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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  Just purchased - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By kmunroe - December 7 - 3:50 am

  Yes I first decided to test-drive my 2008 Hyundai Accent DS because of the pretty Apple Green color. First stick shift in 10 years will take getting used to driving standard again. Granted this little car doesnt have power seats/windows/side mirrors. It doesnt have cruise control/tilt wheel. But it does have A/C and a CD player. My former car (2000 Taurus) had all the above except no CD player and the A/C didnt work for 8 years. It handles well and I like the stick-shift you have more control. I suspect the car will also handle well in the snow because of the stick.

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  174K miles and still strong! - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By eldom72 - December 3 - 10:03 pm

  I bought this car last year with 150K miles and Ive already added up 24K miles to it and it still going strong. I was first skeptical before buying because it was a Hyundai but I was proved wrong, this car has been a blast to own.

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  Excellent gas mileage - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By connie50 - November 18 - 12:53 pm

  We purchased the Accent because of price and gas mileage and referral from a friend. He said mileage exceeds the posted mileage on sticker. The mileage on this car was 27-29 mpg highway. We CONSISTANTLY get 30+ running around in town and 35+ highway. So now that the news states Hhyndai over states their mileage on their stickers is TOTALLY wrong. We have had this car for 5 years and alway get min 30 mpg and usually 33-34 every time we fill up and we check our mileage every time. We get better mileage with gas from Holiday or Amoco.

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  love this car - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By wchowells - November 18 - 11:53 am

  Bought this car for my wife in 2006 and she loves it, it had 55,000 miles on and it 204,000 miles in it know, have had a few issues but overall a great car, Not much for foreign cars but I like this one, Did have to have automatic transmission rebuilt at about 150,000 miles, but other wise would consider buying again. still gets great gas mileage to.

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  Great First Car - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By drivinglove4l - November 18 - 12:56 am

  The 2004 hyundai elantra gt was my first car, I recently got in an accident on the freeway and my car was totaled. I only had the car for 6 weeks, but I loved it, it was comfortable to drive and got me where i needed to go. I have been looking for another car but have yet to find one that compares in my mind, i would definately recommend this car and i wish i could find another one.

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  Great value - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By chapelthrill23 - November 1 - 5:36 pm

  This is an excellent car for the money and shows just how far the economy game has advanced. It is not a sporty car to drive nor is it a smooth luxury ride but it does exactly what it is meant to do and that is to be an excellent commuter car. It is spacious, comfortable, cheap to buy, has features like XM and heated seats that are wonderful on the commute, and gets solid gas mileage. The interior and exterior styling are excellent. Reliability is something that is still tough to determine. Through 25,000 miles it has been good mechanically but there was an issue with a sunroof leak. Overall it has been a good choice and made a lot more sense than spending more on a Civic that had less stuff

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  Frustrated w/ 2012 Hyundai Elantra Limited - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By withpaul - October 28 - 3:27 am

  We bought the car in September 2011 (2012). The car is light blue, fun to drive as long as its working. Rear view camera quite often doesnt work when in reverse. Rear back panel under the windshield became sticky jelly so it was replaced but the shop messed up the glass under the tail light. The rear seat began to fail taking another 4 hours to replace. The steering wheel began to peel - within 6 months became a mess so it was replaced. Navigation system with voice as you all know is junk. Satellite Radio is ok. Bluetooth doesnt always work. Theres a tapping sound from the engine on start up and when freeway driving on cold days. Leaking oil from oil pan seal when only shop serviced.

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  Average vehicle - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By fshifteh - October 27 - 2:07 am

  I have had my Elantra for almost a year and 18000 miles into the service I am in a position to provide some feedback. As far as the gas mileage I am resigned to the fact that the vehicle is going to give me avearage 26-27 in mixed city/highway driving. At this time I have found a couple of things that are annoying and I wonder if other owners face the same issues: 1) When coming to stop the shifter gear makes a clicking noise. I have taken this to the dealer and they replaced the shifter solenoid but it hasnt entirely resolved it and I still get the noise most the time when the vehicle is coming to stop. Another issue is the clicking noise from front left tire when driving over certain bump

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  40 MPG is disappointing - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By somms - October 19 - 10:10 am

  Bought this vehicle in August for its 40 mpg hiway rating as I travel 50 miles one way to work daily. I now have 3500 miles on this vehicle and the best fuel mileage I have gotton is 33.9 mpg traveling 65 mph on the hiway to and from work daily. With 9 fillups the mileage has ranged from 31.0 to 33.9 mpg. The dealership salesman has said that its not broken in yet and the mileage should get better as more miles are put on it. I have my doubts at this time that will happen. Other than the mileage issues, I have not had any other issues with this vehicle. It drives and handles beautifully.

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  Impressive, but lacking in some ways - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By drewzkie - October 9 - 2:24 pm

  We upgraded from an 08 Fusion SEL to a 13 Elantra GLS because we wanted to save money at the pump. Well, thats been a bit of a disappointment, 3 months and 2,100 miles later were averaging 22.5MPG cty and ~28-30MPG hwy. Some people say were still breaking it in while others say were passed that. Were holding out until 5K miles to see if theres an improvement, if theres not we may be reconsidering the Elantra. Another issue is the cloth on the drivers seat is already deteriorating. Were gentle in our handling of the car including how we enter/exit but its still showing signs of disintegration. We like the car, but we took on a payment to get better MPG, so far were disappointed.