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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  if no leaks no problems - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By terry overholser - November 5 - 3:36 am

  controI have had this van in two dealerships and a total of five vists and had to drive over 500 miles of the 3000 miles and been without the van for over a week while it was repaired. It has needed a radiator replacement and numerous other leaks in the heating system. This van has been towed twice and driven back 3 times for the leaks. I contacted Hyundai consumer assistane and basically was told they would help the dealership fix the vehicle but did not offer any replacement. I feel this van should be yellow instead of red. When it runs this is very great van.

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  Sunroof caution - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By AZ - November 4 - 10:00 am

  We were not informed that consumers lose about 2 inches of headroom with the factory installed sunroof. It is also leaks when we go through touchless car washes. It has been replaced and still leaks. The Hyundai regional rep. told us that all sunroofs leak.

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  Owners comments - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By KenLima - October 31 - 8:33 am

  In general I am very pleased with this car. I love the interior design and overall quality. The exterior is pleasing although a bit stodgy. The engine is adequate, however with 3.5 liters it is way underpowered in both hp and torque compared to what most other manufactures are offering. (Look at Acura with a 3.2 liter engine putting out 270hp.)The car is very pleasing to drive. It is smooth and quiet. One other question is why put in a transmission that can be manually shifted, but shifts automatically when pushed? My only real complaint is that in "city" driving which is where I do 90% of my driving my gas mileage is under 13mpg, which to my way of thinking is where large SUVs should be!

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  Fun but unrefined - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Nomad - October 30 - 7:43 am

  The car is fun to drive and look at, but has many flaws. Ive had multiple transmission problems to include a total replacement at 4200 miles. Traction control doesnt work all the time, the bluetooth radio is horrible as it syncs and wont allow calls until complete (which can take 15 minutes each time you get in the car). The paint on my hood had to be buffed and polished due to it being "soft", the speedometer is inaccurate, and Hyundai refuses to act on many of the issues. I would not recommend this vehicle and am in the process of using the lemon law on mine.

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  2015 Sonata - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mark Finsley - October 29 - 9:57 am

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  I DONT LIKE THE WAY IT SHIFTS GEARS - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By keith - October 28 - 6:57 am

  i have been driving this car for 2 months, and I thought I would get used to it but it just drives me crazy the way this car shifts into 4th gear at about 35 mph and then has no power. When you slow down it will shift fine. This is really annoying to me because I drive during rush hour traffic and the flow of traffic usually moves around 35-50 mph

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  Most Car for the Buck in a Compact - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By blkhd07 - October 26 - 2:39 am

  I did extensive research and while there are cars in its class which have more style, more power, more reliability, more cargo room, more mpg, and get u more pats on the back, the Elantra scores high enough for me in all the categories above, but it comes in at 100s to 1000s of dollars cheaper than others in its class. Only 1400 miles on it, so my reliability rating is just my expectation based on last gens Elantras. The 132 hp is more than ample for everyday driving. Engine and cabin is fairly peaceful when cruising above the spd limit, but potholes can ruin that peace easily. A speedometer issue was fixed for free. MPG avg still only 27 in mixed hwy/city driving.

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  Is this Hyundai Elantra really that good - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Reliable Info - October 25 - 2:00 am

  I bought a 2002 Elantra (7 months/ 3200 miles, as 2nd car). First off, poor mileage for a small car, < 20 mpg city driving. Engine revs up until 30 mph, then RPM spikes up, and shifts to higher gear. Once there, it drives well. Small rear seats, esp with infants car seat in the middle. Flimsy trunk hood and that leads me to worry about overall quality -unsure how sturdy it is in a collision. For all that, the car has its plus points. Drives well on the highway (40 mph or higher zones), AC works well, and nice defogger that clears up real fast. Handles turns better than Corolla (which I test drove), interior is much quieter than Saturn & 2002 Nissan Sentra.

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  Great little car - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By PBishop - October 23 - 3:48 pm

  This is a great, fun, dependable little car. It has been reliable, and saved me hundred$ in gas over the years. It is also easy to park and great in traffic. Plus with the hatchback I have transported 8 ft 6x6 lumber, rototillers and a water softener. The interior is so roomy that my kids call it the "clown car". I would but another in a heartbeat.

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  Overall, pretty great. - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Enjoying new Sonata. - October 22 - 2:46 am

  I like most everything about our new Sonata. The (PE) Popular Equipment package, for about $600 extra, makes the GLS pretty nice, w/pwr seats, woodrgrain interior trim, radio controls on the steering wheel, trip computer. Somehow the advertised price of $14k went up to $21k by the time I got out the door (service contract, taxes, extras like floor mats) even tho I qualified for the $3500 rebates.