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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  Mediocre with some big disappointments - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By Douglas Shaffer - February 26 - 5:33 pm

  Overall, the car is "OK" but I will not be a repeat Hyundai buyer. I have the Limited and it has nice convenience features. However, the gas mileage has been a huge disappointment - not even close to the advertised levels. (And yes, my tires are properly inflated, filters and sensors are clean and I dont drive hard.) Also, in the winter months - every time I encounter a pothole - I create a blister in the sidewall of the tire. Ive had to replace all four tires way before normal wear would dictate. The other disappointment is the poor handling in bad weather. Obviously the car is light but driving in any kind of snow is more treacherous than it should be.

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  Hyundai Customer Support - 2012 Hyundai Genesis
  By Peter Beddia - February 24 - 12:55 pm

  I have had nothing but problems with mine, I love the car but I have no confidence with it. The radio has been replaced 4 times, the ac repaired and still does not cool, the radar, rack and pinion replaced, the fuel pump replaced, a fuel purge valve replaced not fuel mileage is terrible. The car is still acting up. Trying to file lemon law with Hyundai, here is what they do. Hyundai draggggg you out till most people give up and trade the vehicle in. It’s been over a year and a half and I can wait another year and half if I have too. I will never give up, and I have told my story to as many people as I can. I have personally stopped two people so far from buying a Hyundai.

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  Comfortable Basic Car - 2014 Hyundai Accent
  By Paulette Lind Ryder - February 19 - 1:12 pm

  This is a small, cheap car that looks nice, feels comfortable, and gets very good gas mileage. While a few very small improvements are in order, I would highly recommend it.

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  Excellent Highway Cruiser - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By averageman - February 15 - 10:30 am

  An excellent cruiser. I have a long commute and I set the adaptive cruise control and this car pretty much drives itself. The ride and seats are supremely comfortable. It is NOT, however, a "fun to drive" car. It is too big and heavy. The grill is the finest looking grill I have seen (Yes it looks like a cross between an Audi and Aston Martin to me). It is very well equipped and is 15k-20k cheaper than the German alternatives. One cant even get a C class (which is an inferior car strait up against this Genesis) equipped similarly for anything near this car.

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  Good but annoying.. - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By frustrated86 - February 12 - 8:35 am

  Wrote a review last year after driving my 3.8 Genesis for about 1000 miles. After about 4000 miles and the weather turning colder in Michigan, I noticed popping and cracking sounds coming from the sunroof, in the rear and front. I have an ultimate package. Because the car is so quiet it really stands out and is very annoying. Happens constantly when there is minor shifting of the cars weight, in addition to driving over bumps. Took it to the dealer who had no resolution to the problem. My next move is to contact Hyundai directly. Shame because it is a nice car but hard to positively compare it to the Germans luxury models.

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  My issues with the Genesis - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By londona9 - February 12 - 12:54 am

  I bought the 2015 AWD Genesis on Memorial day in 2014. Wonderful great looking extremely beautiful car. I was going to buy the 5 series and bought the Genesis instead because of its value for money and Hyundais superb warranty program. After having the car for 8 months, having driven it for just about 2k miles I have some concerns about the car. The leather in my car has been deteriorating with time, more than expected, more than I have ever noticed in my other vehicles. Also, the reading light LED inside the car have failed in the first week of buying the car. Hyundai helped me through it but it still upsets me when I think about the issues I had.

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  Keep it a Secret !!! - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By gladiator55 - February 11 - 8:59 pm

  Well balanced performance, excellent fit and finish and $10 to 15 000 cheaper than similar size sedans. This car is perfect for those customers that arent under the spell of premium brands.

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  Wow great priced awesome machine - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By miamicarguy305 - February 8 - 4:22 pm

  I can not believe the comfort, the sport mode speed around corners this sucker moves. I am a E350 mercedes guy no more high priced lease german auto makers are not going to be able to compare.

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  Lot of car for the money - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By sdunnin - February 6 - 2:43 pm

  For the money I dont think you can get a better luxury sedan with regards to price to feature ratio. I got the R-Spec version which comes with just about all available options PLUS 400 Horsepower. Other cars in the same class with similar features that I looked at cost at least $10,000 more. Aside from a few minor annoyances (no display of current climate settings, trunk lid design that lets water flow into trunk when opening) Ive been very pleased with the car.

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  Very comfortable and reliable, but kinda scary too. - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By crowcanada - February 6 - 12:29 pm

  Great value for money but not a great driver. Bought the car based on "bang-for-the-buck", perceived reliability, economy, and features. Scores on all those points (unlike others here, my dealer-maintained vehicle has had no problems at all.) Mileage is good but not what was advertised (a lot better than my 04 Mazda 3, though.) Defrosters - front and rear - are inadequate. Mirror and seat heaters are great. Only real problem is the handling. The rear end will "step out" when you hit bumps in turns (e.g. expansion joints in highway overpass). It will hop around even on straight-and-level driving over broken pavement. Overall, its "twitchy". Wife wants it gone as a result.