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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  The 146mph Sonata - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By mrebate - August 6 - 2:20 pm

  No, I havent hit 146 but owners of this model may want to Google the title of my review. A rental was clocked doing that speed. However, I was going about 70 mph last month and unexpectedly came up on a large chunk of a truck tire in the middle of my lane. The Sonata handled like a Nascar vehicle. It reminded me of the first time I drove a Mercedes back in 1970. So far so good with this 6 year old vehicle, but it only has 29,000 miles. Depreciation is a factor with these cars, so you may want to look for a cream puff that is 1 or 2 yrs old if looking for a newer model.

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  Excellent City and Family Car! - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By driver_lori - August 6 - 2:10 pm

  I purchased my 2003 Accent with 4 miles on it for $11,500. Perfect city car - fits into small spots and not very likely to be vandalized. Then I lived in an area with steep hills and never got stuck, even with ice and snow. The car complained about making it up the hills but always did. Definiltey not a lot of power but does the trick. Fast forward 7 years and my husband and I now use the car with our twins rear-facing. We can fit the double stroller in the truck with room to spare and a single stroller in back. Theres enough leg room. I have to laugh at people who think they need an SUV....the Accent is perfectly adequate! No major repairs and Im at almost 140K miles!!

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  Farewell, old friend - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By avhelp - August 2 - 11:56 pm

  Someone once told me machines dont have a soul. I disagree. My Hyundai took me to work and happy places, safely and always got me home. We logged 131K miles together, and it just got to the point where it got tired. Life had been perfect except for a battery at 100K. Now, at 131K, We needed new struts,shocks, breaks, timing belt, water pump, CV joints, tires and headlight glass. With all that mileage, how much longer could we go on before something big broke? I took the repair money and bought its cute cousin, the SOUL. I know the Kia and Hyundai family are as one, so I am looking forward to more far off trips to enjoy. Thank you, Blue Hyundai, for taking me to and from safely.

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  First Hyundai, very pleased - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By thebagel42 - August 1 - 7:07 am

  I dont usually write reviews, but after seeing all the reviews reporting poor gas mileage I felt like I had to say something. Ive got about 10K miles on my 2012 elantra. Just about a month ago I drove from Cleveland to Ann Arbor (~180 miles) and I averaged 41 mpg. Thats with speeds between 65-75 mph. When I first got the car I could get 29-30 in a city. However, Ive recently found it more fun to drive this stick shift car in a less-than-optimal way. I now average about 26-27 in the city but get to enjoy the car a little more. So getting at or above the estimated mpg is very possible. In addition, there is plenty of room in the interior of the car.

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  Fun Commuter - 2010 Hyundai Accent
  By alessing - July 22 - 12:46 pm

  Ive owned every car imaginable, F-150s, Hummer H2s, Ford Explorers, Audis, etc. I currently own 2 Mercedes Benz and theyre great cars, just not on gas. My first Accent was a company car w/ 87k miles. It was a comfortable car, great on gas, fun to drive, but severely under-powered. The auto transmission is sloppy and makes some hard shifts and cruise control isnt available. Beyond that I needed a commuter I could drive around and my son needed something too. This was perfect. My son can drive to school and work and I can go run errands. Despite the flaws, I love this car!

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  I so love my little car! - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By jannes - July 16 - 6:37 pm

  I bought my car used in 2007 w/ 25K miles on it after owning an Excel, its older sister. There was one major issue it had immediately after purchase (speed sensors went out - totally covered by warranty). Heard its good to change timing belt before 100K so had a full $500 tune-up done then and have never had an issue in the now 5 years Ive had it & only done routine oil changes otherwise. I have maintained 35 mpg consistently in town and 40 mpg highway. Plush? Frills? Sporty power? No - but if youre ok with feeling the road under you and enjoy great gas mileage & the joys of a hatchback, an Accent rules! Con: poor visiblity out the back window due to its bubble butt as I call it.

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  Top of the line luxury at a fraction of the cost - 2012 Hyundai Equus
  By peteranger - July 9 - 12:05 pm

  I traded in my BMW 745i for the 2011 Hyundai Signature Series Equus, and apart from some irritating aspects of the i-pod and navigation systems, Im delighted with the smooth, comfortable, QUIET! ride of this luxury ride. To boot, I get 27+ mpg on the highway and 20 mpg overall using regular gas, and the valet service, where the Hyundai dealer delivers a loaner Equus to my house when picking up mine for service is a major plus. The exterior will remind you of the top of the line Lexus, and the interior is similar to the S600 series Benz (the suede like head liner, analog clock in the dash, etc.). Compare sticker prices with the competition and youll be astounded at the savings.

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  Its just a reliable car... - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By meathead1986 - June 28 - 8:13 am

  Bought this car back in May after having to get rid of my baby(1996 nissan 240sx). Overall it is a great vehicle but there are reasons for my non 5 star review. First I have a fully loaded platinum edition and there was no nav installed. Thats a huge ding for me (Hyundai seems to have fixed this with new models). Second the paintis EXTREMELY thin so when you get a door ding it takes off every layer of paint. and the whole exterior of the car seems like they went and raided other manufacturers parts bins to throw it together... it has a little of every brand in it if you pay attention. having said that it is a great car and it does what its built to do. And I would reccomend it.

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  Good, not great! - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By zbrian - June 24 - 1:21 pm

  So I purchased a new 2012 Elantra about 3 months ago. I have put 5,200 miles on the car so I thought it was time to write my review. The car is really good in some aspects such as exterior styling and smooth ride, but lacks in other areas. This car is a head turner, as I have had many people compliment or ask questions about it. The paint quality also seems good. Overall the car is worth the money (I hope). Overall this model of elantra has not been released long enough to attest to the reliability or longevity.

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  Regretful - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By jmk1109 - June 17 - 2:47 pm

  I purchased this car mainly for the fuel economy. My 60 miles per day of driving to and from work only get me 32 mpg. I did get 40 driving from Harrisburg, PA to Pittsburgh, though. My biggest disappointment about the car is the steering. I blow around on the highway when there are strong wind gusts. The handling is horrible and I feel like I cant even control my car. I feel unsafe. My tire also blew out while on the highway - and to my surprise there was no spare tire. I cant believe Hyundai doesnt make it standard to provide its customers with a spare! I regret buying the car and I would rather pay more money for gas in a less efficient car than drive a car that is unsafe.