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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  Did the research... - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Reen - November 14 - 4:48 pm

  We cash for clunkered and got our Elantra for $10000. Id have been happy with just that great deal, but now throw in reliability, nice gas mileage, solid looks, and fun driveability, and Im a happy girl. I knew I wanted a reliable, low-cost car to get back and forth to work/school, and that would last for YEARS. After checking all the research, Hyundai was the only manufacturer left standing that fit my criteria, and if anything does go wrong, the unbeatable warranty has me covered. This is the first new car Ive purchased since 1991, and only Hyundai managed to convince me the purchase would be worth the investment. So far, so good....

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  silver shark - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By atrox - November 14 - 10:00 am

  I purchased a silver ultra 2 for under 18000 and I am very happy about my purchase. I almost bought an acura RSX but decided I wanted a car that wouldnt get lost in the parking lot. This car is already finished and can be tweaked for way more power if you wish. I cant stop looking at it!

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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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  Hard to beat - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ziglifler - November 14 - 10:00 am

  For what the Elantra GT costs and what you get for the money , it is very hard to beat .. I have had mine for 6 months and have almost 11k on it sofar and i am very please with the car . I own a accent with 170+k miles on it so buying another Hyundai wasnt a problem . They have shown me they make good cars . The base model has all the options you could want from a car and for 15k or under it cant be beat .

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  06 Elantra - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By rosegaliana - November 14 - 4:40 am

  This is our 4th Hyundai. What can we say, we keep coming back! Our first was a 93 Excel, then an 01 Accent, and an 02 Elantra GT. We bought this car a few days ago for my husband and so far he loves it! We had a Forenza and the Elantra is way better. Good styling (a bit like my old Elantra), comfy seats, fun to drive. My Elantra had no problems, but the Accent had transmission problems (but it also got driven into the ground) so we arent worried. Looking forward to many good years with this one. We paid 11,300, so cant complain. Oh, and by the way, there are rear cup holders! Just below the rear bench, in between, push in and they pop out!

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  WALK AWAY FROM THE HYUNDAI!! - 2013 Hyundai Veloster
  By TexasDriver - November 13 - 6:03 pm

  I was excited that I would love this car but if I could give anyone any advice in this world, it would be to WALK AWAY FROM HYUNDAI. The moment I saw it on a lot, it was love at first sight. But let me assure you, this is a one-sided relationship with a very unreliable partner. I bought mine brand new and within the first month of ownership began to have major problems, experiencing a complete power shut down leaving me stranded on the interstate in the middle of nowhere on a road trip. After several hours of waiting for a tow to the nearest dealership, I was informed they had no resolve, as they drove it right off the toe truck. I still live in fear that this could happen again unexpectedly at any time. How scary would this be if it happened again in the middle of a major intersection? In addition to this, I dont have enough fingers and thumbs to count the amount of times I have taken it in to have my buzzing speakers repair. Essentially, the dealerships have told me that they "use a very poor grade adhesive to glue the cones on", thus, resulting in the repeated malfunctions. Yet, each repair session, they continue to use the same adhesive. And they cannot provide me a better material. Stay mindful that it includes low profile tires - I live in Dallas, TX which is riddled with countless potholes. Lesson learned, this is my fault for not considering this factor. Each wheel scraped along entire circumference after the first few months of ownership...Just a heads up. Perhaps, the most frustrating are the many concerning sounds coming from underneath the car. The sound started as a light metallic rattle, squad and chirps. Then evolved into what I know of an old rusty truck climbing up a rocky hill. Of course, a little 3 door hatch should NOT sound like this. On a recent trip to Eastern Tennessee, the elevation caused this sound to turn into a deep Whoofing sound. I have to admit, not only did my passengers and I notice it, but I attracted some strange looks from several pedestrians during that trip. I immediately took it to a series of dealerships to investigate and correct, however after each appointment, each service manager assured me they couldnt hear anything unusual. And all but one dealership treated me with such disrespect, the service from the brand alone has convinced me to create detractors at any opportunity I have from now on. However, they returned my Veloster back to me, only to continue to hear the same combinations of sounds. I am almost at 60k miles, which will apparently use up all I have left for my initial warranty. I assure you, I plan to trade this in before this year ends. In conclusion, I chose this car because it was cute, had a good listing of MPGs, and was comfortable to sit in the drivers seat and had that phenomenal 100k drive train warranty. But since leaving the sales lot, I have increasingly learned to LOATHE this vehicle. And the warranty is a joke. They cannot resolve any problems Ive experienced and will NEVER consider Hyundai again. I feel sorry for whoever decides to give me money for it when I trade it in. This is as honest a review can get guys. Take it from me, go buy a Honda or Toyota. Warranty or no warranty, a Hyundai is STILL that crappy Hyundai we used to know. Save yourself the crappy trade in value and the HEADACHE.

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  can it get any sweeter? - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By blaine mason - November 13 - 3:30 am

  my wife and I had our 92 Buick LeSabre catch fire on the way to work and lost the car.We went on line and looked at everything that might meet her tastes. The Sonata was the one for her. After the test drive we bought the car in less than 10 minutes, there is not a better car when it comes to style, feel and performance. Its a Lexus-Jaguar all rolled into a Hyundai price.Power and speed-a Ferrari it is not;bang for the buck-can it get any sweeter?

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  5 Days of Ownership and Loving It!! - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By BrooksLovesThisCar - November 12 - 3:25 pm

  Wonderful car, Im very happy with my purchase. Makes it seem like a waste to purchase a BMW, Mercedes, Lexus or Infiniti for thousands more! I have the Genesis badge/wing on the trunk, and people ask me is that a "Bently". Looks and performs stride for stride with the premium luxury automobiles mentioned before. Well worth the $42K..BMW 550 will perform better but at a $25,000 premium. One of my co- workers owns one, and it is not worth the extra $$$. I took him for a ride in the Genesis, and he couldnt believe it was a Hyundai and the price I paid for it!

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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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  Worth the money - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By John - November 12 - 7:06 am

  I have had this car for 5 years now and the only expensive thing ive done to it was a timing belt. (Part of 60,000 mi service). Other than that it has given me no problems. You cant beat a 5 year 60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty and a 10 year 100,000 mile engine and power train warranty. The warranty was why I bought this car. I just wish other makes of vehicles would do the same.