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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  The issue is MPG - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By ritpg - August 22 - 6:04 pm

  As the former owner of a 2003 Camry XLE, I would not say Hyundai is quite up the the Toyota standard. For example, the the buttons on the steering wheel feel flimsy compared to the Camry. There are times when some buttons have to pushed more than once to activate such as the unlock button on the driver side door. In the case of the Sonata hybrid, my conclusion is that this model was rushed to market and not ready for "prime time". The gas mileage has deteriorated significantly. There have been many service calls (all paid for by Hyundai). So far Hyundai is not standing behind this car as I continue to navigate through their service maze.

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  I REALLY wanted to love this car... - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Christine Snyder - August 22 - 6:29 am

  I really wished these reviews had been on this website before I decided to lease this car. I REALLY REALLY wanted to love this car. I chose the 2016 Tuscon over a certified pre-owned Santa Fe and now I am regretting that decision. I got this car March of this year (2016) and everything seemed great at first. Oddly enough, I never noticed the hesitation when accelerating from a stop when taking the car for a test drive. I read a review on here that said that it was normal for a turbo engine but trust me, NOTHING about this engine is normal or safe. The dealership and Hyundai will also try to tell you over and over that the engine is normal. I receive BlueLink reports every month and EVERY TIME it has told me that the engine needs attention even though I have been getting regular oil changes and service performed. This never happened with the Sonata I leased before this car. Everything other reviewers have said about this car is true. It is extremely unfortunate because I love everything else about this car. I get compliments constantly on the look (I got the Caribbean blue) and the entertainment and safety features are awesome but I just absolutely hate the engine. Almost every time I try to accelerate from a dead stop, the car hesitates for a good 1-5 seconds and this leaves you completely stuck on the road. It feels like Im being rear-ended whenever Im in stop and go traffic on the freeway because the car is so jerky. It is also very jerky sometimes when accelerating. Its a nightmare!! Now Im a person who gets motion sickness but usually I dont get car sick as long as Im driving but I swear this car makes me feel sick! I was really hoping the software update would fix it but it didnt....Im afraid it only made it worse because the car feels jerkier than ever. It also feels like the car isnt going to brake sometimes which is extremely scary. I have also had weird computer glitches. One time I turned the car on and the navigation system was stuck on the screensaver and would not work. Just recently, the car warned us that the back right tire had low tire pressure but my husband checked all of the tires and they were fine. I am also disappointed that it doesnt have a CD player....Im sure most people wouldnt mind since everyone uses an iPod these days but I noticed that the other Hyundai models do and theyre the same year. This seemed a little odd to me. It is VERY disappointing that Hyundai refuses to acknowledge this very serious problem (the transmission, not the CD player lol). I considered myself a loyal Hyundai customer before but I think Im going to have to look somewhere else for my new car. I plan to transfer my lease and get into a new car ASAP. DO NOT BUY THIS CAR!!!!!!!!!

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  Isabella- thats her name - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By KATHY RAMSEY - August 21 - 4:53 am

  I love my car, the only thing I do not like is the pick up at a full stop. It is very slow at first but then is fine once you are going. Pulling out is traffic is not my favorite thing to do with this SUV. I have had a problem with getting shocked every time I get out. Passengers have too. The dealership has twice now said there is nothing wrong. Anyone else having this problem? Winter was very bad, summer not as bad but still happening.

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  Great car-SW Elantra - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kelvinator - August 21 - 2:00 am

  I decided to buy a station wagon that was economical and yet could cruise at 120 kph in the BC rockies and be confortable in big city traffic.I did my homework and ended up buying a sandle wood coloured SW Elantra, fully loaded, with additional roof rackage and a black bra to highlight its pleasingly nice looks and a disabler alarm system was free.79,000 km later it has not disapointed as there has not been a single hickup, even the brakes recently checked out at 75% remaining. At 145 HP and 35 MPG I could not be happier. Extremely low maintenance.

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  Sonata Shortcomings - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By John - August 20 - 2:00 pm

  Gas mileage is suspect. While local driving is OK, highway mileage is low. Ive gotten 25 MPG when driving on Interstates at the posted speed limits. When I asked about the mileage, I was told that the tests were done with 91 octane, which is not mentioned on the window sticker. It is in the owners manual, but one does not see that until he/she is the owner. Frankly, I was disappointed that I can only get the low end of the mileage range with the recommended octane gas--87 octane. I dont believe the warranty lives up to the hype. If it does, why do I need to pay $1593 for additional warranty coverage?

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  Great small wagon- lots of room - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By sshoredrvr - August 18 - 12:03 pm

  This is a great small car for city driving but it has a lot of cargo space. I did a ton of research and looked at similar cars, this was the least expensive but had similar features. The car drives nice and has handled well in the snow. I am short and did not find as many blind spots as with other cars, yet there is a lot of headroom. It is slightly higher than standard cars, giving me a good view of the road It is not the the most exciting car but it drives well and is functional- the cost and reliability of Hyundai won me over. I have had no problems so far

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  Gas mileage - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Maldonado1050 - August 14 - 2:00 am

  Ive been pretty disatisfied with the poor gas mileage Ive been getting the longer Ive owned this car. When it was new, I was getting about 28 mpg in the city, but that was still less than my average 30 mpg Id been getting from my 94 Mazda Protege. Also, performance has suffered, too. Now it seems like the engine isnt breathing right. Ive taken it in to my local dealer and theyve been great! But my mpg continues to decline Im now getting barely 23 mpg/city, 29 mpg/highway. Also had some hesitation problems upon intial ignition FYI, there is a fix for this at your dealer. Ask them to update the software on your cars computer.

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  Worth a look. - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Unexpectedly nice - August 12 - 9:03 am

  Received this car as a rental for a week inplace of my Cadillac(what! no devilles for rent!,lol). When i got in this car i noticed it was quite decent. It was fully loaded but did not have leather(Hyundais leather is cheap and rubbery anyway). This car accelerates, brakes and handles well, had a robust V6, sunroof, good sound system. For what? $18-19k, and thats without any discounts. I must note this car does have questionable high-speed handeling.

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  First New Car - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Nick Rowland - August 11 - 6:26 pm

  Im an army guy and I just bought my Tucson fully loaded 3,000 miles ago. It has been wonderful. I moved from GA to upstate NY and needed the winter features and 4WD. I love the car, the price and the warranty. The SanteFe I drove did not fit my 64 frame as well as the Tucson does. I got the extended warranty option which is 10 years bumper to bumper and its transferable! The price was the same as the sunroof. I testdrove all of its competitors and thought it over for couple weeks. I love the car.

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  Lot of Car for the money - 1999 Hyundai Accent
  By akasurf - August 10 - 2:00 am

  Since purchasing my Accent in 1999, it has served me well! I replaced a Toyota that was 17 years old. I was a bit nervous about purchasing the Accent at first. But since owning this car I am sold on them! This car is every bit as good as my Toyota. It use to take me 60 miles to work and home again. Never skipping a beat, never letting me down! I offen recommand a Hyundai to my friends, and several have purchase them.