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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  NO OIL Pressure at Start-up - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Takis Tzinakos - March 31 - 7:20 pm

  After a careful break-in and driving the V6 Sonata for 26000kms, it takes up to 4 secs for the oil pressure to builb-up, every time it`s been restarted (genuine oil filtet used). Took it to dealership and hooked-up a manual cauge, my complaint was confirmed, but Assured this condition is NORMAL. 10 starts a day @ 4 secs at a time = 4 hrs per Year, running the motor without oil. How long does Hyundai and its Engineers think this motor will run before it needs a major overhaull? Is there a check valve to be installed to prevent oil back flow?

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  A bit of a disappointment - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By scottg10 - March 31 - 3:43 am

  With less than 350 miles on my new Sonata GLS, the negative outweighs the positive. I received my car with a defective passenger door latch making it hard to open and close the car. Next the car has interior rattles which is atypical of a new car for any price. The clincher was when I noticed that my cloth driver seat is already showing wear and is fraying around the seams! On a positive note, the car drives and steers well. But, I must wonder if this is typical, or I have received a lemon which Hyundai and my dealer will correct - AS IN REPLACE.

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  VERY GOOD VEHICLE - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By LEOFONT - March 30 - 7:29 am

  I have owned new Hondas (2001) Audi and Nissans and this car is just as good with riding features as the aforementioned, if not better than the Nissan and Audi.....great response on the highway, nimble handling, (better than the Honda)and fun to drive...I got 25 Mpg on my first mileage test, but the tradeoff in power is worth it... The dealership was very accommodating and so far completly satisified.... The only downside I can see is the materials are on the "Cheapie" side, and ashtray, accessories are not of the high quality standards of the Honda

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  Disappointed. - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By RK - March 29 - 9:09 am

  The car is nice to look at. The MPG was a lie. The radio has malfunctioned at 80,000 miles. The timing chasing was replaced at around 20,000 miles and now at 83,000 miles the problem seems to happening once more. The tensioner went bad and it looks like it is agaIn. I change the oil every 5,000 miles and drive mostly freeway or highway miles. It has two pending recalls and the smog system had a computer reset early on. Other than that the car has been pretty nice. It does what it was designed for well. It is not a performance car. The brakes are superb. They are much bigger than need to be. And are very well finctioning.

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  Hyundai Elantra More Car, Less Money - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By JimOhio79 - March 28 - 2:21 pm

  This is alot of car for the money. Ive found it to be both reliable AND economic. It could use a evamp of the exterior styling but is solid step-up from basic transportation. It has outlasted and outperformed my Grand Am, Cavalier, and Neon. Check it out, youll be surprised what this little car has going for it.

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  140,000 miles later - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By alt - March 28 - 10:31 am

  We bought the Elantra with 11,000 miles on it as a used car after being used by a rental company. We have put 140,000 miles on it and it is still working well. The engine still has plenty of pep, it still will reach 80 mpn without a sweat (RPMs about 2600), the engine still purs, and the ride is as good if not better when we first bought it. It has been a very good car for us. The only complaint I have about the car is the need to change the transmission fluid out once every 30,000 miles and having to use the "Hyundai" fluid. Outside of that one concern, this car has given us 4 1/2 years of great service.

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  great value and great mpg - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By young46 - March 28 - 5:44 am

  i am getting about 500 miles from a full tank of gas(18gal) and averaging 28-29mpg. i commute in NYC and always caught in heavy traffic. if i am on the highway without traffic i am getting 35 to 40 mpg. i dont understand some ppl here getting 23 at best. i already put 35,000 and so far so good.

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  Worst Clutch Ever! - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By abominablejohn - March 25 - 10:25 pm

  I bought a 2008 Tiburon SE V6 in May 11 with 13,000 miles in a Hyundai dealership in sunny South Florida. Over the course of 7 months, I put on about 6,000 miles on it mostly highway driving and driving it up to NYC. I am the second owner of the car and with less than 20,000 miles, my clutch has gone. My old Honda Civic was driven over 100,000 miles without ever having a new clutch. Dealership says clutch is not part of the warranty because its a wear & tear item. How can Hyundai build a credible reputation for reliable when so many Tiburon owners are complaining of this defect with the clutch? I will send my complaints to all agencies and websites I can. Shame on you Hyundai!

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  Almost perfect, but... - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bobundai - March 23 - 10:23 pm

  I really like the car - two beefs: it doesnt get the fuel mileage Hyundai advertises and theres a winter problem with the steel wheels. I get about 28 mpg (Canadian - bigger gallons) and Hyundai says I should get 45. It replaces an 02 Accord (4 cyl. 5 spd.) that got 34 mpg. The steel wheels pack with snow (when the car is sitting and the snow drifts in. The snow cant escape and the wheels get horribly out of balance. I carry a special skinny stick with me to unblock the wheels, but its a design issue that Hyundai needs to address.

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  Gearshift - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By karenbel - March 22 - 5:21 pm

  I had my 2012 Sonata GLS for 4 days when I suddenly could not move the gearshift. I was parked at a restaurant, went to leave, and could not put the car into gear. It started up ok, but all the dashboard lights came on and stayed on indicating I had problems that I didnt have, like the emergency brake was on when it wasnt. Long story short, I had to be towed back to the dealer. Its Sunday, so I have to wait for an answer, but I am terribly disappointed. Reliability is the most important feature for me when it comes to owning a car. Hyundai needs to exchange cars and give me another one. The car has 204 miles on it!!!