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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  Quiet, quick, comfy - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By wanna-azzy - November 27 - 12:13 am

  So far I am very satisfied. It looks great in silver blue with grey int. I cant think of anything it doesnt do well. Fuel mileage is just OK, but should improve with time. And the light interior color will take a little more care to keep clean. With the warranty and MANY more safety features than the competition, I feel good about my purchase.

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  Dream CAr - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Neal OBrien - November 26 - 10:53 pm

  With all its pickup & go, its an absolute pleasure to drive. The added perks like electronic stability control give added peace of mind plus all the other add-ons .

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  better mpg - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By bassman - November 26 - 8:33 pm

  i have owned my gls for a little over 2 monthes now and so far it has been good except for the gas mileage. it is rated between 19-24 mpg and have yet to reach even 19 mpg despite moderate driving. even on the highway only 18 mpg which bothers the heck out of me. other than the mpg is been a fun car to drive.

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  Like This Truck! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Pat R - November 26 - 7:10 pm

  This is a very good little truck. I have not had any problems with it and the dealers are very professional.

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  a wonderful little SUV - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By awongmath - November 26 - 3:00 pm

  I have owned this little SUV for 15 months now, with nary a service problem or defect. I test drove a RAV4, VUE, Escape, and the CRV; I needed a vehicle that could easily tote my daughters everyday wheelchair and a sport wheelchair. This SUV is roomy (can hold her everyday wheelchair in the back or two medium dog crates w/o putting the rear seat down), is great fun to drive, and the turning radius is good (better than Mazda MPV, about the same as a Camry, not as good as a Volvo or BMW sedan).

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  80,000 miles and not one problem - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By Jefo - November 26 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Accent new and it has been used as a commute to work car ever since. The only extras are the AC and the rear spoiler. My vechile is about to reach the 80,000 mile mark in just 3 1/2 years with not a single breakdown or problem. I enjoy driving and maintaining so the manual tranny and easy engine layout fit me fine.

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  Ellen - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By ells - November 25 - 10:00 am

  I have had the car since March and love it!! No problems and it rides so nice, love the extras!

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  overall a good city car - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By neerugulati - November 25 - 10:00 am

  great car for the price offered at dealerships. has a lot to offer when compared on standard features with other competitors that includes a powerful engine, power door and windows, safety and conveneint features. only problem is that when i go past 75mph, i start hearing noises from my front tyres.....feels like they rub with the wheel base or something...feels quite dangerous at that speed.

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  Transmission Problems - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By mmh3 - November 25 - 10:00 am

  We purchased our 2004 SF 3.5L GLS 4wd in April,2004 in Nevada from Planet Hyundai. With 1200 miles on it, we had to have the transmission replaced. Stevens Creek Auto Imports (An authorized dealer in San Jose, Ca.) had our vehicle for testing and seal replacement prior to putting in the new transmission. There is now a difference in the way the car drives. It used to have a big surge upon the initial acceleration (like a burst of power), but no longer. The freeway acceleration seems to have also diminished. The verdict is still out on the vehicle because we just got it back from the dealership.

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  Great on a budget! - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Kim in western MA - November 25 - 2:00 am

  I am a college student, and I was able to afford this car on my own! I bought it used with 11K miles on it, and 8 months later my accent has 30K on it! Needless to say, I do a lot of long traveling in it, and its great! So far I havent had any problems with it, and have only brought it to the garage for its scheduled maintenence. I didnt do a lot of shopping around... my dad has an elantra and has great luck with that, so I decided to go with a Hyundai, and this one was right in my price range! Its a great car!