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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  No complaints - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By pokey - January 6 - 10:00 am

  Just chugging along. Not real quick but a great commuter car. Handles very well. Shiftronic a must for getting on the freeway going uphill. Automatic shifts too soon. Transmission is the only part of the car that is a little primitive. Not real smooth or "smart". Otherwise very well built, quiet and rides very well.

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  2016 Sonata Hybrid - 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Susan Hicks - January 6 - 9:23 am

  Overall, the car exceeds my expectations. Being a hybrid, I expected slow a climb to reach the speed desired. I was shocked. It has power. The only negative I can say is about the cabin exterior sound quality. The car is very quiet. I can pull up to a car next to me at the light had hear everything being said in the other car. Sometimes even driving down the highway, another car will make a noise that gets your attention. Going what was that, then listening close you determine the source. My old Jeep roared and you heard nothing else. A new world of noises. It drives nice. I have not owned it long. Not even had the first oil change yet. I would like to have the option of power seats in the SE model. Currently, you can only get that with the Limited model and Leather seats.

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  Great car if you can handle the turbo and DCT - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Doug C - January 2 - 2:49 pm

  I love the DCT and little 1.6L turbo. I get 31 mpg and drive normal. And sometimes Ill hit sport mode and the car is really fun to drive (but I lose some of that great mpg). Lots of people complain about the DCT and maybe there are issues, but not with mine. You have to know what to expect with the turbo and the DCT. It has only a little 1.6L engine and you need that turbo to get it going. Once under boost, it is impressive. The DCT takes about 1/2 a second to engage, just like you would if you drove a manual. Give it the 1/2 sec and it all works great. Id like to see better integration with iOS and Android and a lower cost for the Bluelink package. I had a 2003 Infiniti FX35. The 2016 Tuscon is a better vehicle.

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  Best bang for the buck! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By pekelopd - January 2 - 11:30 am

  Had the car for 2months and only got 500 miles in. Still breaking it in.

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  dissapointing gas mileage - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By tracey17 - January 1 - 1:40 pm

  This car is reasonably zippy for a small car, although not quite as good as my first impression during the test drives. The fuel economy was a big factor in choosing this car and, in this, I am very dissapointed. I drove a manual 2001 Honda Civic EX for a few years prior and I LOVED that car...plenty of zip and mpg ranged from 32-34. I drove a couple different years of Ford Escape as a company car as well and it was a solid 24mpg. It is a tough MN winter and I am seeing 17-21mpg in this ElantraGT. In the couple months before the snow hit I was still lucky to get 26mpg overall and 32mpg on the highway, even in Eco-mode and being very conscientious about driving conservatively for a week.

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  Beware! - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By cjohnsen - January 1 - 1:35 pm

  I bought my 13 sonata based off the great reviews people have been leaving. It has a great design and a good price compared to competitors. However, after 3 months of ownership less then 3500 miles my car has broken down 3 times now. The first time I went to go start my car and it wouldnt start. For 3 hours myself and others tried restarting the car but it never started. Finally a tow truck came and towed to dealer. Dealer told me that night they couldnt duplicate the problem. So basically oh well take your car home, its fine now. Im sure he car magically fixed itself, right? Wrong! Died again 2 days later. After being there 2 weeks it comes home. Now a week later my ac isnt working!

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  Blown away by wind - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Unhappy camper - January 1 - 12:13 pm

  Updated review still feel the same about the wind noise, but its a nice little car otherwise. Take it out on the interstate and run it at highway speeds, because the wind noise it HORRIBLE!!!! I commute for work and seriously get stressed out by the noise. Sounds as if you are in a really bad wind storm all of the time. I have taken it back to the dealer and they say its the design of the car! I love the way it looks and handles but if I had it to do over probably would shop for something else because of this.

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  Decent car for the price - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kevin Shayer - January 1 - 11:27 am

  The acceleration with the turbo is jerky/cuts out. That is very annoying. Happens around 2000-3000rpm mainly. The consensus on forums is that its the way the car is tuned from the factory causes the wastegate dump to open and close to frequently causing the acceleration to feel like it drops out for a split second many times in a row. 7 speed gearbox is decent but shifts awkwardly at times. Exterior car looks great. Interior is awesome. Seats are comfy, dash layout is great. Dual AC works perfect. Ergonomics of everything fits well. The look and feel of the interior is very Audi-esque which I very much like. Passenger side door handle seems a little loose. Had the car for a month and a half. Overall satisfied. However would like the acceleration issues fixed. Entertainment system crashed and rebooted itself last night. Hopefully that doesnt become a regular thing.

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  Thank Goodess for the Warranty - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Pupusa - December 31 - 10:00 am

  Problems with paint, had to have the car painted 3 times. Electrical peoblems with the interior lights and radio. Took it in for 2 recalls which one of the recalls I was never notified of. Very disappointed with the purshase of this SUV. I wish I would of gotten a more promosing and reliable SUV such as Toyota.

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  Buy one - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By pinetree - December 31 - 10:00 am

  Just had my 2002 Elantra GLS 2 months, but boy am I pleased! Didnt even go out to get one, but who can (or would) pass up that warranty!! Whatever it might lack in pizzaz and bulk, it makes up for in build quality and overall plain ol fashioned dependability. I love it!