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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  My 1996 Escort is Better - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By mrebate - April 20 - 9:56 pm

  This 2006 Shoddyota, aka Sonata, was acquired in 2007 with 14,000 miles. PROBLEMS before 30,000 miles: $1,200 engine repair to replace shoddy timing chain tensioners. Poor quality engine component should have been recall but Hyundai shafted owners by cutting compensation to dealers for doing the repair under warranty, which was essentially negating their much touted warranty. Defective sun visors. More orange peel than my Escort. Escort also has spring loaded side view mirrors unlike Shoddyota. Cruise control stopped working. Glove box door had to be shimmed to prevent rattle. Wiper blades had to be downsized to prevent hopping. Poor city mileage. Hyundai cant even design a cup holder !!

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  MY GENESIS 4.6 - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By jerrymax - April 18 - 11:31 am

  I bought my 2009 Genesis six months ago strictly as a touring sedan. I quickly put 1200 miles on the odometer on a road trip and only another 1200 more since then. It is a beautiful car, very comfortable and moves like a rocket if you tap the gas. The build quality is rock solid and the 17 speaker sound system is the best Ive ever heard. Id give it a top rating on everything but the "fun to drive" item due to steering that is precise but feels sort of numb. But as a full-sized luxury car its not meant to handle like a Porsche.

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  2011 Equus - sudden acceleration - 2011 Hyundai Equus
  By equus2011 - April 15 - 7:39 pm

  I bought my Equus in May 2011 as brand new car in Toronto, Canada. I had been very happy with it until its sudden acceleration happened in August 2014. I took it back to the dealership to check for the problem but they couldnt find anything. It happened again twice in the evening of April 2, 2015 but the engineer and technician from Hyundai Canada couldnt find anything wrong again. I dont feel safe to drive it so I traded it for a Genesis Ultimate. I only put in about 52,000KM to the Equus but the trade in value is not good at all. I have no choice as the trade in amount would be even lower if I traded it at the dealership of another brand.

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  Love This Car! - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By cc_alan - April 15 - 2:56 pm

  I bought my 2015 Genesis in December, 2014 and absolutely love the look, feel and way the car drives. My prior car was a 2007 Infiniti M35, which didnt have Sirius radio capability or any of the advanced safety features that attracted me to the Genesis. Its worth noting that the 2015 version of the Infiniti costs $18K more than the Genesis with the same features, plus I now have a much better warranty than I would have had otherwise. I did see one review that complained about Hankook tires, but I had them on my Infiniti and think the ride is both quiet and smooth. Ive owned a dozen cars, including a BMW and an Infiniti, and the Genesis beats them all hands down.

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  Great car, second to none! - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By tropo - April 10 - 8:19 am

  Leased the Genesis AWD with ultimate package about a month ago. After looking at all the luxury cars I came back to the Genesis as it felt the best. Love the technology and electronics, as well as the car road handling. Quality and finish are top rated, very roomy both front and rear seat. Driving and handling is great, both in the city and on the highway.

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  Very Nice Car - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By hvac999 - April 9 - 12:06 pm

  I purchased a 2013 in 2015 after looking into a Veloster. I found the Elantra to be the best bang for the buck. I have owned over 20 cars in my life and I feel the Elantra rate right at the top for all around buy. I bought the Limited with the Technology package and it is truly a small "luxury" car. Read the Edmunds review for all of the options and you will see it lacks little. I would give it a higher score on the fun to drive factor because I look for windy roads to drive. My car happens to be Hyundai Certified and that is what you should look for , just to be smart.My wife has a loaded hybrid Kia Optima and she enjoys driving the car as much as I do. Oh, the car was built in Alabama.

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  Worst Car EVER! - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By amanda877 - April 9 - 11:53 am

  I hate this car....nothing but problems. Ive had the short block in the engine replaced, battery multiple times, starter replaced...the list keeps on going. Unreliable. Wish I wouldve known about the issues before...I wouldve gone with something more reliable.

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  44 MPG @ 65MPH on #66 - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By R. Lee Earman - April 6 - 1:14 pm

  Had a few problems but fixed under warrenty - really have no complaints.

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  Genesis is following in Lexus footsteps - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By Doug Murray - April 1 - 2:31 pm

  Remember when Lexus first hit the market? It wasnt too long afterwards that it was a big hit! The same story is unfolding for the Genesis. This car has the luxury, style, sportiness, and power of the Mercedes E-class, BMW 5 series, Audi A6 and the Lexus GS... and for 15-20K dollars less! It can do 0-60 in 5.1 to 5.3 seconds, too! The 5 liter V8 is rated at 420 horsepower with an 8 speed auto transmission. It does everything really well. I bought the Ultimate package and Im glad I did. My last three cars were a Mercedes and Lexus. I alomst went back to Lexus, but decided to give the beautiful Genesis a chance... Im glad that I did!!

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  Love my 2014 Limited - 2014 Hyundai Elantra
  By William Rice - March 30 - 5:29 pm

  I am not sure about the bad reviews because I love mine. I owned everything from, Pintos to Caddys. I like the car all the way around and feel it is one of the most under rated cars out there.