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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  So close, but a few suggestions - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By rb7385899 - January 30 - 11:06 am

  Have an 09 Elantra Touring already, & bought a 12 Accent Hatch SE. Im blown away by the mileage. Over 35 mixed use easy to get well over 40 Hwy. The accent is quieter & more refined than the (more expensive) Elantra Touring, w/comparable passenger room, but the cargo space is tighter, & a higher liftover. Im disturbed by the lack of spare tire Dealer has promised to alert me when the "donut kits" arrive. Also there is no ext temp display. How much did they save by leaving THAT out, LOL? Paid sticker, plus dealer installed mudflaps & iPod cable. Elecrolyte Green. Other than that Im completely satisfied. Paid $18,020 including delivery,

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  Gas Mileage Ratings not even close!! - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By winvid33 - January 26 - 2:42 pm

  This car for the most part is what it is advertised. A cute reliable fun to drive car. My biggest qualm is the gas mileage. I drive my car mixed between highway and city. Their sticker says 30 for city, and 33 mixed. I average 28MPG. I have tried both the active eco mode and standard mode, and actually if I drive it easy in normal mode, do just as good as ECO. Plus, in my opinion, the active ECO mode is actually dangerous to use. I have had Fords that have been dead on as far as the EPA estimates are concerned. They should change their sticker to better reflect the actual fuel economy! Especially since this is the exact reason people buy this vehicle.

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  Poor Mileage - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By unclogum - January 24 - 7:41 pm

  Eight thousand miles including a 2,300 mile trip where above 65 is a no no . You who like to say 40 mpg need to forget the trip computer and do it with a calculator . Warning , you will not like it. Power steering went nuts at 3,000 mile and car was shopped for 3 days. Wind sheild wiper blades replaced after 8 months with Napa ones. What a difference. Other than that Ok car. Would not replace with another . Mileage claim annoys me and from what I read , a lot of other folks as wall. Figure ave 33 mpg.

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  12,000 Miles and Happy - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By zunni - January 23 - 2:40 pm

  I purchased the 2012 model back in the summer of 2011 - this has led to some confusions in reviews. This is really a great car - for its design intentions -- I purchased it due to my 120 mile per day commute - all highway - it has been reliable, and the gas mileage claims have been very accurate. I love the look of the car, its handling and its fairly peppy for a small car. My major gripes - the car is extremely light and does not do well in any cross winds - it becomes jittery. The front and rear body work is on the cheap side - all light polymers... In snow it is terrible - I just purchased a set of snow tires and this fixed the problem

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  Mileage Update - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By youngblood - January 21 - 8:44 am

  Update on mileage: I now have over 6,000 on my 2011 Elantra and mileage numbers have not improved. Im getting 23-24 mpg on city streets with moderate stop/go traffic (avg speed 26 mph). On the interstate Im getting 32 mpg at 75 mph and 35-36 mpg at a steady speed of 65 mph. In the warmer fall weather I did get 40 mpg once when driving a steady 55 (with everyone else passing me). The city mpg is the most disappointing as it is not much better than our larger Nissan Altima. I thought the EPA revised their mileage estimates downward to be more "real world," but it appears they are still inflated.

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  Great Commuter - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By cachec1883 - January 20 - 2:23 pm

  Overall, this is a great car to own. Purchase price was below other vehicles ($18,100), the warranty is the best in the industry, and maintenance costs should be low. Hyundai uses a timing chain rather than a belt, so there will be no replacement needed every 60k miles like a Honda. Hyundai also has a sealed transmission that will never need to be flushed or have fluid replaced. The owners manual also recommends changing the oil only every 7,500 miles under normal driving. Fuel efficiency has ranged from 37-39 mpg at freeway speeds in good weather, and 33-37 mpg in cold weather.

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  Awesome company provided car - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By mboughman - January 17 - 9:19 pm

  This car was bought as a company car by the company for me. MPG were a huge reason for the purchase and I am observing about 32 mpg (not the 42 Hyundai says you will get) however I do not drive with ECO on. Either way, this car is very comfortable for subcompact standards and is packed with features, again for subcompact standards. Personally I own a full size 07 GMC and 09 Maxima, so I know comfort. That considered, it drives very well and induces grins while driving. I recently took a trip from Raleigh NC to Balimore MD in this car and was very comfortable the entire way, keeping in mind that I am a 62" 290lb man. All in all, Hyundai hit the mark with this one.

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  2012 Elantra " Diesel" engine - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By maleoskop - January 10 - 10:31 am

  I bought a 2012 GLS on 12/20/2012. After two days I thought it was a diesel as it "rattled" that much. Took it to the dealer and they found metal shavings in the oil of my car with 26 miles on the clock.They replaced it for a 2012 Limited and this one has a worse grinding "diesel" like sound. I drove a Jetta TDI which is half as quiet as my Elantra. This is not just at startup, but when you accelerate. Am I crazy or is this just how the motor sounds? My friends 2012 doesn`t sound half as bad.

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  I beat [violative content deleted] out of this car everyday! - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By 2canchew - January 10 - 1:55 am

  I bought it new in 2008 and I beat [violative content deleted] out of this car everytime i drive it. It has bounced off the rev limiter thousands of times. Its screams @ 4500-5000rpm driving down the hwy everyday. I have over 110,000 miles on it now and it runs as good as new. doesnt burn oil or coolant. I still have the original brakes on it and its four years old and it gets smothered in Canadian salty roads 7 months of the year. Bottom line best car ever made nothing fancy but im going to drive this one into the ground and buy a new one no questions asked. Im a Hyundai owner for life.

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  Pretty Impressive - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By thetexastom - January 4 - 4:51 pm

  My previous cars were Audi, BMW and Infiniti. The Genesis is easily in the same class. The ride is very nice. Not so soft that it floats, but is stiff enough to handle well. Is quiet and has the features that you would want.