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:

• 

  Great balance. - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By jcjc78 - December 23 - 4:18 pm

  My family has always bought Hondas or Toyotas, but we dont really care for CVT transmissions. We decided to check out the 2015 Sonata just as a backup option, but we were very impressed. It doesnt do anything exceptionally well, but it is just such a good car overall that we purchased two of them: one for me and one for my father. It isnt fast, but it has enough power. The ride isnt soft, but it isnt rough or harsh. It doesnt get hybrid mpgs, but I average over 32 mpg with almost no highway driving. The interior styling wont win any awards, but it is very easy and intuitive...and spacious. Overall, a well built machine. Quite pleased with our decision.

• 

  Excellent Interior and Value with some regrets - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By depiction - December 23 - 2:36 pm

  I came from a 2005 Mazda3 and was looking to buy a new hatchback for the versatility. I test drove the Impreza, Mazda3, and the Elantra GT. Thankfully I havent noticed the MPG problems other owners have mentioned. In mixed driving Im able to get 30-31 MPG with Active Eco mode off. After a couple tests, Ive found Active Eco mode useless. Its a great value with an excellent interior. Unfortunately its suspension is very harsh and its a bit noisy (both engine and wind noise). I feel every little bump on the road. even after upgrading to excellent Michelin tires. At 65 MPH, interior noise is about 75 db, as measured by an app on my iPhone. A 2010 Mazda3 measures about 70 db.

• 

  Nice car for the money - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By paul - December 22 - 12:13 pm

  So far no problems with the car. Drove it for 3 months and 3200 mi. It looks to me that ac should blow colder air but its not summer yet so we will see later. Getting only 25 mpg driving mostly on highway. The best I got was 28 mpg but I had to drive slow not exceeding 70 mph

• 

  2003 Hyundai Tiburon V6 GT 5speed - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By ardee - December 21 - 6:06 am

  The clutch on this car went bad after 12000 miles. The dealership gave me a hard time at first when it came to the warranty but they ended up replacing it with no cost to me. The paint on the gas cap peeled and they replaced that too. Now after 40000 miles the paint on the side view mirrors and the coating on my headlights peeled off. Other than that everything is good. I luv the car and I never modified anything so far. I already got 4 speeding tickets since I bought it. I recommend this car to anyone. Buy a brand new Tib!

• 

  Live and Learn - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By txgal76 - December 19 - 5:21 pm

  I thought it was a good purchase for the money. They Hyundai has treated me better than my last car (Saturn) but the costs in maintenance and repairs has become too much. I will not purchase a Hyundai again. Too many issues with this car. Spend the extra money and get a higher end vehicle.

• 

  Great car overall. - 1997 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ryan - December 17 - 4:52 am

  I really like this car alot. I drove this car for about a week some time ago and when I heard that the car was for sale I immediatly offered to buy it. What really left an impression on me about this car was the power of the engine. It really seems to make the most of its 3.0 V6. Ive driven cars with comparable engines and this one outperforms them by far. The interior is very comfortable and of good quality. Power windows, locks, moon roof, all nice features to have. Overall, its a pretty nice car.

• 

  Hyundai review - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By sriram - December 14 - 2:00 am

  I have driven this vehicle for more than a year now and it is amzing that hyundai delivers all this performance at this very reasonable cost.

• 

  Solid Value - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By sigma - December 13 - 1:00 pm

  Purchased my Sonata in May 2009. After careful research, (Edmunds very helpful). To date, I have but one puzzling issue with this vehicle. 5spd auto-transmission seems to "search" for proper gearing while operating. Notice from other owners of this model vehicle finding the same incidence involving transmission. This aside, all else with this vehicle is quite acceptable. Cheers!

• 

  Tight little car! - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By soozers - December 12 - 10:47 pm

  Ive driven a lot of cars and used to work at a car dealership. The dollar/value ratio is outstanding and for the money, you cant go wrong. Im waiting for Hyundai to launch a small size pick up to compare with Toyota Tacoma. That would be cool.

• 

  Good but Engine Lacks - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dktech - December 8 - 9:01 pm

  Nice looking exterior and interior but given recent reduction in EPA mpg and so so performance of the 2.0L turbo it makes me wonder if buying a competitors product with a V6 engine would have been a better choice. The 2.0L is smooth and responsive but in the final analysis it falls short in the performance department, I have the AWD version.