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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  Hyundai Santa Fe--Great little SUV - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By meggers - November 21 - 10:00 am

  Distinctive styling (you can actually pick it out from all the other look alike SUVs) and a great warranty are some of the things unique to this vehicle. The interior is roomy, ergonomic and controls are well placed. Seating is comfortable and even though I was used to a fancy power driver seat lumbar/sear adjustment, this vehicles manual controls (3)worked out fine. Many of the options we pay extra for on other vehicles are standard on the Santa Fe. Brakes are great, acceleration good (this is not a dragster)and road noise and ride are superior.

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  Enjoying driving again. - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Richard - November 21 - 3:10 am

  Ive had this car for 2 weeks and i love it. it is so comfortable & fun to drive. i drive 180 miles to and from work and this car has made driving a pleasurable experience. I owned a Honda for 2 years but the seats were so uncomfortable & road noise was so loud, i had to get rid of it. the sonatas ride is smooth & quiet. i get 35+ mpg. have driven 557 miles on one tank of gas. love the options that came on the limited. i love the exterior & interior design. back seat is roomy and comfortable. had previously seen a review on the back seat not having enough headroom. Im 510" tall and i have plenty of headroom. love the keyless entry and push button start. i love this car! good job Hyundai

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  Great car - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By bee - November 21 - 2:00 am

  a lot of car for the money

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  Poor resale /Trade-in value - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By K.Kennedy - November 21 - 1:43 am

  I love my Tuscon, but having a few problems, when you go through standing water you lose power steering and a battery light comes on. Scared I will lose control. Also off and on the power locks will not work have to unlock each door manually.

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  So far so good - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By smurfkiller - November 21 - 12:33 am

  So far so good. We are coming up on 12,000 miles. I have had the vehicle for just about 5 months and have not had a bit of trouble. I drive it hard every day putting just about 100 miles on it every week day. I have a really bad back, and this thing is comfortable, easy to get into, and fun to drive.

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  This is a Hyundia? - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By oscar - November 20 - 10:16 pm

  After reading several articles on the Genesis I was offered a test drive by a local dealer marketing event in a shopping mall. I love the way it hugs the road, love the roomy interior, great high tech gadgets and looks expensive, after driving BMW for the last 8 years I traded my 328i for my first Hyundia coupe. Hyundai keep up the good work.

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  a lot to offer - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By mark - November 20 - 4:40 pm

  The Tiburon has a lot to offer anyone who is looking for a sporty car with great looks and lots of extra goodies. Everything is nicely finished and conveniently located inside. The seats hold you firmly in place. The torque on the car is crazy and the driving is exciting. There are lots of aftermarket add ons to make your Tibby custom and an even better performer. One is the Alpine Developments supercharger which can make over 300hp to the wheels. The exterior design is gorgeous. The car is modeled after the Ferrari 456 and in Korea it carries the name Tuscani, a town in Italy. The tires,wheels and suspension (which was developed together with Porsche designers) offer a sporty feel. All this for under 20k.

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  No issues when driving in reverse - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By wbito - November 18 - 1:03 pm

  Always loved the look of the the Santa Fe so when the time came to purchase a new car it was at the top of my list. The added bonus of a top safety rating and comfortable interior sealed the deal. Two years later, after intermittent shifting issues that "could not be replicated" by my dealer, I now have a beautiful car that only moves forward reliably when in neutral — attached to the back of tow truck. Hoping that its current failure to move at all when in "drive" makes the situation a little easier for the dealership to figure out. Might be worth taking a peak at the transmission this time (?) So far, the only bright side is that Ive never had any issues when driving in reverse ;)

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  New Sonata Look - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Carmine - November 18 - 12:43 pm

  This will make the 6th Hyundai product that I haved owned since 2003, my last Hyundai before the 2009 sonata was a 2006 sonata se v6. This time around I choose the 4 cylinder more for the economy purpose of the car. I am pleasantly surprised with the power and the changes that been made with the 2009 model. I now own the 2009 sonata limited and I think it blows away my previous car a 2007 Nissan altima 2.5sl.

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  Best Value Car - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Eddie Highfill - November 18 - 2:00 am

  excellent car and drives very good.