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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  This car is the stuff of nightmares. - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Stephanie Smith - January 14 - 6:34 pm

  I bought this car about 2 years ago from a guy whose grandparents who passed away and didnt want the car. I bought it with 63k miles on it. Im now at 77k miles and EVERYTHING is breaking. Everything in this car rattles, so there are always noises. No matter how much money I put into this car to fix it, something else breaks. Ive had to get new struts, motor mounts, hoses, headlights, door handles, a new motor for the wiper fluid, control arms, bushings, the rotors are about to go. Im STILL having problems. Ive taken great care of this car, but I cant seem to stop the breakage. I would not recommend this car to anyone.

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  HATE THIS VEHICLE! - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Unhappy in Utah - December 28 - 6:14 pm

  I have had this vehicle for 4 months. Ive had it in twice now for the transmission problem. I am going to trade it back in. DO NOT BUY THIS VEHICLE!

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  Not worth the money - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jlanders - November 23 - 2:00 am

  The car with waranty is great, but you dont get a much of a car.The car is noisy,underpowered and cheaply built.Accelaration is poor and handling is terrible.The seats arent comfortable neither is the ride.Decent gas milage and good waranty but overall not a good pick in cars.

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  the worst car i ever had-dont buy one! - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By mrchip - November 22 - 2:00 am

  1. i been to the dealership about 12 times so far for all kinds of problems. 2. the warranty is great if you want to live in the dealership for all kinds of problems. 3. hyundai usa would not include me in the warranty extension program that they came out with because of the mistake they made with the horsepower rating of their cars. 4. the dealership service is terrible. the mechanics brake more things than they fix. 5. do yourself a favor an "do not buy this car" even if it seems cheap. the reason why the car is terrible is because is cheaply made. In the end you get what you paid for, nothing more nothing less. i learned my lesson.

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  What A Lemon!!!!!! I will never own another Hyundai - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By kylemack - November 11 - 7:16 am

  I have had 3 transmissions replaced, timing belt, power window motors replaces... and not to mention all the cheap little plastic parts braking and cheap chrome pealing off. Not only does this tin can want to make me never own another hyundia agian but makes me want to just ride a bike. OH And The Side airbag went off while i was driving down the road, no accident or anything. I called hyundai and they said it would all be out of my pocket to fix and that I should call my insurance and insurance said they cant do anything about it because there was no accident. Hyundai support was a bunch of run arounds and not helpful at all. I will never buy another Hyundai. What a money pit!

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  Bad Transmission and Hyundai Corporate silent - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By RLD - October 8 - 9:56 am

  This DCT transmission in the Tucson Ltd. 1.6 Turbo is an accident waiting to happen. My wife got stuck while trying to enter 4 lane divided highway. The car stalled while trying to enter traffic and luckily cars were able to avoid her. I put the car in reverse on a hot day and it wouldnt move. We owned the car only two weeks when all this went on. The dealer has the car now and hasnt been able to diagnose or fix. We heard there is no fix available. Dont by this this car.

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  One up from a skateboard - 2016 Hyundai Accent
  By Mike Gender - October 8 - 2:49 am

  I traded my 2006 Hyundai Accent for this 2016 Hyundai Accent and unfortunately the 2006 is a better car; better in quality, gas mileage, and comfort. The 2016 doesnt even come with a spare tire, nor tools to change it. You have to call roadside assistance, wait an hour, because the car dont come with a spare, they tow you to a repair facility. The car has a economy switch that you can push on to get better fuel economy, but it gets better fuel economy, with the switch off. My 2006 got better mph (34 mph) the 2016 (32 mph) The inside of the trunk and the lid is only primered, like they just gave up. The seats are hard and uncomfortable. The car is probably the worst manufactured car ever made.

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  worst quality of tires possible - 2017 Hyundai Sonata
  By abhinav - September 12 - 12:16 pm

  Within 5 months and 5000 miles of purchasing a new 2017 Hyundai Sonata, I had to replace 3 tires. With minimal or jerk or hitting the curb, the tires burst. If you think I drive poor, for a comparison, I have been driving a Rav4 for 25000 miles and still have excellent quality of tires in it. Im done with Hyundai vehicles, I cannot drive in constant fear that when my next tire is going to burst. Im really scared of going on highways on high speeds or take my family out in this car. Im replacing this car as soon as I can.

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  PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS CAR FOR YOUR OWN GOOD! - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By VAN GO - August 25 - 7:39 am

  Look up all the Hyundai Sonata Class Action Lawsuits and research before you purchase this vehicle. My vehicle is a 2015 and in 2 years and less than 55000 miles my engine gave up. Hyundai wishes to wash their hands clean of this with me and the dealership says their hands are tied even though I STILL HAVE WARRANTY!

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  This car sucks...Id rather have a Geo - 1997 Hyundai Elantra
  By Sweetlou014 - August 8 - 2:00 am

  This car is the worst car I have ever driven. I bought the car with 80,000 miles on it and since then have had nothing but trouble with it. The oxygen sensors went, and they are the most expensive I have ever seen. Diagnostic tests say that the oxygen sensor was the only thing wrong, but the car runs terrible. It skips in gears, revs incredibly high when idling sometimes. Overall, the only good thing I can say about this car is... umm... well... wait... nope, theres nothing good! K Im done.