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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  116,800 mi, 8 years--never let me down! - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By jasonhk - September 19 - 6:04 pm

  Im surprised at all the mixed reviews here. I live in PA and bought my Elantra new in 06. roughly 6 months are cold, some snowy. I do 50% highway, 50% city. I do all recommended maintenance and in almost 8 years, changed brake pads 2x, tires 3x, headlights 4x, radiator 1x (102kmi), and an 02 sensor. The car NEVER let me down and repairs have been minimal and reasonable. Im considering getting a new Elantra due to greater safety specs, but Im leaning towards just putting in another new timing belt at 120 and doing the service. I totally see myself getting over 200K. Those who report bad things probably beat the hell out of their car. Just take care of it!

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  2011 Equus Ultimate IS Just That... - 2011 Hyundai Equus
  By bsdtwd - September 18 - 9:38 pm

  Recently a purchased 2011 Equus Ultimate with 40k miles. Pearl White with cashmere leather. Amenities too numerous to list. Super quiet, the design is fantastic and turns heads due to its rarity on the road. No complaints. Adaptive cruise and lane departure system work flawlessly. The Lexicon Sound is unmatched. Save $20-30,000 by indulging yourself with a fine Equus with an engine that will go forever. No timing belts or broken engine mounts like MB or Audi.

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  Follow Up Review: I wouldnt do it again! - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By brooklynjoel - September 18 - 4:28 pm

  Sadly, my experience with my car since my last review has soured me on it. I originally purchased it in June of 2012. In the last year, I have experienced multiple issues which make me question the long-term reliability, quality and engineering of this car. My issue with intermittent rough idle continues unabated, whether using or not using the a/c. It is clearly not an engine load issue. As well, now the transmission has developed an absolutely maddening metallic clicking sound intermittently when accelerating from a stop, or a roll, and sometimes when letting off the throttle. There is also a tick in the engine when it hasnt fully warmed up. This car is a "good looker" with a black heart.

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  Equus Ultimate trumps S600 or 750 - 2011 Hyundai Equus
  By bsdtwd - September 12 - 9:24 pm

  Yes its a Hyundai! The best part is the $20000 or more you get to keep in your pocket when you choose this fine car. Front/ Rear cameras, Adaptive cruise, Alcantara head liner, powered sun shades all around, a refrigerator, recliner and a LCD screen in back. Not to mention a remote for the reclining, vibrating, heated and cooled rear passenger seat. 1000 pounds lighter makes a big difference too. 28 MPG on highway!

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  Dont buy a Hyundai - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By jodyy - September 11 - 2:24 pm

  Hyundai is making defective vehicles that destroy tires. They will not acknowledge the defect. A few customers have been lucky and had their rear axles replaced at no cost, but most customers will just be told nothing is wrong and it must be the way they are driving or some other nonsense. I have 40k miles and have gone through 3 sets of tires on the rear. The set I have on now cupped badly within 5k miles and makes the car vibrate and very noisy. Both the dealership and the company will not acknowledge or fix the problem. Do your research before you buy this car. You will see there are many people having problems with rear tire wear/ handling/ noise/ rear axle problems.

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  I have been SCAMMED by Germans !!! - 2014 Hyundai Equus
  By htcrack - September 9 - 9:53 pm

  After owning 14 Equus about 10month, I feel like I havebeen scammed by Germans more than 15years.

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  Hyundai is Reliable!!! - 1999 Hyundai Accent
  By eddie1700 - September 7 - 8:55 pm

  Hello, I just felt impelled to write a review of this car. It is a Hyundai accent 1999, it is a little reliable rider I’ve seen plenty of friends with BMWs and Fords all go down before my ride. I take regular maintenance serious and this car has not let me down. Currently has 150,000 plus miles and I keep track of mileage with highway and city driving I still average 35mpg its amazing very efficient. It might not be the most attractive ride out there but makes up for it in swag points that for sure. Plenty of room in the interior for hauling basics, and again its reliability is incredible.

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  Hyndai Rewards Card for Mileage issues - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By adveragedriver - September 6 - 5:59 pm

  This is less a review of this model than of Hyundia in general. In this case, Im talking about the program to repay customers for when they overstated their EPA estimated mileage. 1st, they "average" the mileage between city and highway. Not so bad, except that they "round" the result to favor themselves. By high school math, whenever you get ".5", it gets averaged upwards. They average it downwards. Thus, for my 2013 Elantra, they were off by "1.5" mpg, so the averaged it to 1 mpg instead of 2. Then they make it very annoying to collect. For example, they dont send you a check, they use a "debit" card which you cant use without looking up your VIN #. Who carries that around?

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  This is a great car - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By ggracchus - September 5 - 11:47 am

  Of course it gets great MPG and is reliable. Our favorite thing about it, though, may seem a bit odd -- it is that it has a button that permits air recirculation for the fan, heater and AC. You may think this is common, but the difference is that once you set it to recirculate instead of pull air from the outside, it STAYS ON. Other vehicles will do an override, like our Ford, that will shut it off. Those types of vehicles think they are smarter than you are, and if the humidity or whatever gets to a certain level, off it goes. We really, really hate breathing pollution from the cars in front of us -- the fan will pull it right from their exhaust pipe into your face.

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  Look out BMW ! - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By wacman - September 4 - 9:00 am

  While I only have 1700 miles on my new Genesis as a BMW owner I can say Look Out 5 series ! This car comparably equipped is $20,000 under MSRP to a BMW 535! And, the 5 has less room to boot ! Getting used to less road feel is the only major difference between the two. You need to drive both and decide for yourself. Then ask the banker what the better value is ! Get all three packages and cruise on down the road!