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:

• 

  Mixed reactions - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Phil - September 19 - 2:56 pm

  This vehicle drives well. It accelerates well from a stop and has a fair amount of power in its engine. Fuel economy is about 20 MPG in the city and 27 on the highway. The ride is comfortable and reasonably smooth. However, maintenance is difficult for this vehicle. You must remove an intake manifold from the engine in order to change all spark plugs. The front suspension is set up so the ball joints and control arms are held in place against the weight of the car, so that it will collapse if one breaks, we recently found out the hard way. It will cost about $800 to fix this. Reliability and maintenance are sometimes issues for this vehicle.

• 

  Luv my Hyundai - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By TWHMOM - September 19 - 2:13 pm

  I have owned my Hyundai Elantra for two years. I have not had any major mechanical problems. Only oil and tire changes. It has been a joy to own. The projected gas mileage stated on the dealer sticker is accurate. I love my Hyundai and am considering buying another one for my daughter!

• 

  Awesome Vehicle - at any price! - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By myparker - September 18 - 10:00 am

  We went looking for a GM vehicle during the "Keep America Rolling" event last year, but couldnt find any car we liked under $30,000. By mere accident, I went and test drove the XG 300. Immediately, I called my wife and told her I had found THE CAR. At first we werent sure about buying a Hyundai, but we have not regretted it in the least. This car turns heads, is fun to drive, and I believe is the best kept secret around. I get to drive around in a car that rivals a Lexus ES 300 or an Acura TL, but without the huge monthly payment. Do yourself a favor - bypass all the Camrys, Accords, and Altimas, and get into something BETTER, an XG.

• 

  Bad Experience - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By lucille - September 18 - 8:26 am

  I purchased my 2011 in may. I drove my car to Memphis and was coming through ms and my car stopped and would not start. I had to call roadside and they had to tow my car to Pine Bluff ark. It was said that it was the fuel pump and it was not. They had to replace the fuse box. I am very upset, my car has been in the shop since the 13th of July. They had to order a fuse box from Korea. Finally I get a call to say that my car is ready today, 29th July. My car is being shipped from pine bluff, because I live in Texas

• 

  Pretty good but not enough - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Ed&Veve - September 17 - 9:29 pm

  This is a 5-speed A/T. Mileage to date is 22K. We purchased this car as new. The only major problem encountered so far was on the rear brakes (factory defect) when about 3K miles. Longest trip was from Georgia to Ohio (500+ miles) with 3 adults, 1 child, and lots of baggage. With a combine load of about 800lbs, we traveled for 8hrs, 60- 80mph on highways. Fastest trip was for 2hrs, 70-90mph with 2 adults and a child. Acceleration from traffic stops, uphill and passing is slow. Combine mpg is about 30. A/C, heater, steering, braking, controls are fine. Enough spaces for front seats but cramped for 3 at the back. Overall, pretty good economy car for lower end buyers and small family.

• 

  ongoing CD troubles 2011 Tucson - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By litlebit1 - September 15 - 1:28 pm

  We purchased our 2011 Tucson brand new, top of the line, all bells and whistles. It is a great little car and we like almost everything about it...but one problem is driving us nuts! CD player makes a cracking/scratching sound at various intervals of use. We like to listen to audio books but anywhere 20-30 minutes into listening the CD starts making noises. We turn it off and can turn it on to use again after 5-10 minutes until it happens again. This is so disruptive. Hyudai has addressed it by supposedly replacing it 3 different times...each time we continue to have same problem. Our CDs are new, never used.

• 

  my hyundai review - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By chris - September 15 - 1:10 am

  this car is a great car to go and drive for work around towe etc long drives tend to become longer than they should i have 2 children and its just not roomy enough

• 

  fun little car - 1997 Hyundai Elantra
  By mike - September 14 - 10:57 am

  I bought this car with the idea of getting a couple of years work out of it. Ive now owned it 4 1/2 years and 140,000 miles later i plan to keep it until it breathes its last breath. The car had 20k on it when I bought it. I took it down and had all engine/trans fluids changed to Mobil 1. A great ride, precise handling and enough power to make this car a joy to own. I am teaching my daughter to drive and now she wants one like mine. I think Ill buy her a 2000 Elantra so I will have the warranty. The only problem Ive had is a switch in the auto tranny. After that was fixed , no problems. I average 33 mpg hiway and 28 city.

• 

  ouch this hurts - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By erik bickelmeyer - September 14 - 3:05 am

  we like the car alot but the design of the front seats hurt our legs we tryied putting a pad on the seat helps a little that only problem with car 8000, miles, like the milage a lot.

• 

  105K and running - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By mostafaelgamal - September 12 - 3:15 am

  bought in 2001 had minor problems but warranty covered it especially the transmission was leaking @ 95K, and the dealer fixed the problem at no charge and made all the recalls on the car too. didnt do any other repair except the regular maintenance for 4 years now. Had all the luxury I want except navigation at a low price