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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  Love this car! - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jan Parks - October 20 - 1:26 pm

  The warranty was wonderful! Yes, the transmission did fail (it seems common with this year), perhaps because it was abused by a previous owner, but the local dealership was wonderful about replacing it with no questions asked. Other than that, the car has been perfect. I am especially surprised and pleased by its performance on the highway. It seems to drive like a much bigger car, and is very comfortable for me for long stretches. I get 25 mpg around town (I live on the top of a mountain which affects my mileage) and 36 on the road. Ok, I sold this car a year ago (Jan. 17), perhaps because I was paranoid about the transmission going out again. But Id been thinking of buying a new car, so I decided to do so, partially because my son-in-laws sister needed a good, reasonably-priced car. So I sold the Elantra to her. Now she loves it, and has had no problems with it. (whew!!*) I bought a Corolla instead of another Elantra, mainly because I wanted both a CD player (old school) and a backup camera, which I couldnt get in an Elantra. Still think it was a good car! I would buy do it again...

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  LUVN IT!! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By tinvin - October 20 - 11:59 am

  I owned a 2005 Sonata GLS for 7 years & never had a problem with it .I was so satisfied with it I decided to go for another Sonata. I have been looking for a while & came upon the 2011 Sonata I recently got. I love it as much as my 2005 model. Very happy they put the lights on the steering for the cruise, radio, etc. That was a big plus. A very sharp looking car. So far very satisfied with it. After I have had it a while I will repost a review but I dont believe the review will have anything negative. I highly recommend this vehicle. Even going from a V6 to a 4 cyl I am still impressed with the pick up & speed. I look for many happy years with this car! Very HAPPY!

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  Stuck in slow mode - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By chertedd - October 20 - 4:30 am

  I have a 2005 XG350L. My most recent problem has been when I drive from a parking space my car only wants to go about 10 miles and hour no matter how much gas I give it. After a while it will go 20 mph no more. After that it finally takes off like nothing happened. This process takes about 5 to 10 mins. When taken to repair could not duplicate. So can not fix. Accel position sensor and fuel sensor have been replaced previously. I love my car, but it is not reliable. The outside body also is thin. It dents and scratches easily. I would not recommend this car to anyone. I am working with the Hyundai Motor America consumer assistance center now I dont know that it will help.

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  Best car ever - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By Frank McFadden - October 20 - 4:03 am

  Hyundai was never on my radar for a new car, but the 2016 Sonata Limited is by far the best car I have ever owned. Great value and warranty - awesome ride, sound system superb and all the bells and whistles - cant be beat. I am faithful to a product I like - I owned Mercury products from 1972 until the end - switched to Chevy. Did lots of research before this purchase - best money spent.

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  Worst ride ever - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By dmslv02 - October 19 - 1:38 pm

  I have the one with orange seat piping, on Sunday it will be 4 weeks of sheer awful. The ride is so stiff that after 49 minutes my back start hurting. After 2 hrs its not good, go four hours and I cant walk upright for a day and in pain for another two and stiff. I have never in my life had a back problem only in this car. The interior looks like a 90s Pontiac Grand Prix so Im sure most pedestrian amuricans will like it. The exteriors look good except the creases cause hwy wind buffeting like a Yaris, I utterly hate it and Im trading it in, the cars not worth 20k in the top line let alone 34 msrp.

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  Why cant Ford build a car like this? - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tobi Fred - October 19 - 5:13 am

  This car does everything I want it to without a hiccup. Costs $5000 less than equivalent Camry or Accord even after aftermarket leather seating. Hyundais still get no respect on the resale market. Thats ok. With 100,000 mile warranty Ill be keeping this a long time.

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  Cute SUV - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Gerald - October 18 - 6:36 pm

  Weve had our Tucson SE for four months now and love it so far. We have driven it in mountains on one long trip from Wis. to N.C. and it preformed well. We got 4,400 miles on it so far, and enjoy driving it very much. We have read some reviews saying they got poor gas mileage, so far were getting close to 23mpg overall. We like the size of this SUV its is a very roomy five seater. We also love the color we chose alpine frost.

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  No Buyers Remorse Here. - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mark Man - October 18 - 6:10 am

  I have the Limited with Nav. Now have 1200 miles. I love this car. Beautiful exterior and interior. I look at the car more then I look at my wife lol. Look at the Consumer Ratings under Edmunds and Yahoo Auto and then look at the same reviews for the Camry and Accord. They have buyers remorse. We dont. If someone were to ask me to trade this car for their $38,000 Taurus or Lacrosse I would say NO. Knowing what I know now I would have paid $3000 more to own this car.

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  Very Happy 3rd Time Owner - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Special Ari - October 17 - 5:16 pm

  I first puchased a used 99 elantra. I had that car for a few years with no problems. My fiance bought a new Accent and I just bought a new 5door Elantra GT. I am increadably happy. This is my first new car and I am comfortable knowing i will be taken car of with the warrenty especially since I am a student. Remember you get a lot of car for such a low price because Hyundai is still making a name for itself in this country. The GT is fun to drive, the manual is very responsive and the suspension firm, but not harsh. I look good in this car and I look forward to driving it. Also I must say the six speaker stereo is loud and very clear. This is no econobox.

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  Best bang for the buck ever! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By rodendo - October 17 - 10:00 am

  For twenty grand this is more car than I ever expected. It out styles all of the Japanese competition and is a blast to drive. The V-6 is the only way to go. Bought this one for my wife so went for the automatic but every time I get in I reach for the clutch. It just feels like you should be banging through the gears.