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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  great car - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By shash41 - January 15 - 2:00 am

  I love my suv it is nice looking and runs like a charm

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  The best low cost vehical in the world - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Leon FB - January 14 - 10:00 am

  It has all the amenities I really want and then some. This car is built for comfort and long term ownership. I purchased this vehical with 10Yr 100,000 mile bumper to bumper, no deductible, warranty and .9% financing (almost as good as zero) for $280 a month for 3 Yrs. That is just incredible. Do yourself a favor and look at this vehical.

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  Glad I did it - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By sonataman - January 14 - 10:00 am

  My last vehicle was a Toyota Camry. I was a little skeptical of "buying down" to a less expensive car like the Sonata, but am more than pleased I did. It is a slick looking car, and has plenty of room, power, and comfort - great value for my dollars. The only minor annoyance so far has been the "check engine" light coming on because I did not tighten the gas cap on a recent fill up. If the car performs in the long run like it has so far, I will not hesitate to buy another one.

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  2015 Sonata - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By John S - January 14 - 9:47 am

  I continue to be impressed with the purchase of a 2015 Sonata. I keep asking family if they like the car as much as I do. Its an incredible value.

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  09 Azera Limited - 2009 Hyundai Azera
  By joew6969 - January 14 - 4:37 am

  My 09 Azera Limited offers alot of bang for the buck. I have owned 6 Hyundais previously, including a 99 Elantra, 03 Sonata, 04 XG350L, 05 XG350L, 08 Sonata GLS and an 08 Sonata SE V-6. The Azera is second best only to the Genesis. I love the features that the Limited offers including the 12 speaker Infinity sound system, smooth 3.8L V-6, roomy interior, smooth ride and great handling in the snow and on the ice. This vehicle has LESS wind and road noise than an Infiniti M45x.

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  Hyundai still surprises me - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By snowman_201 - January 13 - 8:43 pm

  I have owned 2 Hyundais so far. I keep waiting for something bad to happen to them like everyone wants. All I know is this, I buy them because of their ausume warranties and never have to take them in... Its crazy, Ive owned Lincolns, Cadillacs, even a 328 BMW. The only vechicle that can compare to the quality of my Hyundai are my Toyotas. Reliability the same, great, but Toyota quality still tops the list with Lexus. But, my Tundra 4 door 4x4 cost almost twice what my wifes Santa Fe cost.... You do the math.....

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  tucson 06 - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By bjw tucson - January 13 - 1:40 am

  I did extensive research before I bought the tucson and I felt that the tucson gave me all the options I wanted and still was at the price I wanted, $1000s less than honda and toyota, I am real happy with my decsion to buy a tucson. Just completed a round trip of 850 miles and no problems a of any kind, averaged 22 miles per gallon, even though sticker says 26 for the highway but the mpg will slowly improve as the car ages. I would definately recommend this vehicle for anyone that is searching for a small but spacious suv for the family.

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  Love This Car! - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By psimm215 - January 12 - 11:26 am

  I bought this car (my second Hyundai) a couple of weeks ago and I love it. I picked the car up on my way out of town for a weekend road trip (500 miles round trip). My destination was in the Tenn mountains, on the way back I got a surprising 38.9 mpg. The ride was very comfortable and pretty quiet. We put the back seats down and filled the cargo space with donations for a local food bank, it held over 600 items with room to spare so we only had to make one trip. I live in Atlanta so my city mpg has only been around 25, I expect that to improve as the engine breaks in. Rick Case bumped up the warranty to 20 yrs, 200,000 miles so I think I will keep this car for many years.

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  First time Hyundai owner - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Kevin - January 11 - 3:00 pm

  Awesome car for the money. Toyota and Honda quality. Super ride.

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  Pleasantly Satisfying Period of Ownership - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By FB - January 10 - 6:19 pm

  I bought this car in April 2008, as my everyday car for school and life. I compared it to the 2008 Honda Civic LX that my cousin had as well as a 2008 Toyota Corolla S that another friend had and for the value and amenities offered on this car, it was excellent. I remember Hyundai changing their whole line of cars in 2007 to rebuild their brand and reputation, so I knew I was diving into uncharted territory going with the Hyundai over the Honda and Toyota, but for 15K out the door (for the automatic) compared to around 18K for the Civic and around 17K for the Corolla during that time and what they had to offer, I could not resist the deal. Another friend of mine went all in with the Elantra in 2007 as well, and he had done a lot of research and ended up purchasing a manual one before me, so after seeing him with his car for a year, that also lead to my reasoning that the car would be a good buy. I finally ended up selling the car to another cousin a few weeks ago and upgraded to something else, but I still miss it, although it may just be fresh in my mind given that Im still getting used to my new car. The little things mattered to me with this car, such as having 4 wheel ABS compared to the 2 rear drum sets offered in the Honda and Toyota. Fog lights were nice to have since I had always wanted a car with fog lights. Having the overhead glasses compartment, top middle compartment, under radio compartment, 2 tier center compartment, and also the two storage spaces behind the front seats was also very nice. The only thing about the car that I didnt like was that it looked a little boring, or "rental" car-ish, but I was able to fix that after I finally upgraded to the 2011-2012 Elantra 16" alloy rims, giving it the look that the SE had. The interior is very roomy, with good visibility, and Im a big 61 guy. The front seats were very comfortable, compared to when I sat in the Civic and Corolla which were tight for me. Headroom is very good, although I do wish the drivers side had the handle to hold onto which is nice when you want to switch it up driving long distances. My passengers never complained, since the shortest person usually sat behind my seat which I had to push all the way back, but it seemed like everyone was fine most of the time. Another great feature that a lot of base model or step up from base model Japanese cars dont have is heated mirrors, which are very useful in the winter (even here in So Cal), and I took them for granted when I was looking for my new car, which I had to get a higher up model to get. Whenever I drove a lot of freeway, I would end up getting around 31-34 MPG depending on how fast I would accelerate, how much force I applied when braking, and how fast I would be going on the freeway. Combined, especially in the later years, the worse I ever got was 27 MPG, but when I drove gently I would get around 28-29 MPG. In the early years I was running on the stock 15" steel wheels and afterwards I was running on the 16" alloys, so those might have affected the fuel economy a little bit. I broke in the car very well when it was new, not pushing it during the recommended period, and had always changed oil myself with full synthetic 5W-20, usually Mobil 1, and in the end, I left the car off at 111K miles, with no issues whatsoever. I just performed the recommended maintenance at my favorite mechanic every time I hit the mileage listed in the Maintenance Book, and overall, the car had been very very reliable. Surprisingly, the trunk is also very large, compared to the same Civic and Corolla as well. I had been able to help friends move with the car, filling everything to the brim. My GLS model came with the auxiliary port, but I ended up using the MP3 CD a lot more due to consistency and quality issues. The 6 speaker system is phenomenal for a cheap car, better than the 2013 Accord LXs system that my family has. Im no audiophile but I do enjoy my music and all the ranges my songs have to offer, and that is probably what I miss most from that system. Bass was deep and did not sound cheap, but vocals and everything were very clear as well! My friend put a sub-woofer in his, but honestly it was overkill since the stock system is already phenomenal. I have not been in another base model car that has an audio system that is as good as this one. Also, the car is hard to steal (unless theres some kind of new tech that thieves have access to). My friend locked my keys in my trunk once and you cannot put the seats down from the inside of the car. AAA came, unlocked the car, but the standard immobilizer didnt allow us to start the car and the alarm kept going off, so the only way was to get the other spare key/remote I had (Hyundai only gives 2 keys). Overall, the only con is the cheap plastic door panels, but I felt all other pieces in the car were pretty good quality.