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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  Hands down best deal for the price! - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By EZ2SMLE - April 28 - 9:26 pm

  I have owned my SE for almost 5 months and I have had no problems other than I drive it too much. Gas consumption could be better but other than that, this is the new car of the future. Looks like a luxury sports car, has all features come standard. Could use minor improvements but overall a best buy for anyone. People look at me like Im in a Porsche. Go buy one for yourself.

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  my elantra - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By keith - April 28 - 12:23 pm

  Overall, I love my Elantra. At first I was skeptical of Hyundai, but I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed. It took me a while to get used to the brake feel- no feedback, feel was not progressive, so they were difficult to modulate. This was just a matter of getting used to the car, the brake feel is not a continuing issue.

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  Elantra Fair For Price - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Snod1013 - April 27 - 10:00 am

  The Elantra offers a powerful alternative to loud, lackluster four- cylinder performance. A few complaints: trunk very light but latch hard--takes twice to close trunk unless you slam it hard. If you dont alarm goes off. Seat belt springs weak, belts dont fully retract, and belt end flops onto door sill and can get caught in door. Seat belt buckles too close to interior, hard to latch. Steering wheel at bad angle if you are 6 feet tall or taller. Pedals close together. Otherwise, fine.

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  Good Basic Transportation - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By Chris - April 27 - 9:20 am

  This car was purchased mainly for my wife, and she loves it. It is almost 4 years old now and it has NEVER broken down. All I have done was change the oil & filter every 3,000 miles. Sure, it could have more power, but what do you expect. In a vehicle this size MPG is more important than horsepower, and besides, my wife never seems to complain that it is slow, so I guess it is not that bad.

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  Nice, but little issues.... - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SteveH - April 25 - 7:40 pm

  Chose the Santa Fe over Rav4 for slightly larger size and cost savings. Initially I like the vehicle, but starting to find annoying issues. Items like the lackluster highway gas mileage (21-22 avg), flat audio from radio (or speakers), and unresolvable issue with car pulling to the right drive me nuts. Turn signal clicker too loud. The door ajar beeper is way too loud and annoying, and beeps at every little thing. The tiny foot rest to the left of the break pedal is too low and out of the way to use. Drivers seat is too high for taller drivers. The spring in the front sun visor causes it to pop forward and limit adjustment.

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  Disappointed with fuel economy! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By justicebrown - April 24 - 5:41 am

  I purchased the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid specifically based on the estimated fuel economy. The "average fuel economy" which is displayed by the car says 35 MPG. My calculations at refueling say otherwise (Dividing the miles traveled (trip odometer) by the amount of gallons it took to refill the tank). My first three refills are 32.74 MPG, 33 MPG and 31.26. I expect to get at minimum 35 MPG which is estimated for city driving. My driving is mixed city and highway but I would accept a consistent 35 MPG. No jack rabbit starts or hard braking and I use cruise control. Ill update this review if there is improvement but it seems to be going the other way. One power loss/stutter mid-intersection.

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  Great, no hassle, reliable quality car! - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By boisegal - April 22 - 4:50 am

  Ive owned my car since purchase, over five years now and never one problem! Its very reliable, works great for hauling around family, stuff, and friends. Still looks good, and cleans up nicely. I was in an accident three years ago, had front-end rebuilt. And still, never one problem before or after. These are great quality vehicles.

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  Check service bulletins - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mahlon Williams - April 22 - 1:53 am

  Pros: Ride is quiet and feels good, great V6 power, ESC is standard, more air bags than most cars in its class even larger, big trunk space with inside safety latch. Cons: No station controls on wheel only volume, there are no vents for back passengers in center console. Review: I have a GLS 3.3 V6 with 17,340 mi. I recently noticed when starting up the car a short noise from the engine was present at each crank up. Upon further inspection from Hyundai it was the timing chain tensioner. There is a service bulletin for the repair, so far thats it.The crappy part is that they have to pull the engine out to do the work. That means opening up most lines. Work is approx 4 1/2 days.

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  What a difference 30 years makes - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By singledad - April 19 - 9:27 pm

  In 1986 Hyundai introduced the Excel. It was cheap. It came with automatic transmission, air conditioning and a radio. Basic transportation for $5k. They were made in Korea and I had to wait weeks to get one. What a piece of junk. That car almost put an end to Hyundai in the US. We take for granted reliable cars today but Hyundai was a junk car and that stigma lasts to this day. No more. First my personal opinion. I dont like Korean cars. They are disposable transportation appliances. As they age they become unreliable. So my daughter wants a new car. After learning on a beater. So we shop. I advised her that this is the kind of car you lease. Its a transportation appliance. So she leases this one and I have to say its a nice car. Roomy and good on gas. Power everything. Quiet ride and engine. The radio connects to her iphone easily and it sounds good. It includes oil changes and washes too, A good deal. Now time will tell if it holds up to a 20 year olds hard driving.

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  Great Car, BAD 30k mi checkup!!! part 1 - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By clarose_lapro - April 18 - 9:34 pm

  I like my car I really do. My rear brakes started to make a pretty nasty noise and my check engine light came on so so I took my car in for the 30k check up. Wow it costs $500 to replace the FLUIDS $ FILTER this is required by your warranty contract only fine Hyundai parts are acceptable or...So it just so happens my cable assembly for my parking break "froze" ruining my REAR brakes, Rear Brakes shot @ 30k. Hyundai replaces the cable assembly no problem...but the serv. dept calls me to try an authorize work on my rear brakes which I would have to pay for, what?