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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  This Car Stinks - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By THIS CAR SUCKS - July 22 - 8:26 am

  Please oh please never buy this car! I have owned this vehicle for three years and it is the newest and nicest car I have ever owned but it is also the least reliable and mostly costly to repair. The check engine light is on constantly and I average about $200- 300 per month in car repair bills. I have replaced so many parts I cant even keep track anymore. New transmission at 55k miles! If I sell you this car I am so sorry. Paint has been chipping and peeling for the past couple of years. So very cheaply made fake leather seats that are way uncomfortable. Also, lots of stuff breaking down far earlier than it should now I need a new radiator and catalytic converter. I hate this car!

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  Hyundai tried but Missed - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By RogerThat - July 7 - 5:56 pm

  Hyundai was so eager to make a car to compete with other high class affordable sedans, that they actually missed the main point, reliability and good leadership, i was on my way to work and as i tried to switch to drive the brakes got locked, i could do nothing but call hyundai and they were very rude, i sent it back and got my dream car, the nissan maxima

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  Engine Failure - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By Knight - July 7 - 2:45 pm

  I had an engine failure with about 17,000 miles on the car. The engine was replaced, but was not the same car. Competitively priced vehicle, but my experience with Hyundai, dealer services and customer service has been two stars or less. Everybody has different experiences with vehicles, for Hyundai, mine could have been better.

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  Not very happy - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Rich - June 24 - 7:46 am

  I bought my tucson in april of 2006. Its ok gas the avg I get is 22mpg city and highway. But since i have bought the vechile, it has fell apart. I take very good care of my vechile and the ashtray doesnt stay closed(2nd time ive had the problem, sunglass holder doesnt close(1st time problem). The fuel system is not right, it leaks gas out of the evap valve everytime i fill it, it has gone back to hyundai 6 times for the problem and everytime it is something different, they claim it is fixed. I go to fill it and it still does the same thing. Overall its an ok mini-suv but I am not sure with the problems hyundai has given me, if i will ever buy another one.

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  Very unhappy - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By unhappy1980 - June 6 - 10:41 am

  I purchased my veloster 9 months ago and the vehicle is in the shop every other month for a problem. Ive gone past the dealer and still Hyundai Canada is not doing anything. Its ridiculous on how they can sell a lemon and not take responsibility for there default merchandise. I cant even enjoy my vehicle and making payments on a car that spends more time at the dealer then with me.Im very disappointed in hyundai and the customers satisfaction is there thing bullshit. Its excuse after excuse and they lie about the work they claim they did on the vehicle. Im extremely frustrated and ready to take further measures.

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  Unrealiable - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Terhi Millard - June 1 - 2:16 am

  I bought this vehicle, in Apr 04, when it first came off lease; it had a total of 50K. In Dec I had the altinator replaced by my mechanic. I then had a problem with the vehicle stalling. It turned out that the coolant temperature sensor needed to be replaced, which ended up costing me $107 however, they did replace and reprogram two o2 sensors, since this problem was under recall. In Mar of 05, I again had a problem with the vehicle stalling. I had it towed to my mechanic for a price of $90. It turns out that the right wheel bearing needed replacing. The driver side wheel bearing has now been replaced 3 times. THere is also a burning rubber smell inside. Frustrated

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  Warranty to trap you into a low quality - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By misti - May 31 - 6:31 pm

  I have had the worst luck with hyundai. My elantra had the gas pedal stuck and at 3000 rpms on the freeway as i was trying to change from one to another. The warranty is NOT worth the car as I was in the dealership EVERY month!! The input speed sensor, output speed sensor, warning lights, check engine light-hose leaks, ALL on seperate occasions. Then the dealership(Anaheim) told me nothing was wrong with my ac but it has a hideous sound when i turn it to four. they waited until after my warranty expired to tell me NEVER again will I buy from them. The warranty is not worth the endless trips to the dealership (with no loaner either).

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  Very Disappointed by 2011 Hyundai Sonata - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By 2011sonataownr - May 15 - 2:59 am

  Bought this Hyundai Sonata (2011 GLS) new. Thought I would try a Hyundai since seeing all the TV ads about their quality. The Ride is hard. Radio FM tuner sound quality is marginal at best. Radio was replaced due to display fading issue(research on web for more details). Having issues with the engine pinging while accelerating. Only 19K miles on engine, and trying to get it fixed at dealer is not going well.

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  Not a good car - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By James - May 8 - 1:23 am

  This car is not a reliable car. Also, it is very, very expensive to repair. Ride is okay and it has a lot of extras, but none of this has any value if you cant keep it on the road. My primary car is a BMW and it cost less to operate that this car.

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  Be aware of air bags - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By tucsontoobad - May 4 - 6:36 pm

  I purchased my car almost three weeks ago right before the birth of my first child. I purchased this car for the price, style, and safety. Well I only got two of those wished. In the past two months I have only had the car for maybe two and a half weeks. The air bag light in the dash board is always on because the passenger airbag sensor is not working and is never on if there is a passenger or not. Hyundai obviously has no way to fix this problem because after the car being in the shop for a month there is still no resolution just beware if this happens to you because now I have to go through the lemon law and find another car to purchase