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 car Ive owned in my 39 years! - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By greywethr - June 16 - 6:37 pm

  I bought one for $10,000 w/29k miles. I wrecked it at 142k miles. At 40mph, I T-boned an SUV, and it still started, but Esurance totaled it. :( The water pump died at around 80k, covered. Between 100k & 142k, I replaced the front wheel bearings in 2011 (I drove offroad a few times), battery, alternator, rear brake calipers. Thats it, nothing else major went wrong. Minor things the past year or two, tape deck died, radio display flickers (I have Sirius, so that doesnt matter), antenna only goes half-way up.

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  No Spare Tire, Give me a break. - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By gilb - June 15 - 6:38 pm

  After we got a flat about 100 miles from home, late at night, I discovered that the car didnt come with a spare tire or donut. Spent a fun filled night at a motel dive waiting for the tire store to open the next morning. Id like to know who the genius is at Hyundai that made the decision that a spare tire shouldnt be a standard item in their vehicles. This should be illegal. At least I now know what type of car I wont be buying next time.

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  Good comfort, reliability, economics, value - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By jay_laz - June 14 - 8:25 pm

  I purchased this vehicle in 2002 with 15,000 miles from the original owners estate. It presently has about 50,000 miles, including 4 cross-country trips from SFO to ORD and back. Hyundai reported no warranty claims prior to my ownership, and Ive had none. Owner 1 did only basic maintenence, according to Hyundai records, and Ive done the same: oil and filter, coolant, trans and filter, battery, tires. Its a solid, comfortable, reliable, economical and completely practical car, and its served me well for nearly 10 years. Its not as much fun to drive as my Miata, but I cant carry lumber on a roof rack of a Miata. Ill gladly purchase another Sonata, with even better value.

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  Just bought a 3.8 Genesis Sedan - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By ibuy4u - June 10 - 12:28 pm

  I was skeptical of Hyundai just like you. I wouldnt even look in the direction of this brand before BUT in these times...if your credit is shot due to the economy and cant get the car you drove before or want then this might be the car for you. After driving the Genesis I was pleasantly surprised! 3 main factors that caught my attention. Driveablity, Technology and Accessories. It drove like a cream puff. Smooth "very" smooth engine and tranny with kick when you need it. Technology available is just as good and plentiful as the rest with BMW and Audi hand controls. Accesories you would normaly have to buy as an option is included in the Genesis. Great value and warranty for the buck!

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  Best value for the buck - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By anwarma - June 9 - 7:40 am

  I get 38 mpg easily on highway but if you drive like maniac with aggresive driving style with frequent rapid acceleration then dont expect high fuel economy. I easily 32 in the city but then my commute to work is very small and most of the time car sits on Metra train parking lot.I do have one disappointment, the leather on the steering wheel is coming off and I have made a claim but looks like Hyundai is still working on a permanent solution and has told me that I will be contacted once the new steering wheel is shipped to the dealer for installation. Otherwise a superb car for the price. Kudos to Hyundai for learning from their mistakes to build a amazing machine.

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  Great Car Great Price - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By kccoflbp - May 31 - 9:04 pm

  Bought used in 2008 with 26,000 miles for 5200 dollars. Still own it and love it today. Now has 126,000 miles and running strong. The only maintenance we have done is regular oil changes and timing belt change at 70,000 miles. Averaging 35 miles per gallon.

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  good car not great - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By jonate69 - May 25 - 12:31 am

  Did my research and picked a 2013 elantra, have 2 thousand miles on it aready ...and this is my review im only going to note the cons ...hope hyundai looks at these reviews to improve the car 1) car doesnt look like a econo-box but sounds like one when driving it, way to much road noise ...and makes me feel like i overpaid for this car. 2) engine is underpowered by at least 10 horsepower or needs more low end torque for quicker 0-60 times , struggling to have enough speed to merge safely onto highway. the accent has 138 hp, the elantra has 148 hp and the sonata has 198 hp ....need more power

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  Love it!....so far... - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By sinnerman2 - May 21 - 1:01 pm

  Bought the new 2013 limited with ALL the packages for 23,000 even. Love this car so far. the styling, the FEATURES!, the comfort, the ease of use, etc...All seems up to par so far except the best mileage I have gotten is an average of 28.6mpg with a mix of city and highway..and this is with the ECO mode on....I am trying to be paitent as others have told me that it takes a few hundred to couple thousand miles to start seeing the GOOD gas mileage it promises...I sure hope it gets there soon. Only got about 300 miles on it so far...But overall, this car is the bomb!! i recently test drove the 2011 Lexus IS 250 as I entended to "step up" my car...but this was even better than the lexus IS!!

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  Awesome Over All - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By ryan86 - May 18 - 5:01 pm

  I bought my 2012 Elantra Limited at the end of Sept 2011 last year. Over all its been a great car. I fell in love with the design as well as its gas mileage. The gas mileage in my opinion is not what they say it is. I wish it where better to be honest. But, yes there is a but.... Its not bad like most cars built with what options I have. Hyundai is the old Toyota. Just a well built nice looking car.

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  Gas mileage - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By gchildeb - May 16 - 5:56 pm

  This car does not live up to the 29/40 mpg it says it is ssuppose to get. The trip meter will consistently indicate mpg about 4 to 5 more than what you are really getting. You watch the trip meter and think great, I am getting 40 mpg. Then you fill up and find out you really only got 35 mpg. Dont get me wrong it is still good but should be easily correctable. Advertised mpg on the window sticker are verified by the government. Somebody is wrong. Aside from that the car is awesome. I quit riding Yamaha motorcycles because the speedometers were always off by about 4 miles per hour. This is not new technology.