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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  Replacement of engine - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dianne Bruch - August 5 - 4:05 pm

  I bought this car new. The engine had to be replaced twice. The dealer was unable to find the cause of the engine failures. I do not feel secure in the vehicle. Hyundai was unwilling to help me find a solution to this problem. Elantra owners beware of engine problems.

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  Service - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By Larry James. - July 21 - 5:55 pm

  This car is a lemon. It has spent 7 month out of 3 years in the shop. I am on my third engine. Now they will not fix my radio and nav system. I have had it the shop 4 times the the radio and nav.

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  Get rid of it before the warranty runs!!!!! - 2013 Hyundai Accent
  By JJ - July 20 - 6:49 pm

  The car was decent to drive when it worked and then it turned out to be the worst car I have ever owned. I thought I was getting a reliable vehicle and ended up getting a vehicle that lasted just past 101K. I have owned at least four other vehicles and all of them have lasted for years and made it to at least 200,000. In fact I have never had a motor go out on a single one of them except my crappy Hyundai. I well never buy another Hyundai.

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  Never AGAIN!!!! - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By atoria - July 13 - 12:40 pm

  I bought my car in 2005 (brand new) only had about 19 miles on it, and i must say that i regret not listening to my grandmother when she said "go to the honda dealership" shortly after 3 years of purchasing this car it has been giving me issues. check engine has been repeatedly coming on for the same issue which pertains to a sensor(s)!!! and currently its the check engine is still coming on for the SaME ISSUE!!!!!! apparently my car is too rich in fuel!!!! I wanted to pass this car on to my sister, but will not due to the fact that it will take money with the amount of repairs that will have to be done by the car.. This was my first car and I havent been happy at all!!!!!!! and any friends who ask about hyundais I immediately tell them no!!! do not waste your money!!!!! because you wont have none after the amount of repairs you have put into constantly fixing the car! Elantras are for elderly folks who only travel around town. Hyundai has my complaint on file and I will continue to call with any additions to that complaint!

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  WORST HYUNDAI dont waist your money - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By consummer - July 9 - 12:40 pm

  Slowly but surely, every bit of this car has broken, peeled, snapped or shattered from the day I drove it off the lot. Now I have only 1 outside door handle left and cant even get in my car. Yup... went to open the door when on my way to the doctors, and the handle just shattered (cheap plastic), and thats the 3rd one in a week. Paint is lifting or chipping, Brakes went out after 20K miles and not covered by warranty, Micheline Tires had to be changed after 30K (unheard off) also not covered, rearview mirrors have fallen twice, Inside door-handles just fell off, Sun visors snapped (both) and fell on my lap as I was driving (very dangerous) seat belts snap off...

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  Engine blew out at 34K - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By vivient - December 31 - 5:31 pm

  Very disappointed in the car as well as manufacturer. Car was rarely driven and well maintained. Engine power was significantly pales when compared to a similar Toyota or Honda model. Brake pads do not last at all. Our cars radiator blew out at 34K and damaged the engine. Manufacturer refused to cover repair cost under warranty even though it has not expired, basically has been a big fat lie about warranty. Will not ever consider the brand again.

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  2010 hyundai elantra automatic - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By jackson55 - August 8 - 7:59 pm

  Ive read your review on the 2010 Elantra blue. At first I couldnt understand why it was given positive grades for its performance and then i realized it was a 5 speed manual transmission. I think a fair amount of elantras are automatic, have you test driven them and i am talking about a 2010, although I believe they used the same power train for any number of years. I cant believe its such an annoying thing to drive, especially when people go around praising them, i think it must be the warranty they like. Im not sure how many forward speeds mine is but it doesnt seem like its enough. In particular what im talking about is The car upshifts to early when you accelerate at a norm

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  Blown Engine at 113K? - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By lorraine1966 - December 28 - 7:12 am

  I have a 2007 Sonata that has 113K miles on it. I brought it in for a ticking noise in engine-was told it could be a lifter engine has oil so was told to keep driving it. Next day on highway, noise got worse & bang, no power & oil ran out of bottom of engine. Am being told I need a new engine. NO info on any TSB on problems with this car. Am still in it for $7K-am at a loss here & Hyundai takes no responsibility. Now what?! Before this issue, car was a dream-no problems whatsoever. Am baffled, angry & feeling helpless. No where to turn-no help-no nothing.

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  BE AWARE!!! - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By deniserodrigue - September 16 - 8:59 am

  While driving in a 25 mph school zone, my steering wheel locked making it impossible to control my car on a curvy road after having just made a right turn, as I begun to pick up speed, my steering wheel remained in the position placed in order to follow the curve, locking immediately after. My initial reaction was to try unlocking the steering, but it didnt budge I hit about 3 concrete median blocks, before drifting into an uneven field of grass luckily, there was a sewage manhole jolting out from the ground managing to slow down my car before I was able to pull the emergency break. If this wouldve occurred in high traffic, there couldve been several casualties, including my own.

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  FLIMSY DIRT MAGNET - 2010 Hyundai Accent
  By buggycrazy - August 29 - 10:27 pm

  Falling apart in 7,000 miles, side mirror cover bumped when shoveling snow, fell off, numerous dings in plastic bumper and interior, seats do not move or fold down enough, windshield cracked at 7,000, flat windows catch all kinds of crud constantly, too low of clearance, stupid shield interferes with oil change, semi sunk windshield catches all kinds of crud and is prone to having the drain holes freeze up then there is a lake in the window, with the wipers frozen into it. The rear tail light assembly is placed where it just begs to be hit - and so it has! Charger will not charge when key is off so is useless to charge my equipment, but it is safe to leave it out on the street with the keys in it and unlocked-no one will steal it! I bought this thing to save money, and that was a mistake, since it is too fragile for normal use I will not fix anything anymore and will have to save money by not washing it, all that dirt camouflages all the other stuff that is breaking up and falling apart.