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 (When it Runs) - 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Joseph - March 10 - 8:13 am

  Very nice, sexy looking car inside and out. Pretty good power for a little beast, with good gas mileage to boot. Nice sound system (compared to the vehicle I was driving before). Unfortunately thats about all I have to say in the positive. Around 90,000 miles this thing started to take a turn for the worse. I replaced the transmission (under warranty). It took a month to do the repairs. 6 months later, another transmission (warranty). 4 months after that, another transmission ($2400). 2 months after that, an engine ($3600). Now it needs suspension work, brake work, and electrical work ($1500).

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  Very good vehicle - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By NormE - March 9 - 7:42 pm

  My Elantra GT has been my first experience with leasing. When the lease expires in June, I will be sorry to let it go. I need more storage than the hatchback allows for several sets of golf clubs. Everything else about the vehicle has been above average. One missing nicety is a hatch release from inside I cannot understand why this has been overlooked.

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  Superb in Many Ways , But...... - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By peekaboo - March 9 - 6:06 pm

  For me this vehicle has one major shortcoming. The front passenger seat does not flip forward to provide added length for carrying extra long items, such as 8ft. lumber. I previously owned a 2006 Hyundai Tucson and the back rest of the front passengers seat inclined forward all the way into a flat position which allowed me to conveniently carry 8 ft. lengths of stock with the rear door closed. Not having the ability to do it on my Sante Fe is a major oversight by the Hyundai developmental Engineering group. Im confident that there are many owners out there who share my displeasure over this incapability. After all, The Sante Fe sport is a cross between a car and a truck.

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  The Honeymoon Is Over! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By David - March 9 - 10:56 am

  I purchased this car a year ago and have written two reviews, one when I first got the car, and then another at six months. This will be my final review at a year old. Im sorry to say, but I now understand why Hyundai is not considered the same in quality as the leading Japanese manufactures. Not only have I detailed a number of options missing that the competitors offer, but numerous problems have reared their ugly head in the past year. The 09 Sonata is a nice car, but its priced right where it should be. After my year experience with the car, I understand why Hyundai does not have the resale value of the Japanese as well. Hyundai has made great strides, but they have a ways to go.

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  OK, but not refined - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By GSX - March 9 - 10:30 am

  The Hyundai engineering department needs to pay more attention to the drive train to truly make this an outstanding car. The interior/exterior, suspension and handling are all fine on my 2007 Sonata. The engine and transmission is where this car falls on its face. The transmission shifts entirely to lazy and slips with the engine revving in to the next gear, this shows lack of refinement. The drive by wire system allows the engine to rev slightly while coming to a stop and then rev slightly again when lifting your foot off the brake, very annoying to drive with this revving. I am putting up with these problems for now and trying to get used them as the dealer says its normal.

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  Move over Civic and Corolla - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By JF - March 8 - 11:46 pm

  I have had this car about a week and love it for a compact. It has more drivers legroom, rides better, has more power, steers better, and just overall is a nicer car than my 99 Civic was. Top it off with a much better warranty than Honda or Toyota offer and for thousands less.

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  Very Poor MPG - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Ken McGee - March 8 - 9:25 pm

  Ive had the car for almost a month now and have driven 700 miles. With about 80% of my driving being on the highway, Ive averaged about 17-19 MPG. Im a recent college grad and saved most of my money specifically for this car, so obviously my disappointment level is high so far. Although, Ive heard that the break-in period is anywhere between 1,500 and 5,000 miles so Im hoping it gets dramatically better. However, this is a beautiful looking car. The interior is spacious and you dont feel cramped at all. It would be the perfect car if only the MPG was anything close to what is advertised. I keep the car around 55 or lower, so that cant be the reason for the poor MPG.

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  2002 Elantra VE - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Chris Mathews - March 7 - 9:18 pm

  I purchased this vehicle used (lease return)with 83300kms on the clock. It has exceeded all my expectations. The only trouble I have had was the failure of the front speed sensor on the auto transmission. It would not let it shift to 3rd gear. I was able to drive at 80kph to the dealer where it was replaced. The transmission shifts beautifully. I plan on another Hyundai as my next vehicle, and I highly recommend it to anyone who asks.The only downside for me is the control for the cruise. It is not as convenient to use as the buttons on the steering wheel used by other manufacturers.

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  great car - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By TW - March 7 - 7:38 pm

  Never had any trouble with this car, I did change the timing belt at about 60000 miles and do timely maintenance as recommended. I would buy this car again.

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  Not happy at first! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By Phill - March 7 - 2:22 pm

  My opinion of Hyundai shifted from very postive to less than happy within three weeks of buying this car. This was due to experiencing starting difficulties with the Azera which the dealer was unable to diagnose since the on board computer did not show an issue. I was confidently told by the dealer that this was the only problem that an Azera had displayed in the whole country! However, after several days of in-shop time and frantic calls to their HQ a fix was discovered and for the past month the car has performed flawlessly. I am now approaching complete satisfaction with the vehicle. A very nice car. Docile enough around town but nimble enough for rush hour freeway driving.