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 Car! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By David - June 26 - 2:26 pm

  My wife had a 2002 Hyundai Elantra which started falling apart. We decided instead of paying costly repairs we would buy a new one. First we looked into the Toyota Yaris and Corolla..We really didnt care for either of them. We then test drove a Nissan Sentra which seemed great but the price was a bit higher than we were wanting to pay. We decided to give Hyundai a shot again. We test drove the "new" elantra and fell in love with it. We choose the purple color but really it should be called Black Cherry. This car was for my wife and she is very happy with it! Best price and warranty out there for a small car.

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  Sporty, yet practical. - 2014 Hyundai Elantra
  By Sydney Ealy - June 26 - 12:24 am

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  Edmunds inconsistant editorial Elant 06 - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By crb - June 25 - 12:56 am

  Consumers Reports Buyers Guide Elantra 06 rates reliability very good/accidant avoid ance very good/Edmunds editorial 04//05/ rating is a 78/06 75 Elantra Sorry you are wrong Edmunds.com My Elantra averages better than 26 miles per gallon.Consumer Guide rates Honda Civic 26.1 mpg. Civic is a 10 EX Mazda 3 10/Hyundai is a solid 8 No recalls 06 Elantra/ 05/04 recalls. Edmunds gets it right 07 8.3 07 bettet car but 06/05/04 Recommended by C.R., C.G.

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  OK car - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jeff - June 24 - 10:28 pm

  I bought my Sonata 6/04 and traded it 4/07 with 77K miles. It was comfortable, but with the 4cyl acceleration left something to be desired (with no MPG benefits to show- 22mpg, mostly hwy, in the winter, 24- 26 in the summer). Reliability was questionable (in the shop 3 times with emissions issues, 1X brakes, 1X fuel pump). My friend has a V6 Sonata with none of the issues, better MPG and much more power. It was comfortable, interior used cheap materials but put together well, and I did like the car. I will buy another Hyundai (but not when putting 25-30K miles a year on the car), may buy an Elantra or new Sonata to compliment my new BMW (2003 model) for when an auto trans would be nice.

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  Wonderful Vehicle but Fuel Mileage? - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By JB63 - June 23 - 2:20 pm

  Bought the Santa Fe for its price, appearance an build and of today am very happy with all elements except for the fuel mileage. Small gas tank and far less than advertised mileage keeps you in the gas station way too much. Mileage in town has been 15.5- 16, and to date, the best I have been able to get highway driving has been 20.5 mpg! That is on remote two lanes at 60 MPH.

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  Not sure I would purchase again - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Krista - June 21 - 12:27 am

  I am a long-time Hyundai owner. I like the body style, the comfort of the seats and the design of the interior. Additionally, the ultimate performance of the vehicle is better than prior models and the engine has more power. However, the manual transmission is difficult, to say the least, and I have driven a manual since I started driving. The friction point is hard to hit and the shifting is not smooth. Additionally the reverse is located in the same spot as 1st and does not easily come out of reverse to be put into first gear. Also, if you try to replace the stock stereo its almost impossible to find a wiring harness I ultimately had to have one shipped from New York to California.

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  Beware of mileage - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Docfairway - June 19 - 8:15 pm

  Purchased Entourage GLS after having had two Voyagers. The Hyundai is superior. Standard ESC, all the airbags, ABS, warranty are great. Have a 1999 Sonata that lead me to look at the Entourage. The major problem is the HORRIBLE mileage. Currently have 5000 miles after 7 months and cannot get over 12mpg in city/suburban driving. City/hwy is only 15mpg. This is the worst mileage I have ever gotten with any car that I have owned.

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  Shimmy Vibration - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Chris - June 19 - 8:13 am

  07 Hyundai Sonata Limited -- shimmy or vibration begins at 44 mph and continues depending upon roadway surface. I would not buy the car again.

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  wont start - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By judy - June 19 - 1:08 am

  I was very pleased with this car at first. After 4 months, all of a sudden the car wouldnt start. The A/C also wasnt working right. The dealer kept it a week . They replaced a switch for the a/c & another switch for the neutral disable . Well, about a month later, its not starting again. Im very discouraged.

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  No major issues after 7 years - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Sarge - June 18 - 7:56 pm

  Bought this car originally for the mileage and warranty...and hasnt let me down yet. Nothing major (besides hitting a deer).....replaced normal wear items and battery. Only out of ordinary issue was a bad rear wheel bearing at 75K. Couple of design quirks....the cup holder sucks, tilt steering is funky to operate, the front end look is love/hate. Still averages 35MPG on the highway...only aftermarket parts is a larger throttle body and K&N drop-in filter. The paint does suck....clear coat is gone in spots...but all in all I got more than my $ worth out of this car. Good hauler too....did just fit 50 2x4 studs in the thing, all I had to do was take the headrest off the pass seat lol