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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  Know what you are getting. - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By skolakowski1 - June 8 - 1:27 pm

  The AC is inadequate. On 95 degree days, it is still warm in the car. This is a common problem for Hyundai. I had to have the windows tinted to help. I was in a head on accident and the air bags didnt go off. Another common problem for Hyundai. Im waiting for a recall announcement. The idiot lights come on sporadically (ESC,ABS,TPMS). The longest one has stayed on was over an hour. I dont know if the ABS and ESC are working. Another common problem for Hyundai. The car has over 50K miles on it and we have not had any problems with it not running or starting. We get about 25 miles to the gallon but do mostly city driving.

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  B R O K E N WINDOWS! - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By jennifer_c620 - June 5 - 8:06 pm

  I bought my 2007 Hyundai Sonata with about 44K miles, now it has over 66K and before I hit my 6 year/60K warrenty expiration, my left side rear window broke and was stuck in the down position, thankfully, Hyundai fixed it at NO charge, However, now that Im over the warrenty, my right side rear window has broken, in the down position . What is wrong with this company and its cheap parts??? I owned a Nissan before this and never had any issues like this. Also my paint is bubbling off on the mirrors, so far, this is the only place its pealing. Though, when I bought the car, it had been REPAINTED on the hood and front bumper due to paint bubbling. I never had faith in Hyundai and still dont!!

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  Its ok... - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By cmariol - May 27 - 1:20 pm

  I bought this car new. It was perfect for me then, but now i have a 2 year old. With a car seat in the back and a stroller in the trunk, i have no room for anything. It drives me crazy that i cant even fit a full load of groceries in it, let alone a single item bigger than one seat. Mostly because of this, i am currently looking for an suv. If you dont have kids, its a good little car, but if you do, i would highly recommend looking for something bigger. Also, the check engine light has been on practically since i got it. I took it to auto zone and they stuck that thing in it that tells you why its on. I cant remember what they said it was exactly, but he said it was no big deal...

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  Dont trust Hyundai Warranty - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By kd_singh - May 25 - 6:31 pm

  Despite all the claims by Hyundai on having a great warranty..the Hyundai commitment to service is not trust worthy.. The general guideline to the dealership is avoid accepting the faults in the car..till the warranty runs out..Once its run out they start pointing out faults that you have always been asking them to repair... simply the Hyundai approach is to avoid acceptance of any fault in the cars..temporary fix the problem when customer insists or adamant. Buy it if you just want to keep it for 60, 000 miles..after that it is your risk..no matter how well you kept your car..it will haunt you! whatever was fixed once will break again!

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  Hyundai - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By no1 - May 12 - 7:14 am

  Dont buy a Hyundai. The 06 Sonata is my 4th of 5 Hyundais. At 74,000 miles the airbag warning light came on. The dealer wants $1100 to replace the seat sensor. Asked for assistance from Hyundai. No thanks,its 15,000 miles out of warranty. Still has powertrain though. This is the second time ive asked Hyundai to repair a safety issue out of the base warranty and the second time theyve refused. That wont happen with Toyota or Honda.So dont buy a Hyundai. When the cars age and safety issues happen,they will show you to the curb.

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  Buy a Ford - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By rotag - May 11 - 7:21 pm

  Bought this car with 16,000 miles in Jan 09 and a 08 Ford Fusion with 10,000 miles in Feb 09. Both have 45k now and the Fusion hasnt had one issue, zero. the Hyundai has had so many issues I cant mention them all here. Additionally, I caught the dealer ripping me off. Hyundai corporate is terrible and doesnt care. Had issue with fuel tank where after the pump would shut off when filling the tank with gas it would "burp" and spit up gas...took 7 trips to the dealership to fix. Have replaced all 4 tires and all 4 brakes...again no issues with Ford. The only saving grace is the repairs are covered under warranty although Id rather have a call without a warranty that wont break.

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  2007 Sonata peeling paint problem - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By brossart - May 7 - 7:47 pm

  I bought my 2007 Hyundai Sonata new, and at that time, I thought it was a good car, but I have since changed my mind. After an electrical short in the steering column, rear brake problems, engine computer malfunction, and now bubbling and peeling paint, I have had enough. Warranty covered most of the problems, but since my Sonata has 43,000 miles on it, Hyundai wonÂ’t cover the peeling paint, because the paint is only warranted for 3years 36,000 miles. The paint is so thin on this car that when driven on the highway, even bugs cause chipping of the paint on the front bumper and on the hood of the car. This appears to be a sub-standard paint job. Paint should not be peeling off this soon.

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  Honestly.. Very Disappointed!! - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By tigerbill61 - May 6 - 6:50 pm

  Sadly bought my 4.6 LOADED brand new after reading about All the Great reviews. Its now been 2 years since my regretable purchase. Please let me reassure you I am a REAL Person and not a rep from some other ripoff car company like BMW! Tires very cheap replaced at 12,000 miles! Key needs to be within 1 foot or placed in slot to operate the pushbutton start!. Terrible in the snow and wet roads with the rear drive! Backup camera works 50% of time! You need a Hyundai brand I-Pod cable to work you I-Pod connection (Extra 75.00) Hmm never mentioned! The Transmnission shifting is a Nightmare and very embarrasing! Frequent updates for stereo _ etc. Im outta words with alottt more to say!

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  Okay until the end - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By tuco11 - March 31 - 9:09 pm

  I brought the car in 2007 with 32,000. Besides needing to take it in after a couple of months because of a bad transmission range switch, it was good just needed normal maintenance. I sold it a couple of days of ago because at 1116,000 miles the transmission started to slip which a any transmission work would cost more than the car was worth. Overall considering the age of the car and the fact that it was in the rust belt, it was pretty good.

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  Looks great...drive great...BUT - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By jimmygimbels - March 7 - 9:03 pm

  Look great. Drive great. But, the tires are a problem. Be ready to slip and slide in heavy rain or any level of snow. Hankook Optima tires have a rep for little or no traction in snow and ice. If you live in an area where it snows, you might want to invest in a better set of tires. Hyundai traded safety for a better mileage number