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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  Never Hyundai again! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By car fiend - October 27 - 2:00 am

  This has to be the worst vehicle Ive owned. I am a long time Hyundai lover, but what happened here? Not only does the momma vehicle not come close to what Ive gotten used to by driving a few years old luxury car for a much lower price range than theyre asking for this, but Ive had to deal with a ridiculously bad Lithia Hyundai service department. My advice- save some money and buy a Subaru with every option available. Or spend the same amount on a Volvo. The performance on these cars is amazing! This car may be pretty and loaded but youre still buying a Hyundai.

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  Basic commute - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kalyan C Jagarlamudi - October 25 - 2:00 am

  The car is a reliable, spacious and economical mode of transport. It is no looker and the interiors are dull and grey. Build quality is at par with industry average but surprisingly the car does not feel tinny. The 4 cylinder is very smooth but gets buzzy at high revs and power delivery is linear as expected from a compact sedan with economy in mind. The ride is neither too harsh nor too plush. It is somewhere in between. Handling is abysmal in tight turns though the steering is well weighted. Fuel economy is good. All electricals work seamlessly. It is very reliable and starts at the first crank every time. Cheap to own and run as well. Overall a perfect car on a shoe-string budget!

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  Another Cracked Dash - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Not happy! - October 21 - 2:00 am

  I was a big advocate of my Hyundai azera. I didnt complain about having to wait 6 months to correct the recall on the front seat belt. I didnt complain when the dealers were telling every owner they needed to change the interior air filter? I didnt even complain about the dash cracking. But when I found out that it is a design flaw with the passenger air bag and that hundred of 06 and07 cars have the same problem. That Hyundai changed the style because of the design problem in 08. And, that I cant even get it repaired because of the liability. I complained to Hyundai consumer affairs---they blew me off and wont even return a call!

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  2007 Paint Defect - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Amanda - October 14 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my Sonata in April 2008. Within this last year I have had the paint peal off my hood and trunk. Im over my mileage for the warranty, b/c it ONLY 36,000 miles for the paint defects, and now Im having to pay out of my own pocket for a new paint job when CLEARLY its a manufacture defect. I have spoke with the dealership, HYUNDAI, and they wont do anything so I called customer service and they told me they will put my info in their computer and if more ppl come forward then they could POSSIBLE have a recall. So the point of this blog is if you have this same problem with these vehicles please call customer service so we all can get this problem fixed!

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  *Given* this Car Free but NOT Worth It! - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By gliese876d - September 11 - 2:00 am

  I helped my mother pick out this car new in 2002 & she owned it for 5 yrs before generously giving it to me after my divorce left me a single mom without a vehicle. At the time she bought it I thought the warranty was great & the price was right and it seemed to have some get-up-and-go. But since Ive owned it, I now see more clearly that it is a piece of junk. At 96K mi, its now going through oil, the engine light is perpetually on and it wont pass emissions. Even without these obvious problems, in hilly western PA, I cant tell you how many times Ive been terrified by the handling of this vehicle due to its horrible steering and braking! I cant wait til I can afford a new car!

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  Falling apart - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By janey - September 10 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car used in 2004. The window switch for one window was broken and the speedometer had been replaced around 14,000 miles. Since then, the switch to another window, as well as the regulators to two windows, have died. An outside door handle broke off. The transmission went out in 2006 (a bearing "disintegrated," according to the technician) and is going out again now (2010). The computer is dying and the throttle position sensor. There is a short in the dash that makes the interior lights come on and off randomly, and sometimes a little puff of smoke comes out of the steering column. The seating is uncomfortable and the cup holders are in front of the stereo.

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  My hyundai - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By Metry - September 4 - 2:00 am

  Well. i got my hyundai sonata from this man who said he bought it from a lady who had it for years, APPARENTLY, she didnt take care of it. I end up getting spark plugs, diff. fuel lines, fuel pump, catalytic converter and many tires. Paint is fading. Transmission is slipping. got my bushings & tie rod replaced on the passenger side, JUST A LOT. luckily i didnt have to pay for anything but the fuel pump (: STILL A LOT OF WORK. Im ready to switch cars.

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  Decent little inexpensive car - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By JeramieH - September 3 - 2:00 am

  Generally positive so far in the first 65K miles. Had to replace the battery once during a particularly hard winter freeze, and have had to replace the tires already. Other than that, its been painless and gotten me around quite well with no problems and rather comfortably for the price.

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  Dont spill your drinks! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By sls78 - August 31 - 12:19 pm

  Im sure most of us have been there, accidents happen. So I had a drink of soda spill in my center console where you place your cups. This ended up being a very expensive accident, $1200 and some change. The liquid from my drink went through the cup holder and fried the main "nerve" of the electrical system according to the service department. So needless to say since I spilled the soda the bumper to bumper warranty didnt cover it. At this time Im not going to have it fixed trading it in and Hyundai has lost a customer. Why would they put the electrical under the cup holders especially if the holder wont prevent liquid from damaging the wiring.

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  Poor Quailty vehicle no care fromHyundai - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By Steve - August 21 - 7:26 am

  Guess the frustration is everything gone wrong seems to not be able to be repaired or not covered under Hyundai warranty. In 2 years CD has gone out, not under warranty, head gasket blew, not has a battery discharge short they cannot find and been in shop for 4 times same issue for a month. Hyundai wont return calls to me to discuss the issue and shop says they know it has a problem but dont know how to repair. While I enjoyed this car at once as a company I now have to give Hyundai an "F" for consumer assistance and standing behind their product. They are not a brand on my do not buy list for any reason.