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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  New owner impressions - to be updated later - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By wrigh003 - November 25 - 1:21 pm

  Just bought my ’13 Sonata SE on 12/31/12, and so far I’m in love. The gas mileage calculator is ticking up steadily as I get past the initial leadfoot (it’s plenty fast, even without the turbo…) test drive miles, so I’m curious to see where it levels out. I hear that it takes up to several thousand miles worth of driving before the mileage really gets where it’s supposed to be, I will likely update this in a few months with that knowledge, as well as doing manual calculations when I go to the gas pump. I commute back and forth a total of 80 miles a day, 99% in highway traffic; even with the SE suspension and the low profile 18” tires, the ride is pleasantly firm rather than harsh- even over expansion joints and through construction zones along the interstate. It’s likely that a GLS or Limited would ride softer, with the slightly different suspension and taller-sidewall tires, so if cloudlike ride quality is a concern, consider that. For my money, I prefer the SE. Radio display could maybe be a little better. I’m still not 101% used to how it’s all laid out, though, so my opinion here may change. Blue backlighting is nice, auto-adjusting to ambient light conditions as the automatic headlights go on and off I could take or leave, I think. I will be digging into the manual to see if that is a setting I can adjust. That said, my phone paired to the stereo in about 10 seconds and calls through the mic/speakers in the car are easy to hear and easy to be heard, which is a good thing. Stereo on my particular SE sounds good and although it doesn’t seem to really crank (I think I have the 104 watt base stereo), that’s OK, the car is quiet enough at highway speed that it doesn’t have to. Need to read the directions and get all my stuff figured out and set up there, find some XM stations I like, etc. I’ll wait a while before I tear into the radio like I tend to do in most of my vehicles- but again, it’s 100% serviceable as is, and with plenty of connectivity (Bluetooth, aux input jack, etc) besides. My particular vehicle also has the BluLink connection – to be honest, beyond “Hyundai-brand OnStar,” I don’t even really know what this is or how I’d use it- another thing to look in the manual for. Nice touch if you’re looking for it and/or had something like it on a previous vehicle. The driver’s seat is comfortable and easy to adjust, and the cloth material on the center section of the seat has kept me in place well, no sliding around like a full leather seat can sometimes cause. Heated seats are a nice thing – never would have picked that as an option living in AL like I do, but my wife loves them and during our brief winter I’m sure I’ll love them too. Used them this morning. Also worth noting is that Hyundai is smart- lots of people with Sonatas are going to have a kid or two (three in my case) in back, at least occasionally. The back side of the driver and passenger seats (at least in the SE) appear to be leather/leatherette – that way you can wipe off the marks from dirty shoes, etc., if any happen to get put there. Cloth might have been cheaper to install, but that one little touch will cause the car to look nicer, longer. Same story on the armrest areas on the doors and the armrest on the console – all appear to be covered in material that will wear well, which is a good sign in my book. While I’m on the interior, I’ll note here that I’m 6’2” and generally automatically move any seat, in any car, all the way to the back. My new Sonata is the first car I can ever remember not needing to do that in. Front legroom is excellent, and even more to the point, so is REAR legroom, even when I have the seat where I’ll need it. If things go according to plan, by the time I get rid of this car, those little boys won’t be little any more, so this was important to me. As a lifelong manual transmission prefer-er, my left foot keeps looking for something to do, but I am enjoying the paddle shifters just as well as manually rowing the gears- and I’ll admit that it’ll be nice to be able to let the car do the shifting whenever I happen to get stuck in the occasional traffic jam. One of my reasons for preferring a manual transmission is the simplicity argument- it’s one less thing to break years down the road. Here’s hoping I never have to use it, but the long powertrain warranty Hyundai offers was one of the reasons I was able to get my own head around buying an automatic- the paddle shift ability is just a bonus for me. The trunk is utterly cavernous. I don’t golf and don’t really know anyone who does, so I won’t use the usual “holds _ golf bags!” metric, but those three boys I mentioned earlier like to eat. Groceries for our family are sometimes a two-cart affair coming out of the store. The old Montero Sport we had before had plenty of space for anything we wanted to put in it, but I’d be amazed if this car had any less- comparing the space below the back of the rear seats in the Mitsu vs. the trunk in the Sonata, just from looking at it, I’d say the Sonata probably actually has more space. I won’t be throwing any sheets of plywood in here (I have an old pickup for that…), but I don’t think I’ll ever wish for a bigger trunk for anything one could reasonably expect to transport by car. These are my initial impressions on a car I’ve had only a couple days, but I shopped casually for a long time (18 months?) while squeezing the last utility out of our old SUV, and I drove the Sonata back to back with an Accord and a Camry. The Hyundai was every inch the car as both of those, and better in most cases. Hyundai is for real. If you’re like me and remember with amused horror the Excel and other terrible mid-90s Hyundai’s, do yourself and your wallet a favor and drive a new one. I think you’ll come away pleasantly surprised. Leveraging last-day-of-year and having Edmunds.com TMV looked up on my phone, I was able to confidently negotiate a great price for a great car that should serve my family for years.

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  Disappointment - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By sidney - November 24 - 12:00 pm

  Went with Hyundai for the warranty. Wanted a Tucson, went with the bigger engine that is only available in the Santa Fe. I do mainly city driving, stop and go. Mileage isnt even close to what they stated. Dont even get 13 miles to a gallon in town. Highway 20 to 22. Transmission is sloppy. Standard stero stinks. Had it replaced already. Had a Chrysler Concorde with a 3.3L engine for 10 years. Thought the mileage would at least be close to what the Chrysler got, 17 city. Still drive the Chrysler when I can, gas mileage is so much better. Will trade in vehicle as soon as I find something. So annoyed with gas mileage that I really dont like the vehicle.

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  LOTS OF RESEARCH - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By OATMAN - November 24 - 10:00 am

  I LOVE THE UP-HIGH RIDE, I LOVE THE BODY STYLE, I LOVE THE WARRANTY, I LOVE ALL THE FEATURES, AND THE GREAT PRICE, THE RIDE IS JUST AS SMOOTH AS THE SONATA,WHICH WAS MY LAST CAR ("1999"),AND KNOWING IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG OR BREAKS DOWN, TAKE IT RIGHT TO THE SERVICE DEPT, GREAT SERVICE AND NO CHARGE

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  A Fine Family Sedan - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By HappySonata - November 24 - 10:00 am

  We were looking for a new car for winter driving b/c we also own a 2001 BMW. Test drive Hondas, Toyotas, Mazda. For a comparably equipped Japanese car wed have to pay more. Never thought about a Huyndai. Almost bought a Protoge until seeing the Sonata in the dealers lot. One test drive and we were sold. The car has been flawless. I am extremely glad I got this car.

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  Tried and true friend! - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Lisa - November 22 - 3:16 am

  Ive owned my car four years, 25,000 miles. It has always been reliable, never one problem. I was in an accident two years ago and had the front-end rebuilt. I anticipated problems, and still nothing! I traded cars for a day recently, and I really missed my sweet little Santa Fe! I do mostly city driving, but did take a road trip (10 hours each way) to the desert. She was a stellar off-road performer.

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  1999 Hyundai Accent - 1999 Hyundai Accent
  By robert rascon - November 18 - 1:13 pm

  Very good back and forth to work 120 miles per day.

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  lousey mileage - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By junemart - November 15 - 6:09 pm

  My absolute foremost reason for buying this car was for the gas mileage. The mileage I am getting stinks, city and highway . The car is nice and quiet on the road but without cruise control and without the promised 36MPG I would rather be in my 2004 Forester that gets a solid 28MPG on the road. Other owners report good mpg. Are you driving at a steady 50 with no a/c and a brick (cruise control) on the pedal?

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  Suspension noice - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By magne schille - November 15 - 10:43 am

  I like this car. I have about 12,000 on it. Have been back to dealer twice for service and one complaint that has not been fixed. It is the excessive suspension noise on uneven pavement. It sounds like car is falling apart. Dealer said I had 50 lb. Of air in tires. Second time back I was told nothing is wrong, but that I had to get used to " driving a truck". Consumer magazine talked about this problem, but nobody else.

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  Good Family SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SilverGold - November 15 - 10:00 am

  Affordable, reliable, gets around great in the snow. Good buy.

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  Price and reliablity - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bill127 - November 15 - 10:00 am

  We were looking for a small SUV. We looked at the Ford Escape and found that 36 months for a warranty couldnt compete with the Santa Fe. We got a 6 cylinder instead of a 4 cylinder for less money.