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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  Its not what you think - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ray - April 21 - 10:00 am

  The 4 cyl is underpowered. Rough idle. Needs a 6 cyl engine. Honda Accord or GM 6 cyl make this look sick. Dont waste your money.

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  Speedometer Off - 2007 Hyundai TUCSON
  By ohiomom1 - April 14 - 12:32 am

  I just bought my 2007 Tuscon for fuel economy. I went from my 2003 Chrysler Town and Country Limited to the Tuscon for better fuel economy. I like the car so far. I have a GPS with my MPH on it and noticed that my speedometer was off by 3-5 miles so I took it in to the Hyundai dealership because it is still under the MFG warranty and was told that this is NORMAL according to the manual and there was nothing that could be done. Very disappointing. I have NEVER had my speedometer off in any of my previous vehicles. Come on Hyundai - get it together.

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  Flashy sales pitch, poor result - 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By redrockrover - April 8 - 4:36 am

  Leased this car on the premise of great features together with great MPG. Traded in my old gas-guzzling SUV for "great" gas mileage. First tank lasted 550 miles, I was elated. After that my MPG has been taking a dump. I was quite surprised because my driving style is very cautious, even boring. My lowest whole tank average gas mileage at fill up was 16mpg. Absolutely pathetic, I should have gotten a truck. Got sold on comfy seats and sticker MPG. I expected the mileage to be less than sticker but not like this. If you live anywhere that gets cold, and you dont do lots of long distance driving, avoid this vehicle like the plague. I am counting the days until it disappears from my life.

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  LEAKS, LEAKS AND MORE LEAKS - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By carol from texoma - March 30 - 2:56 pm

  At first I loved it then I had to deal with the dealership. I have had all locks replaced. Timing chain tensioner bent that took a 9 days. But the dealership offered me a ride 1/2 way back to work, what a joke. Then after the dealership turned in the wrong amount of work hours to the extended warranty company they wanted me to pay there mistake. Now I have leaks from the upper oil pan, transmission none of the leaks are covered by warranty. I was told after the fact that I had to buy the bumper to bumper 100K warranty offered by Hyundai. It has turned into a huge let down. I have never had better that 24mpg. I tried to trade in my car the offer was 5K I owe 10K the repairs are 2500.

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  Nice car-poor mileage - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mac - March 30 - 1:26 pm

  Nice car and good price after incentives. Good engine power and smooth transmission. Much standard equipment. Terrible gas mileage- 20.7 mpg best ever achieved on highway, not even close to the promised 30 mpg, which was a strong reason for the purchase. Very noticeable engine lag on acceleration. Distressing suspension noise intrudes in the cabin on uneven surfaces, and busy ride. Too much body lean on curves. Loud knock in dashboard. Steering feels heavy. Seat comfort is disappointing. A and B trips? Wheres B? Heavy initial lift of trunk lid.

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  At Least it Was Under Warranty - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Marie Beck - March 20 - 11:00 am

  When I drove my car home the fist time, I had to turn around and take it back because the brakes were bad. Did not test drive on the Interstate - wont make that mistake again. Since then, I have had the car towed twice for different problems. One was the sensor for the gas pedal, and today for the check engine light and skipping. Only 5K miles left on my Warranty and I will have a Toyota or a Nissan before I hit that mark. I definitely got a Lemon. Each time, the Service Manager knew exactly what the problem was, because he had seen it SO many times on this make and Model.

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  Disappointed by the little things - 2009 Hyundai Azera
  By steve in MD - March 19 - 5:45 pm

  While the fit & finish are nice, I find the front drivers seat to be extremely uncomfortable and Im only 59". The auto headlights are sensitive enough the auto windshields wipers behave erratically the heating- /A/C defaults to A/C "compressor on" and most of the settings on the trip computer reset every time you start the car. On top of that, the Check Engine Light came on after only 24 hours with the car. had it only 3 weeks but considering a trade in. On the whole disappointed by the little things.

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  Many problems - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Brian - March 18 - 11:22 am

  Ive had this car for 3 years, bought it new. Have had many problems with seat back falling off, its been replaced five times and still not fixed (first happened three months after I got the car, on my second coolant leak, cylinder in clutch needed replaced, glove compartment handle fell off, cloth came off the center console, power mirror switch replaced twice, and seat frame has been replaced three times. I would not recommend buying any Hyundai. I have been going through trouble trying to get my whole seat replaced with someone from the Hyundai central office.

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  a good car but not up to luxury quality - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By walter - March 16 - 1:39 pm

  I have only 10,500 miles on this car I find it Nice to drive but not up to the standards I was expecting. The gas mileage is disappointing but does fall within Hyundais spec when using gasoline without ethanol which lowers the mileage by around 3.5 mpg. I find the wind noise a little excessive. Handling is great it is hard to clean the paint. I have problem with slight shake while car is cold goes away as soon as engine warms. The am radio has very very limited reception dealer says this is normal. Overall I find the car not worth the price. I have driven many cars many thousand miles I rate this one average. Walter

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  You get what you pay for - no great deal - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By captainkoz - March 14 - 2:36 am

  I bought a 2008 Veracruz AWD fully loaded except for the nav. At first I loved it. It looks great, rides super quiet unless the road is bumpy, & seemed to be more than it was. Little by little it started falling apart & a lousy service department isnt helping my love for the car. At 17k miles the front rotors warped & (Dis)Advantage Hyundai in Hicksville NY wouldnt honor it. Really? Your going to fight me on rotors at 17k mi? 1st red flag. Then there were 3 recalls which I respect as a good thing, except even with an appointment they took way too long & in summary ended up leaving a cover screw out and cross threading 2 others. When I noticed the missing screw I was accused of leaving it out