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:

• 

  Tiny and Perfect - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Tiana - March 9 - 11:24 am

  I got this car in Feb. when if first started to snow. It really was easy to drive in all types of weather. This is a great first car. And for all shorter people (like myself) its easier to see then some other bucket seat cars! I love this car!

• 

  it has great fair gas milage - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By nathan/bbbbnf4 - March 8 - 2:00 am

  it is a fun car to drive but if it had a V-8 it would have more pick up for those who would like

• 

  A Solid Deal - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Brendan K. - March 8 - 2:00 am

  I have owned this car for almost a year. I took a 6,000 mile road trip through 120-degree desert without a hiccup from this car. It drives extremely well, engine power is more than sufficient (especially with a manual transmission), and it has not given me a single mechanical problem after 15,000+ miles. I experienced some wind noise at high speeds, but the dealership replaced the weather strips under warranty. All this for $11,400 + TTL, and they even threw in the upgraded Sony CD/Casette player!

• 

  Warranty is useless if dealer fails to perform work - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By daviator - March 7 - 10:25 pm

  The car if fun and sporty but I have had some issues. The dual clutch for AT sometimes grinds when shifting. Transmission is very jerky in stop-and-go traffic. The real problem is with Hyundai, its dealers and its "warranty". Twice my car was in for an intermittent problem misaligned touch screen. Each time the dealerships (I tried two) claimed to have applied a software fix. After the problem began again I took it to a third dealer who stated that the fixed were never actually applied. Now the radio is out of warranty (its only 3/36) but Hyundai refuses to cover the fix even though promised work under warranty was never performed.

• 

  Not Bad for a $20K Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By romil01 - March 7 - 8:24 pm

  I have 38K miles on the car...my lease ends in May 13. Overall, it has been a good car, although a bit on the boring side. Reliability has been excellent. I had to bring the car in for a recall early on during ownership, but it was a quick and painless process and Hyundai provided me with a $25 Visa gift card as an apology for the inconvenience of bringing the car in. The initial sales experience and all subsequent servicing at multiple Hyundai dealers have been outstanding. Hyundai seems to go out of its way to be friendly and efficient. Only issues are some cheap, hard plastic on the interior which squeak often over rough roads and the poor steering which is always off-center.

• 

  Skeptical at first but... - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Driven - March 6 - 2:35 pm

  I couldnt have totaled my last Volvo at a worse time, financially. So, I went in search of some realiable transportation, telling myself that it would just be for a year max and then I could get into another Volvo. After reading about this car in the Kiplingers Report, then reading the reviews on here and other sites, I called my dealership. Unfortunately, this was soon after a Hyundai ship had been lost at sea and these cars were a bit hard to come by but they found me one and even came down to my price. Well, its been over two years and Im still driving it. Not because I have to but because I actually like it. Quality, milage, its there!

• 

  Initial Limited Opinions - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By bobcatbuzz - March 6 - 6:20 am

  Just drove the car home this afternoon, about 100 miles total. Took a very short test drive before I bought, but after spending about 11/2 hours behind the wheel today, have to say Im disappointed with the comfort level of the leather seats. Granted Ive been driving Toyota Avalons for the last 10 years, so I knew the comfort level would be a step down but the seat seemed rock hard the longer I was behind the wheel.

• 

  Love it within limits - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Curtis - March 4 - 10:30 pm

  At $27k OTD, the 3.8 Grand Touring is a fantastic car if bought for the right reasons. The suspension and seats are very firm (yes, even non- Track versions)- this, coupled with road noise, can make long trips tiring. Performance, handling, and visibility are top-notch and the interior is well appointed with excellent design, fit, and finish. Nav w/ integrated stereo is awesome for Ipod/music control but screen is a touch too small for the nav. The clutch and 6-spd are VERY quirky making the car very difficult to drive smoothly- would DEFINITELY recommend the automatic even though I am a 6-spd lover. Overall, VERY fun to drive around town but not a long-distance cruiser. Would buy it again.

• 

  Fun To Drive - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By danhaab - March 2 - 10:00 am

  The Hyundai Tiburon is an absolute hoot to drive! I own a 2000 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, and the Tiburon is just as fun to drive. The car handles well and has enough power to satisfy. The exterior is the best part. The styling elicits questions from the curious. My only complaints are the over-boosted steering and the spoiler. The handling is so good on this car that it is a shame to have such numbing power steering. Also, while I dont mind the spoiler, I think the car would look cleaner without it.

• 

  Makeup in the dark? - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Terry - February 26 - 6:13 pm

  What I really miss is lighted vanity mirrors. Also, I was told that my vehicle had a better cabin filtration system than my 2002 Honda Accord (which had a Hepa filter). When I started sneezing and detecting a strage smell, inside my Tucson, I had my husband check the filter.....SURPRISE...The slot was there, behind the glovebox, but there was no filter! The dealer ordered one for me and then tried to charge me $90.00 to install it. The gas milage is also not good. This baby is cute but rather expensive to maintain.