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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  This one REALLY Out Performs all others - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Frank Thompson - September 10 - 5:20 am

  Honda and Toyota were two main imports that prevailed for the past decades. But it is official, the hell freezes over!! This Sonata out performes those Accords and Camries in terms of built quality and performance. Actually it can be compared with a Lexus or Acura league.

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  Great Value - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By tonytrim - September 10 - 2:00 am

  I had my Sonata for only four weeks before I was rear ended in a 5 car accident. My airbags did not deploy and the chasis folded and buckled near the moonroof. I walked away with only serious wiplash and a scrape on the knee. The car did exactly what it was suppose to during the impact. I am curious though why the air bag did not deploy.

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  You Gotta Sonata! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Gotta Sonata - September 10 - 1:20 am

  Purchased it last month, and absolutely luv it. Stylish good looks, my buddy saw it from the side and remarked "oh, you got a 5 series bimmer". It rocks. Very quick, great warranty, great looks. I got the LX with heated seats, larger wheels, leather.

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  Santa Fe Rocks - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Goprocks - September 9 - 9:26 am

  The 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe is well made vehicle. We have had the SUV for over 2 years, we have experienced absolutely no problem. We would definitely buy another Hyundai.

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  give it a shot - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By hemi - September 9 - 2:00 am

  I have a loaded 2001 GLS with 33,000 miles. Had two problems, driver door window that was fixed at no charge and at 28 months a battery was needed. The dealer pro-rated the battery at 60% off retail. Its just a great car, performance,comfort,style how can you go wrong. And for under $20,000. You have to take it for a ride and see for yourself

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  2006 SONATA GLS (LOVE IT) - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By MTSOAG - September 8 - 5:56 pm

  This is my first Hyundia and i love it. It has a smooth ride and the 3.3L engine has more power than you would expect. This car is loaded with cool and smart features. The safety concerns bulit in this car is first class all the way. Do yourself a favor and atleast go to a dealer and check out what this car offers. I did it and love the smart choice i made.

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  Above Competition - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By Andrei - September 8 - 3:38 pm

  I am spending 2.5 hours every working day in the car: to me it is not choosing "just a car", but a second home and office. I have invested a lot of time in selecting a new vehicle. Each one of us has different criteria when selecting a vehicle. My top ones were: 1. Ride Comfort 2. Quietness on a highway 3. Ability to absorb road imperfections 4. Android Auto/Apple Car Play as a lot of paid options become unnecessary with personal assistance of the these tools and navigation/online music and talk shows. Here are the reasons I did not buy competitors: Accord EX (pros: awesome screens and interior quality, nice open layout, camera on the mirror, handling; cons: suspension is on the stiffer side, road imperfections are quite noticeable). Altima (pros: the most comfortable seats; cons: engine noise, no Android Auto(AA)). Fusion (great car overall, but the cabin layout is claustrophobic, rear seat room is the smallest, no AA). 2016 Malibu (looks awesome, but the ride is on a somewhat stiffer side, interior is simply "fine"). Camry LE (everything is in place, but it lacks Android Auto/Apple Car, which serves as a live personal assistant during the trip, smaller screen. It falls behind in technology equipment). Sonata is the car where all my stars have lined up: it has definitely the smoothest ride of the bunch, the car irons out all the cracks in the pavement - you do not feel them nor hear them. Sonata is the quietest car on a highway - no tire noise, no wind noise, it feels and rides like a luxury car, even though I got the entry level model without a single option. Cabin layout is very open, you constantly "feel" spaciousness especially with the light interior (light gray or beige). Sonata has a very confident handling, and there is absolutely no "floatiness" as you would normally feel with softer suspensions. Entry-level model comes with the most equipment compared to the cars above: nice 7" HD screen with lots of features (XM data - traffic, weather), high-quality HD backup camera, AA works perfect, seats are comfortable on my long rides, and the price tag is unbelievable if you know how to negotiate - very low 18,000s. The sound system generates an unexpectedly good sound quality - it is not what you would think to get in a "stripped-down model". Paired with the cabin quietness the sound is very good. If you choose very nice options like panoramic sunroof, heated/cooled leather seats and a plethora of safety/electronic features, adaptive cruise control, super stereo system - prepare to pay at least 50% more. In my case - it was not worth the extra money, but everyone is different. Paired with 5 year full/10-year powertrain warranty and very low maintenance costs this Sonata SE is my perfect choice to be my 2nd home/office for the next 5 years.

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  Good car for the money, for now - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By chris - September 7 - 9:30 pm

  I think this car is a good value with 0% financing. However, I am very disappointed with the passenger airbag occupant detection system. There is a sensor in the passenger seat that is supposed to detect if an adult is sitting in the seat so that the computer can determine whether or not the passenger airbag should inflate in a collision. The problem is that the system is very inconsistent and sometimes will turn off the airbag even when a heavy adult is sitting in the seat. Hyndai knows the problem and the owners manual tells you to keep restarting the engine to clear the problem, which cant be good for your starter. The other work around is to have the front passenger move to rear!!!

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  Still an Awesome Elantra - 2015 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By Teresa Aurnou - September 7 - 6:03 pm

  I love this car! I have been driving it since June and still loving it! It is sporty and comfortable and cute. Lots of room with the hatchback and great sound system. I plan on having this car for many years to come!

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  Great car, could do better on the road - 1996 Hyundai Sonata
  By Binnie The Gooh - September 7 - 2:00 am

  It´s a great car, but they could make it better suitible for the raod like when you are taking sharp turns it slides to the sides alot but it can be controlled, this is a sedan version, so why not make it perfect!!