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:

• 

  Danger - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By John D. - August 17 - 7:08 pm

  Be careful if You own one. My daughter drove 50 mph. into a guardrail head on and the airbags did not deploy. Thank God She wasnt hurt badly. Hyundai was not concerned with the problem. I will never buy another.

• 

  Dont Recommend - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Me - July 23 - 1:45 pm

  Within 4 years I have replaced the transmission, alternator, battery, brakes, replaced all 4 tires, and have gone through about 8 headlights. This is a nice cheap car, but you pay for what you get. I do not consider this car reliable, one thing breaks after the other. Gas is terrible and paint scratches easily.

• 

  There must be two Genesis sedans - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By roy suthard - July 15 - 9:28 pm

  Hyundai must build two different Genesis sedans. The one I own certainly does not live up to the hype. I have owned 3 great Toyota Avalons prior to buying my Hyundai. I sure wish that I would have spent more time trying it out! A BIG MISTAKE! Toyotas concern about cars being produced rather than cars already in the hands of customers really ticked me off! Problems that I have with my Genisis are as follows: 1. Extreme engine noise when accelerating from a stop. Sounds like pinging, but its not. 2. Loud drone from rear sean when fuel get to 1/4 tank. 3. Steering wheel wont park at times. 4. Glove box wont open at times. 5. Tire noise. 6. Ft.Pass say seat too low. way too low

• 

  Customer Lost for Life - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rebecca Gavin - June 5 - 11:52 am

  I am writing this review because I am extremely frustrated by an intermittent problem with the air conditioner. Basically, sometimes the air comes on, and sometimes it doesnt. It can take as long as 5-10 minutes for the fan to kick in. Imagine what thats like when its 90 degrees out? Problem is, its intermittent. Ive had it in to the dealer. But if its working when I bring it in, they cant figure out the problem. So, I will likely have to live with this as long as I have the car. I have to use my car for my job, so this is pretty awful. Every summer, its the same thing. No more Hyundais for me.

• 

  Cheap - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Lorean - May 28 - 9:32 am

  I can honestly say that I have not ever had any engine or transmission problems it runs great! BUT everything is CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP that is on it! All 4 of my door handles are broken, it dents very easy, the radio only works when it wants too, just made very cheap. It would be great for a person just starting to drive but I am 25 with a baby and it is NOT a good family car at all!

• 

  Buyer Beware - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Henry - May 26 - 5:57 pm

  Ive owned my Elantra for almost a year, I bought it for around $4,500 in 2009. As I write this considering the age and mileage of my car I have boon somewhat lucky considering how hard I drive it. I have had some somewhat minor issues like CV joint problems and ball joint issues. Still I would definitely not recommend anyone buy one, unless it was in very good shape. Look into buying a reliable car and dont rush into buying. I wish someone would have told me this but instead I rushed and bought something cheap and I could have done better and so can you.

• 

  Big Problems - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Craig - May 11 - 8:03 am

  We have had the car just over one year. This past week while driving, the entire car shut down. The dealer towed the car and come to find out the rear engine seal failed they still dont have a clue as to why. They are putting a brand new engine in it at no cost to me so their service has been A+. They are sending the old engine back to the company to investigate. Their engineers and mechanics could not find a reason for the failure, that is why the old engine is being returned to their factory to try and find out why. They gave me excellent service but my problem is I no longer trust the car. As soon as I get it back Im selling it. If it happened once it could happen again!!!

• 

  Hyundai should honor their repairs - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By jamesw71 - May 10 - 10:02 pm

  I bought it new back in 2004. Stepson crashed it 3 months after I bought it. The dealership is having problems fixing it and honoring my insurance claims. Approximately once a year it wont start. They claimed they fixed it by doing such things as disabling the antitheft system, changing the battery and replacing sensors but I still have the problems. Insurance wont honor the claim anymore saying its a sensor problem even though its the same problem from the crash, the dealership is charging me $500 a year to change the same sensor over and over. Statefarm Insurance and Hyundai are screwing me over on this one. Exterior is coming apart..again, radio problems & door handle problems.

• 

  BAD BAD RIDE. Avoid IT - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Bob - May 8 - 11:11 am

  I have leased this care now for 1 year, and I have 2 years to go. The ride is just horrible. It actually makes you sea sick on the roads. The stero is great, the interior looks great. Seats are comfortable, but you buy a car to drive, and it is the worst riding car I have ever had. I can hardly wait to get rid of it. If I wouldnt take a big loss, id get rid of it this afternoon.

• 

  Not Satisfied - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By ShaSha - April 15 - 10:27 am

  I purchased my car with 7 miles on it, I now have 85k and for the first 4 years was happy with it. Lately, I had to replace the transmission, rotors & brakes, battery , lights, radiator, alternator, and a few other things. This with making all scheduled maintenance appointments. This car is only good when its new, once you pass the four year mark, be ready to put some dough into it! Im getting rid of mine, never to buy another one!