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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  cant beat price/value - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ronl - November 28 - 10:00 am

  I hate to buy cars but found the elantra a reasonable investment. This is my 3rd elantra and will probably buy another if the price remains at the same level. Getting a CD, power locks,windows,and mirrors plus a great warranty for this price will keep me coming back.

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  17" Tires Extremely Prone to Damage - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By jjbaltimore - November 27 - 11:11 pm

  I bought my Elantra GT 2013 this past October. I loved the panoramic sunroof and got the style package. This included 17" low profile wheels and tires which look great, but BEWARE. Within 3 weeks this winter, average road conditions (meaning lots of potholes) resulted in 3 tires developing 3 sidewall bubbles. This included a tire that had just been replaced. There is an entire forum on this problem with this car and these tires. Read it. http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t35968_ds499866?actionMessages=Your+answer+has+been+posted.

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  cold and frustrated - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By frustratedelantra - November 27 - 9:51 pm

  All though I have enjoyed my hyundai very much, in the winter it is very cold. I cant leave my car running to warm up without staying in it. There is a saftey feature that wont allow you to lock your doors with the car running so that you wont lock your self out. This may be good for people in warm places but for me it is very frustrating. When I asked my local dealer about it they werent much help at all. Also for "SAFTEY REASONS" you should be able to lock yourself in in case an extreme situation forces you to do so.

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  NOT A BAD CAR - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By ERICD77 - November 26 - 6:56 pm

  Overall I got my moneys worth but at 124,000 miles theres something wrong with my transmission thats around a grand to fix. I think the trannys a big issue on this vehicle but its reliable and although Im not buying another Im very satisfied with it.

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  Best SUV for the Money - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By DonP - November 22 - 2:00 am

  I researched all the available SUVs that I could get for less than $30k. The Santa Fe is a solid car with many features that I like. So far no major problems at 17,000 miles. I did have to have it into the dealer FOUR times for emission problems. RV mirror came loose, and rear window defroster does not work. LIKE: Good power, solid handling, many features such as heated seats, sun roof. DISLIKE: Door arm rest are hard as a rock and very uncomfortable. Why? Horizontal buttons on the console are too easy to push accidentally - very irritating. Rear seats do not fold down flat, reducing utility.

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  Dreadful in snow - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By threeholepunch - November 21 - 9:40 pm

  This vehicle has become a HUGE dissapointment ! I bought a 2011 Hyundai Sonata in April, and just drove it in snow yesterday. I wonder if their engineers forgot to test it in winter conditions? The traction control and all-weather tires were utterly useless, and it skidded around more than the Cavalier, Sunfire, Saab or Venture in the family. Dreadful. An embarrassment for them. I live in Michigan - its flat. Were not talking mountainous roads here. Its currently parked in a grocery store lot; and I had to get a ride home .... in a 20 year old GM product. Ill be shopping for snowtires tonight, but it seems like thats just a bandaid on woefully poor design. If you live in the northern or

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  Sonata Stalls on the Road - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By ddelong1 - November 20 - 5:30 pm

  I purchased my new Sonata 2.0T in the middle of June and just loved it until this week. We were coming to a stop and the car stalled out and we coasted to the stop. I noticed that there were 2 warning lights on - engine and another one. The car was idling but there was not throttle response. Nothing. I turned it off and then restarted it. Now only the engine light was on and the throttle had response. The dealer found codes 2118 & 2110 but couldnt find the problem. They just erased the codes. This is a safety item for sure. If I was on the highway and this happened, we could have been rear ended. This car had less than 1500 kms. Beware!

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  Rattle Trap - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Mike A - November 14 - 10:00 am

  The car makes more noises driving down the freeway than any car I have owned. After taking to dealer several times to try to stop rattles, they no longer return my calls.

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  Not Happy with the ride. - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Catherine Curtis - November 12 - 11:14 am

  This car vibrates like a lumber wagon and it has Solis tires on it. That could be the problem, but I dont think so. I have had 2 4-wheel alignments on it and the wheels balanced 3 times in 17,000 miles. It is now in for rebalancing again at the price of $100.00, plus diagnostic fees. I had a 2003 Hyundai Elantra and it was a great car. Drove it for 6 years 100,000 with the wheels taken care of 2 times. Fuel economy is not as good as advertised or as good as my 2003.

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  This car stinks - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Laurie - November 11 - 9:53 am

  I purchased this car brand new. I was so excited. It was suppose to get 33mpg on the highway. I only drive highway miles. I am getting 24mpg and the dealer and Hyundai just say they cant find anything wrong with it. They are not doing anything about it but giving me the run around. I will never purchase another Hyundai again!!! Should have bought the Toyota like I was thinking about!