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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  Good alernative to Honda - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By sirjohn72 - December 30 - 2:00 am

  I was very sceptical at first when looking at Hyundai to purchase a family size car, we looked at Honda, Toyota & they were out of our price range. The Hyundai Sonata was definitely the right price, & the great warranty was a factor in deciding on the Hyundai. Ive owned this car almost 3 years & have not had a major mechical breakdown, with a few minor exceptions, the car is very reliable. The Sonata drives like a Camry & feels very comfortable driving, although its not a performance sedan, it could use a little more horsepower out of the 2.4 liter engine, but you could always opt for the V6. Overall I rate this car outstanding.

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  A Major Change! - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bill R. Wynne - December 29 - 8:21 am

  Im slightly biased, I lived in Korea for 12 years; and I have purchased Four (4) Hyundai Products previously. Hence I have known them to be good, solid, reliable vehicles. I traded In my 2014 Kia for the SONATA SPORT. Sitting in my driveway is a 2003 KIA OPTIMA, 88,000 miles and last year, we had to have left half shaft replaced and thats it. I normally drive a Cadillac DTS; my first was in 1973, Coupe De Ville. Hence I have grown accustomed to driving a great riding luxury car with all the bells and whistles. There is truth in that saying Rides like a Cadillac. I know that the Hyundai is reliable, and a great value, BUT I was totally stunned when I test drove the SPORT Model. Additionally, Ive always had more than two cars, and one would always be a Performance Model; Corvette, Z28, Trans Am, Cadillac CTS-V type vehicles. As I initially drove into the traffic I was impressed at its ease to get into traffic on a Six Lane Major Road. I am NOT a fan of the Four Cylinder Engines, the sound I dont like. But I did not know at that moment that IT was a Four, I felt what seemed to be the V6 type thrust. As I merged onto I65, there is a major intersection; the on ramp and the two lane exit ramp coincide, people coming to the right, and you must cross two lanes to get into the 3 Lane main road. It is a hard trick as the Speed limit is 70 and most folks are truly running 75 MPH, so you have to have acceleration to pull away from the oncoming cars are you traverse 3 or 4 lanes of traffic. Im Used to a V8 pulling me across this intersection. I was in Normal Mode, and at first it seemed that I was not accelerating, but I then noticed that I was going 70 and pulling away from the traffic. I was going to the far left lane and was going to lock down the speed at 75. I looked down and I WAS GOING 85 MPH! I had been fooled by the silence of the car! For a few minutes I let it run at 80 MPH and intentionally, I had left the Audio off and this was to listen for any odd things. I was stunned at the quietness of this car. I say, damn, this thing rides as good as a Cadillac!! Then I discovered that the Cruise Control works very uniquely by keeping the speed pretty close GOING DOWN HILL! One of my pet peeves is when you go over a hill, hit the brakes, then you have to re-engage the system or it will be definitely speeding. Im a fairly large man, 60", 235 lbs. My comfort test is I get in, get comfortable seat placement for me; Im paying for it, right? Then I get out and get into the rear seat and see what that comfort level is. I got in back and was totally stunned at the knee room. What totally blew me away was the passenger lowered the back rest very far back while I was sitting in the rear. The rear passenger still had great knee room AND on my side, I had a good Four inches between my knee caps and the seat!! To be honest, more room than a DTS in knee room, and Great for Two Passengers, ONLY! But those two get a fantastic place to ride. On the way back from our 75 mile trip, I put it into ECO and my onboard system began at 29 MPG as were returning but about 20 Miles later it was reading 40 MPG! I took that figure with a mild grain of salt, as the algorithms for mileage calculation is not always the true MPG. But even if it was ONLY getting 35 MPG, I was impressed by the solid and quality build properties of this vehicle. When You slam the trunk down, you get a nice solid chunk. Same with the Doors. I also purchased several additional programs that basically provide me with Seven Years and 70,000 Miles of Bumper to Bumper, what ever happens it gets fixed, free oil changes, tire rotations and more that includes all the High Tech Items!! I believe that the ONLY thing I must do is put GAS in it, and enjoy driving it, and so far, this has been a ball of a car! Thumbs up to the Hyundai Corporation for listening and continually attempting to improve the product in many ways to create a great vehicle. AND I was very delighted with the OWNERS Manual. Small, easy to use and simple. A GM Owners Manual is about one inch thick and is confusing at best; IF you car is equipped with this option... I dont know if it has the Bingo Banga Torque Splitting Auto 7 speed or the 9 speed?? Very Good!! I also found that the Mode Settings actually have some effect as desired. Many vehicles will list great sounding Accessories, but Like the BMW, you cant use the system very well without taking eyes off road. Does it Work? I pretty much used intutive knowledge to operate a lot of stuff prior to reading the manual to find out even more technological features, Hill Hold, KOOL!! OH, and one of the BEST FEATURES of this vehicles is ITS GREAT LOOKING!!

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  A steal at this price - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Dean - December 28 - 4:43 pm

  I could not be happier. Got the black / black and had the factory wheels chromed. Stunning to look at and an even bigger pleasure to drive. This is a "10" and a must see for anyone shopping at this pricepoint.

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  Why hadnt I heard of this car??? - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Karen W. - December 28 - 2:53 pm

  We looked at Chevy Equinox & Trailblazer(used), Highlander, Vue, etc. Hyundai was our last stop. We were looking at the Sante Fes, but when I walked into the showroom and saw the Mesa Red Tucson with grey leather seats sitting there, I fell hard. Although the other cars were "nice", they didnt excite me. The Tuscon did. And once you threw in all the safety features and extras, along with the best warranty ever, no one could beat the deal. (We paid just over $22,000 and extended the warranty.) Have had a week and taken 1 trip to Maine (320 rnd trip) and am extremely happy with this car! Currently getting 20/22 mpg. Our V8 Explorer got 15 mpg city OR hwy. GREAT CAR! We LOVE it!

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  This DOES NOT get better with age - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By mazhater - December 27 - 10:46 pm

  Loved this vehicle when I bought it, but quality issues are starting to pop up. Paint chipping too easily, performance issues, electronic glitches. Service issues too. On a recent visit I got the car back with rear bumper damage. I dont think this vehicle will be in very good shape at two or three years old.

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  No more DOMESTICS for my family! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Frank - December 27 - 10:20 am

  My extended family and I have been buying/leasing Chrysler Products for almost 10 years from the same salesman who recently began selling the cars made by HYUNDAI. A couple of weeks after he got to the new store Lee called my wife and I about this SONATA. I must say that although we never really paid attention to the brand before, we are each impressed. for the cost of an entry level Dodge Avenger we have more standard features. A far more quiet ride. A great deal more room. We also looked at a few of the other cars offered by Hyundai, after meeting a very considerate owner. We now are driving a wonderful new car.

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  My new Hyundai - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By kitty - December 27 - 6:36 am

  I have just purchased a Hyundai Tucson and I am very pleased. It drives like a sedan (that was important to me), feels stable on the highway and has a high view of the road. I traded in a full sized van, so I was looking for something smaller without giving up a lot of the pluses found in a van. I was able to afford a car with much nicer "extras" than I had expected in my price range, plus, the extended warranty was an important factor. The exterior styling mimics that of much pricier cars and it has folding seats to help carry any outsized items. So far, its exceeded my expectations!

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  american is better - 1992 Hyundai Elantra
  By bubby1701 - December 27 - 2:00 am

  number one gripe. the paint job. all the clear coat and paint is coming off. OTHER GRIPES the knobs to all the heater and ac controls broke. the glove department door will not close. a seat belt buzzer keeps coming on and will not go back off. but there are alot of things i like about the car also. i love the style. it looks sharp, and sporty. real good pick-up,and easy access to all the controls up front.

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  Fantastic value! - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By driveit - December 27 - 2:00 am

  This elantra is hands down the best auto I have ever had the pleasure of owning. I have 4 other autos in my family, two of which i paid in excess of $90,000.00 for and this little car is the most trouble free of them all. what a great find!

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  Maybe I got a lemon - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jsb71 - December 26 - 3:42 pm

  It was a great car, until it hit 2 years old, and 30,000 KM (~18,000 miles). A piston broke in the engine, and the engine completely failed. What is worse, is the Warranty department balked on replacing the engine as per the service managers request. Eventually they agreed to a short block replacement and a few peripherals. Even that took nearly 2 weeks for approval, and I have little confidence this will be a long term fix. No rental car offered, and no explanation or apology. Still waiting for car to be fixed, as parts have to be shipped in. Not impressed. It is my second Hyundai, and now my last.