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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  Best Performance-Value Ratio. - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Young - November 7 - 3:13 pm

  After four months of ownership, I am extremely pleased with the car. The feel and comfort of the car are excellent. The highway ride and acceleration are super. The overall quality matches or surpasses that of most luxury sedans on the market -- except that Genesis costs thousands of dollars less. Looks great inside and out. Easily, one of the top performance - value vehicles on the road.

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  Engine vibration above 2500rpm - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By c0mmuter - November 7 - 8:14 am

  I bought the Elantra back in August 2009, 3600 miles currently. It has performed reliably, no major mechanical problems. Handles well, though the steering is a little stiff. For a small car, it rides well on a variety of surfaces. However, the engine vibration is excessive above 2500RPM in all gears. It is felt in the drivers feet. I took the car to the dealer ship and was assured that this is normal by the service department. I did not run it above 2500RPM during the test drive. The manual says that during the first 600 mile break in to run the engine between 2000-4000rpm. The vibration has reduced a little since August 2009.

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  Long lasting - 1995 Hyundai Elantra
  By Medina - November 7 - 8:04 am

  I have a 1995 Hyundai Elantra. This car has lasted longer than any car that I have ever had. My husband keeps up the regular maintenance and oil changes. It takes off like a jet and is a smooth ride even after 14 years. The only problem that we have had is the gear shift sticking and the door handles needing repair. When taking off this car leaves the others in the dust!

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  Solid vehicle - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Joegiant - November 7 - 4:40 am

  So far, so good. For those shopping for a good, reliable, relatively inexpensive commuter vehicle, this may in fact be the one. Youre not buying prestige but rather "bang for the buck". Hyundai truly has packed alot of punch into this car for the pricepoint. Many standard safety features too numerous to list. Comfortable ride. Decent gas mileage (getting about 34 on the hwy after 5,000 miles break-in). Slushbox trans works the way its supposed to - trouble free. Start er up, put er in drive and away you go. Trouble free transportation. With Cash for Clunkers program, after all the smoke, paid under $11k for this 09 Elantra SE. Truly remarkable. Give this company a serious look!

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  Utilitarian Plus - 1998 Hyundai Elantra
  By SmallWagonDriver - November 6 - 10:52 pm

  Bought this in 99 w/30,000 and its still used daily in-town and on long trips. At 158,000 total miles it has suffered a couple problems, the worst a cracked exhaust manifold at 124,000. Clutches do wear out, and that was replaced at 152,000. Otherwise, its very solid and has been very reliable, however we do keep it well-maintained (the secret to car longevity). It has seen some pretty tough duty in the mountains and in hot, dry desert-like conditions and never left us stranded. Its never had any electrical problems, no leakage from underneath, does not use oil (weve always run synthetic), heater and AC still works great, and to top it off, a tree fell on it but it just pushed back!

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  What-a-car - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By bigdave - November 6 - 4:08 pm

  I bought this car with 3k mi on it, original owners decided they wanted the Limited. I have the 3.3lt engine which provides 253HP. Very quick and nimble,20mpg in town and 30+ on the highway! Kind of wish i had the 3.8 engine but mileage would suffer. It could use a little more noise dampening and thats about it. Its a full size car, lots of room with a large trunk capacity. Terrific car!

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  The best car I have ever owned! - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Harold - November 6 - 12:58 pm

  I also own a Lexus and a Benz. This car is better than both. I would match this car with any car on the market that costs between 30k and 50k. I have own my Genesis for over a year and have had no issues with it. It beats both my Lexus and Benz hands down. Benz IMO is over rated I have had nothing but expensive problems with it since I purchased it new. The Lexus was an excellent car, but it is the little things that get too you.

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  sweet car - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By jordan - November 5 - 7:07 pm

  bought with only 49000km for $6000 including tax. it was worth every penny! fast little car, never had a problem, i drive the crap out of it and its still like new!

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  Hyundai doesnt honor its warranty - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By theiowan - November 5 - 10:00 am

  I just found out that Hyundais "best warranty in America" is bogus. They claim a faulty power window is an "adjustment item". The fact is it is not functional because of faulty design.

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  Very Happy Consumer - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By KrazeyKel - November 5 - 10:00 am

  I purchased this vehicle because I needed something reliable, yet sporty to drive. Fuel economy was also important. I needed a 4 door vehicle and was initially looking at a used Camry. I found the Hyundai for roughly the same price, and considering the warranty it convinced me to buy a Hyundai. I have not yet had any problems with my vehicle and am happy with the overall styling. The stereo looks nice, but the quality of speakers could be bumped up a bit. The biggest downfall of this car would be the acceleration, which I crave a lot of, but considering the other benefits of the car, I can deal with the slight dissappointment. Highly reccommended purchase.