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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  Reliable, safe - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Survivor - January 25 - 10:15 pm

  I bought the car new and kept up with maintenance religiously. The car has never not started and I live in a place where it gets REALLLLY COLD! Gas mileage is good, ranging from 30-36 depending upon the brand of gas. The body dents easily and the interior is ugly. Enough room for things like cups, napkins, etc, but no room for cell phone on dash/console. Car handles well in the snow with four studded snow tires. With the all-season tires, it slides easily. I was involved in a roll over accident in this car and walked away with only a small scratch. The windshield was all shattered, but didnt cave in at all. The accident was not due to the car, it had to do with the weather.

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  An excellent car - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By RCFLYER - January 24 - 6:50 am

  We wanted to downsize from a Ford Escape, without giving up too much room, and the Elantra touring has turned out to be an excellent choice. Looks like they took all of the good features of all the other look alikes on the market and put into this model. Its got just enough more room in it than the competition to be noticeable, and comes standard with all the features we wanted. So far were getting about 30 mpg in mixed driving. We bought a Mazda 3 5dr last year and between the two, the Mazdas a little more fun to drive - better handling and power, but the Hyundai is more comfortable on a long trip.

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  I enjoy my car and recommend it! - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By CCNY Graduate - January 24 - 2:00 am

  Features, such as leather seats, power win/dr, sunroof and a/c, make this car fun to drive. Other features, like rear seats that fold down flat, heated side mirrors, rear defogger, front and side airbags, cruise control and child- locks, make this car responsible and mature. I have not had to use the toll free roadside assistance number for any malfunctions. The bad. The Elantras fuel mileage is really: city 25mpg, highway 30mpg. Im used to a Toyota Tercel @ 35 mpg and 44mpg. Even with 140 horse power, Elantras engine doesnt accelerate quickly. Drive fast it does, accelerating could be better.

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  Poor gas mileage - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By hotrod5 - January 24 - 1:07 am

  I considered this vehicle initially because it was rated with 27/32 mpg. Not even close. I now notice it is rated 20/27 mpg. Were they not being truthful? I love the car, how it drives, and the styling, but I will not ever get over this mileage issue--especially since gas prices have gotten so high. I agree with other reviewers that the rear window needs a water squirter and that egress causes dirt on your leg due to the wide sill plate. The center console does not have a shallow tray so I went to the kitchen store and bought a small baking pan to hold my little stuff. Weird, huh?

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  Not bad - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By the cs car - January 22 - 10:24 am

  We bought our Elantra in August. Not a lot of problems, just a few "rattles". Weve had problems with the paint job. Dealership told us we let bird "poop" sit too long. Not true, we had 4 hurricanes--nothing stayed on too long! We finally got the Hyundai representative to agree it was "paint failure" and it is in the shop being repainted (warranty item). We cant see spending a ton of money on a car. The Hyundais are not bad for the price. Had an Accent that went 90K - couldve gone longer but we sold it.

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  Hyundai Tuscon Great SUV for a first time SUV owne - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Amy - January 17 - 10:27 pm

  I was looking for a SUV to replace my 8 cylinder full time 4wd Dodge Durango that was aging. Consumer Reports and Edmunds both rated the Hyundai SUVs in the top 3, so they were on my shortlist from the beginning. From this line, I tested the Hyundai Tuscon AWD 4cyl, 4cyl turbo, and the Santa Fe 6cyl optioned up with the technology/safety packages. While I thought the handling and drive were smooth, the vehicles lacked power even in the turbo version. The luxury versions were nice inside and had all the great technology options of the more expensive vehicles in the class, but I found the seats not terribly comfortable in the middle and back rows. In addition, I had some difficulty climbing into the drivers seat at 51". There wasnt any step-up/running board, or handle to assist climbing in on the driver or passenger side. Considering I was coming from a much larger & taller vehicle, and didnt have these issues, I found this dissappointing. The price was attractive an competitive, with a great warranty. One thing I found odd is that all the local dealers ONLY had BLACK and WHITE on the lot available for purchase. Living in a large metro area, with 3 dozen or so dealers in a 30 mile radius, I found this a huge issue. If I wanted another color, I had to order and wait. Being that I needed a vehicle ASAP, this presented a problem. All in all, I preferred the Santa Fe 6cyl, but it is a significant amount more than the Tuscon for virtually the same vehicle/features. For someone going from a car to a SUV, the Hyundai Tuscon and Santa Fe are great vehicles for the money. If you are going from one of the other big SUVs, you may be underwhelmed. I ended up purchasing the Dodge Durango Citadel AWD which is the top rated SUV

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  I wish they could build SE i-4 manual... - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ross B - January 15 - 4:30 pm

  I am 6.3" 300 lbs guy with a normal driving style. Here is my first impression from my first 200 miles: The good: - great value ( cant beat 14,975$ price) - good interior ( dual color comes with cherry read color) - solid build quality - good fuel economy (200 miles on less than 1/2 tank) - manual tranny is Ok, except the clutch bites too soon The bad: - very soft suspension and numb steering feel - seat is too soft, no adjustable lumbar support or telescope steering wheel for GLS trim The Ugly: - SE trim would probably address most of my complaints but Hyundai simply doesnt manufacture SE I-4 despite the fact it is listed even in their brochure. I would gladly pay 2000$ for SE.

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  So far so good!! - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By mee924 - January 13 - 8:36 am

  Just purchased last week used, actually a rental. Still have balance of factory warranty. Like the comfort on the highway. Gas mileage nearly 30 seems good enough for the v6. Interior dash design is the lone dated item in my opinion, 09 addresses this. Cost was reason for my purchase as used was 5k less than 09.

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  Been good to us - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Romic - January 12 - 10:40 pm

  Purchased new in Sept. of 01 and overall have been very satisfied. We purchased the extended warranty for a very affordable price and has paid off for us. The 2.7 V6 has plenty of power for a vehicle as heavy as it is and fuel mileage is reasonable at 20 mpg. avg. We have had a few mechanical issues covered mostly under warranty. Both front axles cracked and were replaced, a strange squealing noise from the rear that the dealership fixed but seems to reappear from time to time, the rear hatch door handle release latch sticks in and the door will not latch shut if you dont pull it out by hand. Radio goes on and off itself. This SUV is GREAT in snow with full time 4wd. Were keeping it

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  Good car for the money - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By chrisclocher - January 11 - 11:09 am

  I would recommend this car to anyone looking for cheap transportation. I have not had any trouble with this car since the day I bought it. I would like to see Hyundai add more insulation though because the ride can get a little noisy without the radio on.