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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  Great Economy Car... with Style - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By denx57 - February 8 - 1:00 am

  I bought my 13 GT just over 15 months ago. It now has 36,000 miles and no issues whatsoever. I average 36mpg driving 80% highway... not bad at all. I highly recommend a test drive if youre shopping for a reliable, stylish hatchback.

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  Bad Clutch - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By disapointed - February 7 - 7:33 pm

  For the money it is a decent car. Currently has 43K Miles and like so many others have reported the clutch went out and is not covered under warranty ($1,200 repair) it also has problems with the head lights going going bad. The dealer also said the radiator clamps were leaking at 43K and the belts need to be replaced. I bought this for my daughter and I drive a 1998 Ford F150 with 125K and have never had to do antything other than change the oil, brakes, battery & tires. It surprises me that I am facing so many costly repairs in just 3 years with the Hyundai Elentra.

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  Quick Initial Review - long term to come - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By INCOGNITO78 - February 5 - 3:57 pm

  I just bought my Azera back in December of 2007. I (like many other owners) researched car after car, month after month, & I finally decided to go with the Azera. It represents a good value for the dollar & a seemingly reliable & quality car. Though Ive had it for roughly 2 months now - I have over 4000 miles on it (mostly if not exclusively highway) and Ive become quite accustomed to my car. Though it needs some improvement to its fuel economy - I have to admit that it has gotten better over time (in the beginning averaged 19-20, now averaging 22-28). It does have good power but is slow to down shift (unless you use SportShift). Could use an improvement in handing BUT its sound

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  So far so good - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By pazuzu67 - February 2 - 3:55 pm

  Bought the Car in May 2011 and have been very happy with it. I came from an Infiniti G35 and while this car inst nearly as lively or quick as the infiniti, it has a much smoother ride once you get going. I can definitely feel the "lurch" when i start to accelerate but this isnt really a big deal when you get used to it. I have read complaints about the brakes but i havent noticed any problems yet. I work about 25 miles from home so my daily commute is about 50 miles and I have been averaging 33.5 mpg and can get 36 if i feather the gas. I saw some reviews where people lose mpg when operating the ac but I keep my at 72 (econ) and it doesnt seem to affect my mpg to much.

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  Wheres the great gas mileage? - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By jw - February 2 - 2:36 pm

  Okay, definitely a sharp looking little SUV- HOWEVER, like many others, I am hugely disappointed in the gas mileage, have seen my city mileage dip into the 16s, and now its hovering in the 17 mpg range (drive in the ECO mode 98% of the time)- not even close to the advertised range. It is a cool looking, fun little car to drive, but would not have bought it if I had known the mileage numbers would be so far off. I traded in a Murano for the Tucson, hoping to get great gas mileage in a stylish smaller car- but the mileage is worse then the Muranos so far. Whats up, Hyundai?

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  Good looks-poor gas mileage - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By wbill130 - February 2 - 9:26 am

  Buzzy stereo speakers, horrible gas mileage, tested carefully at only 22 mpg, not the 33 mpg HWY as advertised. Very noisy engine when accelerating at 2500 RPM or above, excessive road noise over small bumps. Great interior looks & features (love the Blue dash lights). Need rear view auto- dimmer glass.

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  Best car ive owned, too ! - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By david300 - January 30 - 12:47 pm

  I bought my 2002 SantaFe in that year brand new. Its been very reliable and ive babied the car on doing maintenance which i do myself. It routinely gets a combined 21 MPG with 23 on the Highway at 70 mph. It is very peppy and in fact, the front tires will spin from a start if you take off real quick. I upgraded the crummy LongTrail Tires to Michelin LX Tires and went from 225s to 245s -- the extra width makes it handle superbly and they dont rub on anything. The Factory radio / tape/ cd player went out at 75,000 miles so i went with a new Pioneer from BestBuy. Other than that, i had a Temperature Sensor go out around 80,000 miles...and thats been it for failures. Its been good.

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  big bang for the buck - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By tony - January 26 - 10:00 am

  I love this car. my friends cant believe what i paid for it. got rid of my suv to put some fun in driving again. not the greatest headroom and trying to back out of a parking space is a "take a chance" experience what with the limited bisibility The radio/cd/cassette is amazing for the price and the warantee cant be beat.

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  big bang for the buck - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Tony - January 26 - 10:00 am

  I love this car. my friends cant believe what i paid for it. got rid of my suv to put some fun in driving again. not the greatest headroom and trying to back out of a parking space is a "take a chance" experience what with the limited bisibility The radio/cd/cassette is amazing for the price and the warantee cant be beat.

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  So So Car - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By tibby - January 26 - 8:10 am

  I have a 2004, i find that this car doesnt preform to the styling that it has. From the looks you would expect preformance, but in turn you get an "economy" quality built vehicle. the main issue that i have come across is the clutch and flywheel assy. these two components are possibly the two worse designed components on the vehicle. and there is no point in having a backseat you can fit MAYBE one person back there.