburban driving and over 25 on a long trip to and from the Jersey shore.

• 

  Nice car - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By victor77 - January 17 - 2:00 am

  The Sonata is an overall stable vehicle. It makes for fun driving, especially with select sport shifting, and looks exceptional. The handling is very responsive, which adds to the exciting driving experience. The car has a great price, looks sharp, and makes for an excellent driving experience.