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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  Love It! - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Happynewowner - May 29 - 2:00 am

  Have had it since March, Love my Ride!!! Turning Radius is so small its like driving a go-cart, so much fun to drive. 6 speaker stereo is awesome too. I really have no complaints except the drivers seat could have been filled with firmer padding on the sides, seems to be wearing out already. Getting 25 MPG around town and 30 on the highways so very pleased with that.

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  reliable, but unexciting Sonata II - 1995 Hyundai Sonata
  By American in Korea - May 27 - 2:00 am

  My father-in-law gave me this car with about 100,000 km. Its not the nicest car Ive ever driven, but it is VERY reliable. It has never broken down on me. It starts up in the snow and cold no matter what. So far, all Ive replaced has been a battery, distributor cap, and plugs. Getting work done on Korean cars in Korea is dirt cheap, so that is a plus. Same problem with power door lock gremlins. They lock and unlock on their own all the time. When I get out without my keys, I make sure to roll down the window first! It has 155,000 km. (nearly 100,000 mi.) on it now and should be strong for much more.

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  Love the look...NOT pleased with the performance and durability - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By amij - May 26 - 7:41 am

  This was my very first new car. I was very pleased with the price. I got the Hyundai employee discount. I only paid about $16,800 for a brand new vehicle! I love the gas mileage and look, however, I do am not pleased with the vehicle. My car is only a year old and I have had SEVERAL issues with it. My door fram has peeled twice, my steerling wheel has peeled, my horn quit working, my light buttons stick and on top of this my engine tries to stall upon excelleration( which they still have not fixed because they said it isnt showing up on the computer) Its annoying to have to contine to drive 100 miles round trip to get it fixed all of the time. Its a new car..shouldnt be happening.:(:(:(

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  It is what it is - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By Harvey - May 26 - 2:00 am

  This is a quality commuter car. Despite its slight appearance, it will take a beating and keep delivering. Mileage is great and the annual maintenance cost is minimal. An ideal car for those with a long commute, or a good first car for a teenager.

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  Beware of 2000 Hyundai Sonata - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By rpchuang - May 25 - 2:00 am

  I had transmission replaced the first year I purchased the car when it would skip by the second gear. The transmission again was replaced in year 3 and again in year 4. The 10 year warranty was the main selling point when I purchased the Sonata, but I dont think it wouldve lasted that long. Thank God I got rid of it before the five year comprehensive expired.

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  Hyundai Elantra - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dyonda Williams - May 24 - 10:00 am

  I have had to have my vehicle serviced 9 times in a 16 month period. The transmission went out at 1500 miles. The sunvisor on the drivers side constantly has to be replaced. I have had to have 2 control arms.

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  Great value for the money! - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Dinerokid - May 24 - 2:00 am

  I have driven this car since September and there are just a couple things that I am not happy with: Miles per gallon- The sticker idicated 19 City/27 Hwy and I have barely averaged 20 MPG on mostly highway trips the car now has 7,500 miles I took it to the dealer after 1,000 miles was averaging 12.8 MPG. The automatic transmission lags on emergency acceleration - I will have the dealer check it at the next service. The 4 speed transmission is adequate in city traffic, but should have overdrive for higher speeds.

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  nice car for the price - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By andrew - May 22 - 3:06 am

  Ive had this car since 2006 and have put 24,000 on it so far. Ive replaced the belts and front brake pads; done my own oil changes and had the atf replaced. The automatic tranny has never felt right, it shifts weird but has never broke down. The power is decent and the handling is ok. The brakes are fantastic but to sensitive at times. I locked the left front wheel only in a sudden stop and the car had handling issues after that. Its noisy even with the windows rolled but the sunroof is a great feature. The fuel regulator leaked so I replaced it but the new one started leaking after a year. The stereo is possessed. Cant skip forward on a cd just back, changes from radio to cd on its own.

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  best car for the money - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By jh - May 21 - 10:30 am

  I changed my car from Honda Accord to Hyunai Sonata because of car accdident. I am satisfied with the car so far. It gives me a lot of power and space for the money. This car also gives me good riding and low level of noise. The most sarisfied feature is the power. You can only get 4 cylinder one from Japanese bench marks such as Accord or Camry at this price. I like the quiet interior, too. However, sometimes I miss the engine sound of my previous Honda when I was accelerating.

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  Overall a great car - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By paulsparrow - May 16 - 10:46 am

  After we drove ours off the lot we immediately had two problems. Paint was flecking off and our transmission went. The paint was redone on the trouble spots at no charge and we havent had issues since. The transmission was replaced only to be replaced again a few months later. Since then we have had no troubles. Outside of oil changes, the odd light etc this car has been for the most part great. Two issues we have had to date have been the speedometer has gone four times now, each not covered. The other is the one power window has gone twice now. No engine problems or other cosmetic problems. Overall a fantastic deal