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:

• 

  Still makes me smile! - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By yulia_gk - June 9 - 12:17 am

  I am the second owner of my Tib, and it has been a pretty decent car in all respects. The V6 is still sharp after all of these years and Ive been able to keep the car in good shape with relative little expense. With good attention to vehicle care, the factory leather and interior still look outstanding. Reliability is worth considering if you look at a used Tib - sensor quality is low and many are prone to failure. The clutch is also known for premature failure in Tibs - my car is on #3 in 110k. Modification of the clutch slave delay valve can improve clutch performance. In spite of all of that, I find the car relatively easy to work on and fun to own! Great value overall!

• 

  I would recommend, - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MMH - June 8 - 7:46 am

  I have had a great experience. Almost one year. Only trouble thus far cloth came away from driver side door handle, will be fixing. Also the esc light came on. Took it in to dealer was fixed right away, awesome service. There is no button or lever to "pop the trunk" even on key chain. Would love this when carrying a baby & bags in & out of car. Drives smooth, everyone who rides in car is always impressed. This is the best value after lots of research with other brands. Spend the extra money for the sante fe over the Tucson. Its worth it.

• 

  Two Years and Still Happy - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Laura - June 5 - 10:00 am

  Weve had this vehicle for almost two years now (48,000 KM) and still love it. It looks great and weve had zero service issues with it thus far. The only two small issues that we have with it would be the not-too-great gas mileage and a bizarre helicopter type sound in the car if one rear window is open when there are no others open - strange problem, but we quickly learned not to do that! We are still very happy with the vehicle and have since recommended it to others who have also bought a Santa Fe!

• 

  One nagging problem - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Alan - June 5 - 10:00 am

  Since buying the car Ive had a wind noise at the front doors. Ive been to the dealer 8 times to try to get this fixed. They adjusted my door one time but it didnt help. I drove a different Sonata today with a service writer and even the new one had the same annoying noise. He said he hears it, but never noticed it until I pointed it out. I called Hyundai consumer affairs and am waiting to see what they will do for me. I told them Id like then to buy the car back. Ive never been more unhappy with a car. If not for this one problem, I would be very pleased with it. Be sure to take the actual one you are going to buy for a test drive first and pay attention to wind noise.

• 

  Awesomeness - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By KK - June 4 - 12:46 am

  This is my second Hyundai. My first car was a 1995 Accent and I totaled it in an accident. I wanted another two door and initially went to test drive an eclipse. The dealer wanted me to test drive this car and I fell in love. The ride is so smooth, it handles so well except in rain or snow when driving around curves you have to really slow down or youll hydroplane and swerve a lot. I get a lot of compliments on this car and most people dont believe its a Hyundai. It runs so well. Ive had a few probs like needing a new starter after I rear ended someone, and new transmission wires bc they were loose, but the dealer was great!

• 

  Very good try at a ReDesign - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By newtohyundai - June 2 - 2:40 am

  Overall, I like my first Hyundai. I had some initial problems that were scary. The transmission had several episodes of rough shifting/jerking. The Owners Manual said the transmission has a learning curve. My last 5 Hondas never gave me shift shock while learning my driving habits. The mileage avgs have been 29city and 33hwy after 1800 miles. The car is quiet and comfortable. Now my biggest issue is the Speedometer. It was reading high by 9%. Hyundai changed the Instrument Cluster, which brought the error within their specs. It still reads high by 8% and Hyundais DPSM will not allow any more work on this problem. Everyone, think about your odometer running you out of warranty early.

• 

  Overall, its nice - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By areacode704 - June 1 - 3:53 pm

  But Im concerned. The suspension is too tight--I feel every little bump in the road. And what is obviously something that is going to have to be addressed by Hyundai is the fact the car pulls dramatically to the left at speeds higher than 40 mph. I took it to the dealership shortly after I bought it to get it looked at. I was told that the steering is electronic and that it was due to the crown of the road that the car pulls to the left. Then I got home and did a google search for "Hyundai Sonata pulls to the left" and WOW! Many are having this problem and Hyundai pretends the issue doesnt exist. Im going to give it a chance and go back to the dealership armed with new knowledge.

• 

  To replace a totalled 1998 Altima.... - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jazzel - May 30 - 3:36 pm

  I was renting a Sonata GLS that was thru the insurance for 30 days as my car was totaled. I was impressed with the car and since I test drove a 2009 Sonata GLS for a month, I talked myself into buying a Sonata Limited 2009 w/o Nav. I paid $4375 below factory invoice that includes the 3000 rebate. Driving experience- suspension could be better, but no biggie. Everyone talks in the reviews of great MPG (30-34) on highways. I have not seen much written about city MPG. Mine is around 19-20 MPG in City driving which is not that impressive. Hope it improves as the car just finished the break in period. On freeway it is 30- 32 and as soon as I get off the ramp it drops to 20-21 in just 10 miles.

• 

  XG300L - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By Jimmy-Bob - May 30 - 2:00 am

  I Love my XG it is a great buy for the money. I had it back only 7 times, 3 times for the same problem with EGR system and 3 times because of tires where bad from Michelin tires. I had it back once for electrical but they got it fixed right away with a free loaner. That was great! The transmission def. can use improvments and also the suspension could use some improvements to recall the suspension would be a great Idea and make consumers happy. To many clunks and feel even little bumpes, but the 02 is a little better but still needs a little bit more on suspension, and the transmission still is no good.

• 

  good little SUV - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Bernie N - May 29 - 10:26 am

  All in all its a great value. Roomy for a small car. Nothing is exceptional, but nothing is poor either except for the gas mileage. Im getting 17 to 19 mpg.