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 Sonata - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By jg_cool - October 17 - 4:31 pm

  For sure the head lights have a problem with having to be replaced. I also had to have the steering assembly replaced at over $1000. Now after 14 months it is starting to leak again and makes a buzzing noise due to that. Ive never owned a car where I had to replace such a component. Not happy about this at all.

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  blows smoke - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By seprfi - September 23 - 11:36 am

  i have seen multiple comments online about the elantra blowing smoke. i have had the same problem,almost causing an accident on the freeway at 65 mph. people were swerving behind us. the dealership said we were blowing the carbon out, but we were doing 65 mph for quite a long time before i had to go into passing gear to change lanes to get off the freeway. Who do we escalate our complaint too ?

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  Love it - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By cf4e - August 30 - 8:01 am

  I have owned my 2012 Elantra for about a year and a half. I have just short of 18,000 miles on it. I bought this car mainly for its looks and gas mileage. It doesnt disappoint in either category. I have averaged 32.5 mpg between city and hwy driving, but im also an enthusiastic driver. I have found the econo mode makes about a 2 mpg difference when its turned off. I have achieved 40 mpg on the highway with econo mode on.The car is a bit for fun to drive with it turned off. Only 1 minor problem. On long trips of 1000 miles or more, I will stop at a rest stop in the middle of the trip and when I get back in the cruise will stop working for 20-30 miles - then start working again.

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  Excellent first car - 1999 Hyundai Accent
  By exonite - August 23 - 7:27 pm

  really reliably,economical and fun to drive car.its been almost 14 years now and its still handy and without any major problems

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  LOVE this sedan. Have only a few dislikes - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By cooperlr - July 14 - 7:06 pm

  I love this vehicle. I am leasing this vehicle and would love to own it. Thinking of purchasing it or even rolling my new lease to another, newer Elantra. Overall, this car is excellent and has been very reliable. Hyundai has stood by their advertisements with the fuel-efficiency even though they give me a check for every five thousand miles due to a suit pressed against them for failed fuel-efficiency. I live in the city and drive highways daily. I get 38-40.5 MPG Highway and/ or 30-35 MPG City. I drive 60 miles give or take a day.

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  Happy with my purchase! - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By johnbaptist - July 7 - 10:06 pm

  I previously owned a 2005 Elantra and was so happy with it that I stuck with Hyundai. Right off the bat, you can tell the appearance was really stepped up from prior model--and even compared to other cars in class. It looks very sleek and sporty, making it look more expensive than it really is. Additionally, the actual gas mileage (while admittedly a complaint of many reviewers) is still an improvement over previous models. Elantras used to be less fuel-efficient than Honda Civics but now they are equal. That was one reason I opted out of the Civic this time. I have reached the 1000 mile mark and so far I am averaging 33 mpg. Broken down, I get 20-25 mpg city, and 35-40 mpg highway.

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  2012 Genesis R-Spec 5.0 - 2012 Hyundai Genesis
  By bheitert - July 7 - 9:49 am

  Great car, blast to drive! Good looking car, most of the time no-one can figure out who makes the car. When I tell them its a Hyundai theyre dumbfounded. Took it to a 4th of July car show and won 3rd place in the Import Car class! Not bad for a 4 door.

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  Unbelievably Great MPG! - 2013 Hyundai Accent
  By capisce - July 2 - 5:36 pm

  Ive had this for 90 days/4,250 m. I researched small hatchbacks for weeks. MPG, crash test results, price, value of included features were all criteria. The kicker is the 136 hp in the 1.6 liter engine. All of the competitors had less output yet still could not beat the Accents rated MPG or price. (OK, if you blow a few more Ks for a turbo Sonic, or Maza 3 or Fiesta you might get more ponies under the hood, but why)? I drive the 6 sp stick prudently--using cruise on the highway and staying within 7 mph of posted limits. Invariably I get 42 to 44 mpg. My city driving consistently gives 38 to 39 mpg. Phenomenal! FYI, Im consciously coasting whenever feasible and avoiding jack-rabbit starts.

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  Canadian purchaser - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By ncc4 - July 2 - 3:25 pm

  I have been looking for some time and with the new transmission, bigger brakes, and updated exterior, I finally decided to buy. Cabernet pearl with tan interior. I bought the base model as I dont need navigation or the 17speaker sound system. This is my "grand kids and golf course" car. Still a bit apprehensive about Hyundai service on a luxury car, but time will tell. Had the 3-M chip film put on the hood/fenders, and got the all weather mats and trunk tray. Recommended by C/R, Phil Edmonds ( Lemon Aid ) and recently got the JD Power award for initial quality ahead of Mercedes, Lexus etc. so that says something. Why dont they sell more??

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  Wonderful car! - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By margarets_dad - June 10 - 11:39 am

  Bought this car used with 42,500 miles, and have put on another 5,000. This is a fantastic car for the city--very durable and fits into the parking spaces that are too small for everyone else. The car drives very nicely, and has a substantial feel for its size. Its handling is excellent, and although it doesnt have a huge amount of power (how much do you really need anyway, unless youre in the Indy 500?), the engine is very peppy with the manual transmission and it has more than enough oomph for day-to-day driving. Depreciation on Hyundais is still pretty bad (undeservedly so), which is bad for the original owner, but great if you want to get a high-quality used car at a great price.