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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  OK CAR - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Racky - January 4 - 2:00 am

  The Elantra is pretty much dependable, the only problems that we have had is the airbag light had to be fixed 3 times already, the driver side window switch doesnt work properly. The black weather stripes on the windows had to be replaced twice.

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  I love it - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By MIraclemike - January 4 - 2:00 am

  There is only one thing wrong with this car. Its heavy as nothing else. I dont need a backseat, but I guess some people would. Other than that. It is my perfect vehicle. Nothing I have ever seen compares to the price, and every time Im out driving someone asks me where I got it. Even with the extra weight, its still quick, even with only 134 hp. But if you really want to go for the ponies, why would you even buy any car in this class? There is a turbocharger out there that promises 250 hp with the 4 banger. Granted it costs 6 thou. But that still adds up to only about 22,000. I just cant find anything wrong with this car.

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  Great Car - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By JP68 - January 4 - 2:00 am

  The car is an eye catcher where ever I drive it. I had test driven a number of SUVs before purchasing this vehicle and found it not only to be one of the most stylish in the price range, but one of the most comfortable. It also came with amenities that one would find only on SUVs costing thousands more. Also, who can be the warranty?

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  Real gem! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By gini - January 4 - 2:00 am

  A peppy little car with lots of get up and go. Love all the places to put things. Love keyless entry,too. Good air and heat system. Disapointed in the too-much-work tilt steering wheel mechanism, but otherwise very happy with this car.

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  One Single "Limited" Flaw - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Peter - January 4 - 1:50 am

  Check me out on this: The single flaw is the chrome strip adjoining the drivers bottom exterior side window is not flush to the rear chrome strip. Strange as the passenger side is correct. The Dealership says...OH NO - ALL THE LIMITEDs are like that; and a fix may be a long time away! The other very small visual issue I have is the air controllers nonfunctional "mans- head". Could the design not have used a reclined human figure?

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  Dream Machine - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By potter578 - January 3 - 4:56 pm

  I went from an Infiniti, G35 to this swift, economical, and affordable vehicle. I wasnt sure it was the right decision at first because, in this society, we always worry about what other people think. Furthermore, going from one extreme vehicle to the other was dramatic. But Im proud of my cute, fancy machine. Its sturdy, does good on gas, and is fun to cruise and drive. I get the fun I want for over 15,000 dollars less in cost. I would recommend this car to anyone that wants the power, excitement and fun of this vehicle. Oh, leave the kids at home! Dont let the Hyndai name push you away. Theyve made tremendous improvements and are ranked third least

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  2008 Elantra GLS - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Breanna - January 3 - 10:43 am

  My mom just bought this car for me and I love it! Ive been driving for years and after awhile driving gets annoying. But since Ive had my Elantra, Ive even driven just to the mailbox down the street! Sounds crazy, I know but Ill find any reason just to get in my car and go for a ride! It rides a lot smoother than I thought it would and I love the dash design and the blue backlights especially at night. Unlike other economy cars, the Elantra looks far from cheap and looks just as good parked next to an Accord, etc.

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  Little problems, Little car - 1995 Hyundai Accent
  By izzy85 - January 3 - 2:00 am

  This is my first car and it has proved to be a good one. I love how tight it takes corners and easily fits into cramped spaces. When I first purchased it it would run really slow and had a hard time going from first to second but I later found out I needed new spark plugs and a new starter (cheap!) So now with the regular maint. she runs great!

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  This car made me like driving! - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Larkin - January 3 - 2:00 am

  I hated driving, but since I got my Elantra, I love just driving my car around town.

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  my little yellow bee - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By faunce - January 2 - 10:00 am

  just fun fun to drive,love the hold back on hills and the cornering on the curves.