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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  Complete Disappointment - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By bretp21 - October 3 - 3:56 pm

  Ive had my Veloster for 4 months now and Ive had nothing but issues. The transmission has a design flaw which causes a lag in between 1 and 2. The check engine light kept lighting up like a Christmas tree with only 800 miles on it. The interior, although beautiful, is super squeaky when driving. The stereo will randomly lock on the screensaver and not work for hours at a time. And now my engine is starting to sputter randomly like its not getting fuel. After driving used cars all my life, this was my first new car and I couldnt be more disappointed. Its had more issues than any used car Ive ever owned and its brand new. The worst part? Hyundai doesnt care.

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  Terrible Trade in Value - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Forget Hyundai - September 12 - 9:51 am

  I tried out this vehicle on newly paved roads for the test drive. This in hindsight did not prepare me for later driving in other road conditions. The car was reasonably quiet on good pavement but if you go on older coarser pavement the road noise in the hatchback was bad.

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  Dont Depend On It! - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By MyTibbySucks - September 7 - 3:43 pm

  This is the biggest piece of crap ever. Almost immediatly the squeaks started. Also have to replace the headlights every time it rains. We bought this new and have put in a transmission at 80,000 miles among other things. At least it was covered under warranty. We have had this thing towed so many times that we upgraded our towing miles through AAA! Buyer beware.

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  Lots of issues after 3.5yrs - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By DWON - September 4 - 11:57 pm

  At first, I thought. i was smart in buying the Sonata over Accord or Camry, now I regret it. In a few words, car started to fail me in many ways, such as airbag malfunction (light says its not active), headlights frequently burn out, muff, and it will cost over $1.5k to fix), muffler noise ( time and $400 to fix), sunroof noises (really annoying), cracked axel (wth?), and a bunch of small, annoying issues I dont care for or have time to deal with. It was great at first, but the unreliability is starting to show. Pretty disappointed, so I wont be buying Hyundai again.

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  I wish the experience was better. - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tony Johnston - August 31 - 6:21 am

  I will never buy a Hyundai Sonata again. From the first month I own the car, it has been in out of the dealer twice a month. The greatest problem has been the engine,currently waiting for a replacement engine, then the tall lights and cant forget the front end problems.

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  Would not recommend - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By smurphy - August 8 - 4:06 am

  I never drove a car that was such a lousy performer. The gas mileage and the power train leaves alot to be desired. While the interior is nice and the appearance is nice, I was completely disappointed in the transmission, engine and gas mileage.

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  Unreliable - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By msasscts - August 1 - 8:43 pm

  I have had three clutches so far in the car. The dealer has proven to be unreliable in service.

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  Money would be better spent on a used car - 2017 Hyundai Accent
  By Pac757 - July 30 - 7:02 am

  I purchased whats now "the top of the line" Accent, a value edition for my daughter after she totalled her 2013 Accent. This car is maybe one step above a stripped rental car. The quality of the interior is cheaper and less attractive than her 2013, the her 2013, which wasnt a top of the line Accent came with fog lights, auto dimming review mirror with compass, better quality interior and you were actually able to purchase a jack and spare tire for that car. I regret buying this car for her now but to late to get rid of it, its only one month old and has a horrible resale value. Even the Hyundai dealer I bought it from didnt want to work with us to trade it in on a used Elantra. Poor resale value, absolutely bare minimum extras for a top of the line model, very dated styling, almost as if Hyundai went back to the Excel days of the 80s but without the cheap price. Guess shes stuck with this till she hits the break even point with her financing. Makes me think twice before buying a Hyundai again. In hinesight, the Kia Rio, which is their bottom of the line car is actually a better car. My own fault for not doing more research plus was under pressure as she needed a car quickly for getting to and from work, public transportation where we live is horrible.

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  Electrcal Nightmare.. - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Steve Leshinski - July 29 - 9:43 pm

  Since purchase I have had nothing but minor problems with this vehicle. The dealer acts like any failure is a complete surprise. Currently am experiencing an electrical problem. Battery goes dead after 3 days not running the vehicle. Dealer has replaced the battery with no positive results. Problem still exists. Inquiries about solutions to the problem have fell on dead ears. No response from Jenkins or Hyundai USA. Hyundai acts like the problem doesnt exist.. Be assured that it does and I will not rest until it is resolved.

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  Great Car till 84,000 Mile Mark!!!! - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By xphyscokittenx - July 21 - 10:55 am

  This car gave me little problems at first bought it at 30,000 miles then at 80,000 the speed sensor went and then at 84,000 the whole transmission went could not reverse only go forward cost me 23000 to fix !! Cars should not die this early and in addition the body of the car is so weak that the littlest bump will destroy the body of your car, not safe in more serious accidents im sure.. things begin to fall apart quickly on this little car .. great new .. not great used. Plus Hyundai service department was rude and offered no sympathy that my car died so early even though they promise it will last till 140,000