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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  WORST Ride EVER - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By bob415 - February 25 - 11:29 am

  The 2011 Hyundai Genesis is the WORST riding car I have EVER owned. It even makes smooth roads feel rough! It is no luxury to feel like youre in an airplane during extreme turbulence.

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  Wouldnt Buy Another One - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By tombea75 - February 18 - 7:47 pm

  The drive train on this one is awful. The car has a difficult time finding the right gear. As a result it is always shifting. Shifts arent smooth and many times the transmission tries to catch up with the engine, resulting in a lurch forward. The cruise control cant keep a steady speed. The engine is extremely noisy. My 2002 Infinity I35 is twice the car this one is. Also the radio doesnt show the artist and title of songs played. This is ten year old technology folks. I would not buy another one.

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  bad product design - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By jlemon1 - January 24 - 8:46 pm

  Three things that bother me enough to write a review about them: 1. The doors only prop open at these widths w/o slamming closed on you: open so far it would slam into the car parked next to you, and open just enough that you could slide a piece of paper through- good luck trying to get you bags of groceries out of the car w/o the door repeatedly slamming into you 2. Extremely poor visibility out of the back angled windows- I just have to back up, and change lanes really slowly and pray no one crashes in to me 3. When the steering wheel locks, you dont just give it a little jiggle until it comes loose- you have to jerk it violently until you break your ribcage and it still wont budge.

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  Dissapointed with my buy, please dont make the same mistake - 2011 Hyundai Equus
  By brodyhoover - January 15 - 11:04 am

  Its a little too early to buy Hyundai as a luxury car. It has great inside features that many top brands have. However, the car is way too long and wide. Its external appearance is "ugly." You cant tell that it is luxury car from its external appearance. I traded mine in for a Lexus LS 460 and I am much happier with it, although the price is higher. It offers a better external and interior. Hyundai has a long way to be considered a luxury car, but I think this is a start.

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  Acceleration hesitation and surges - 2011 Hyundai Azera
  By geonar - December 18 - 10:27 am

  Driven 1000 miles, to dealer twice, this time 11-days and counting for this hesitation, then surge acceleration problem, when tuning and/or traveling in stop and go traffic, have to drive 1 foot on brake to control surge acceleration. Hyundai Corp Engrs working with Dealers Techs to resolve. TPMS indicator light has been on since new still an issue. Parts were obtained from Korea is concerning. Consider this acceleration problem major safety issue. Suggest if test-driving an Azera Limited satisfy yourself of the drivability while maneuvering when slightly accelerating at speeds below about 15MPH. Own a Santa Fe Limited with all options, ranks one of the best cars I ever owned, this is

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  wouldnt recommend to anyone - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Anonymous - December 8 - 2:00 am

  very unhappy with the car, havent even had it 2 years yet and Im having problems, luckily nothing with the engine, it all seems to be electrical or interior problems except for the awful noise that my back window makes when I go over bumps, it makes this loud cracking noise like the window is going to fall out. Also you can tell the interior is cheap plastic because while driving all I hear is rattling, like something is loose in the dash. I will be getting rid of the car ASAP. Also had a brand new 2008 Accent before this car and had engine problems and brought it back within 8 months of purchase.

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  Transmission issue - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Mo - December 4 - 2:00 am

  The car has transmission issue, i thought it is mine only, then after researching the web i found it is very common, it is also pulls to the right, i took it to Firestone, they found a factory error that can not be corrected (it was not that bad), the conclusion is: you get what you pay for, the good thing is parts are kinda cheap compared to other cars.

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  Trouble - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By matt - November 19 - 2:00 am

  Fuel pump has failed 3xs sense ownership at 50k. The water pump went out at 100,000 which destroyed the pistons, brand new timing belt and the heads. Now I have a brand new Hyundai (joy). The car looks brand new after having the hubcap and door handles painted. Ride and comfort is fine but overall not impressed

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  Poor Manfacturer Follow Up - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By JJTucker - November 15 - 2:00 am

  I have loved my Hyundai Sonata except for one thing.It started making a horrible noise from the rear at about 36,000 miles and has gotten much worse over time.The servicing dealership (Pinehurst Hyundai) would not acknowledge the noise, and the Hyundai Corp. simply ignored our plead for help.No Hyundai area rep would even take time to contact us! We are left with a vehicle that we cant sell and get anything out of because of this.The poor customer service has literally cost us thousands of dollars.If you are planning to purchase a Hyundai you need to consider that if anything happens They will not stand behind there product. That tells me that they do not believe in their product. Beware!

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  "bouncy-bouncy" - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By mtnbyker76 - November 10 - 2:00 am

  I started out dealing for the GLS, but move up to theSE because of the ESC. I didnt test drive the SE because I thought it would be just like the GLS, and they were cutting me a great deal. Got it home and then, drove it to work. It was very stiff and extremely bouncy. Sometimes it seems to level out, but once it starts bouncing, it bounces. Dealer says its because of the larger wheels and tire, I dont know. Its a great deal turned sour. Does get very good mpg.