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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  Disappointing - 2012 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By attaymik37 - December 16 - 4:12 pm

  I bought a 2.0T Coupe in October, drove it for over a month and traded it in (I leased) for a Veloster, which suits me better. I thought I was ready for a sports car but the ride, comfort and fuel economy were not at all what I expected. I purchased in Red and it was a beautiful car but not for me. The ride was harsh, there was an annoying buzz on the passenger side, the seats were not comfortable, it aggravated my carpal tunnel and I had to wear my wrist brace just to drive without pain. I also own a Volkswagen CC and the steering, handling and cornering are heads above the Coupe. I wanted to like it but back it went. A disappointment for me.

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  The XG360 is a good deal - 2003 Hyundai XG350
  By jeremy satterfield - December 12 - 2:00 am

  i got my xg only a few months ago i have been impressed with it. I thought that it wasnt going to be a good car but i was wrong it has performance if you put it in manumatic mode which is not even a option on its comp. which it comes standard on the xg it can get to 60 in about 7.5 in manumatic mode and can do the quorter mile in 17.5 which that isnt to shaby for a mid size car especially by hyundai. if a car comes standard with 6 way power driver seats,4 way passenger,leather,manumatic,10 year 100k mile warranty,digital ac/heater,rear vents, cd and cassette,

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  Creaky and unstable - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Stinky - December 11 - 2:06 am

  Ive had this vehicle for a year. The thing has more creaks and protests from its interior than my mother-in-Law does about her aging frame. The handling on pristine pavement is fine. However, if the road surface gets the least bit uneven/rough the suspension simply becomes unpredictable. Ive learned to modify my driving style when confronted with such conditions. Not the hallmark of a true GT/Sports car. At this point in time Im glad that I leased as this vehicle. So, build quality and handling are things that Hyundai needs to consider if they want to be something other than a company that produces affordable cars that merely satisfy as opposed to excite and generate loyalty.

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  safty issue - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By walter37 - December 8 - 9:40 pm

  driver side floor maps are constantly getting tangled up with gas and break pedals the hooks installed cant keep them in place. Passengers side does the same but not a safety concern.

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  Good Car - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Punumscott - December 8 - 8:00 am

  A solid performer. 14,000 miles and no real problems. Have experienced same minor issues mentioned by other owners such as squeaky dash/window and unusual/rough gear changing with auto transmission. Handling is a little loose and suspension is a little rough and noisy. Random feature on infinity sound system has an irritating software flaw that causes it to play the same songs over and over again. On the positive side system sounds great.

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  Faulty Design - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Michael82 - December 7 - 10:00 am

  The base manual 4 cylinder Tiburon is not recommended by me. The engines idle stays very high, (around 2-3,000 RPM) and makes for a horrible shift, while wearing out the clutch. My Tiburon has 7,500 miles and the clutch is starting to shatter. I once timed how long it took for it to idle down while coasting, exceeded 30 seconds, only stopping because i came to a complete stop. Hyundai made it clear that they will not help in any way because thats how they say they designed it. I would like to have known that before i bought it!! I did drive one prior to this purchase which did NOT perform the same way. Basically Hyundai is not standing behind this vehicle!!!

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  Versatile and reliable - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Bryan Rauworth - December 7 - 3:17 am

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  Some good and compromised quality issues - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By abjee - December 6 - 8:54 pm

  I own a Hyundai Sonata 2013 Limited and have put 18 K miles on it. Hyundai Sonata is a solid car overall with a powerful engine, great design and several added features for a lower price. It also has very good safety ratings (which hopefully will not be tested while I am on the road). But to gain on these aspects, there are some compromises made by the company in making this car, which are pretty glaring and somewhat annoying.

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  So Many Problems! - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Scottielisa - December 5 - 9:03 pm

  I have had 2 coil packs go bad. 2 oxygen sensors go bad. Twice they had to replace the front sway bars and it sounds like they need replaced again. The right front hub was replaced and now I have a clunking noise when it is down shifting, shifting up from 1st to 2nd and also it happens in reverse. I currently have 63000 miles. 40000 hwy. I bought it for the style and I had a couple other Hyundais so I thought it would be good quality. I dont know if mine was made on a Friday when they wanted to leave early for the weekend and rushed the job, but Im hoping Hyundai will do something about my continued problems with it. Well see.

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  best bang for the money - 1998 Hyundai Accent
  By trig514 - December 5 - 4:25 pm

  Love my accent, Great mileage and fun to drive