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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  2013 GLS w/ pop package - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By ricovanian - March 30 - 11:10 am

  Bought new about a week ago. So far, the biggest disappointment is the sound from the stereo. CDs, Radio, Sirius all sound less thanb acceptable. There is a general muddyness that is going to result in having to invest in an aftermarket stereo. Other negative is the "ride" is somewhat bumpier than I am used to with my 09 Accord and 06 Camry. You really feel every bump. Hoping that "breaking in the suspension and tires will help for Positives are: layout of dials, controls. Nice the parking brake lever is not in center of console. The car performs well on turns, pick-up if fantastic (I do not use the "eco" mode). And the car is very sporty looking (I got it in black with spoiler)

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  50/50 - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By BNom - March 29 - 2:00 am

  Love the ride has good pick up for a 4cyl. Had problems with the CD player.The color on the CD player is starting to rub off, driver side visor broke and cracked. Replaced the alternator(took two tries).Replaced brake pads at 20,000 miles mostly highway.Recurring check engine light.Overall you get what you pay for cheap car not completely reliable but generally runs great good gas mileage.***Read the fine print of the warranty statement on Hyundais website, the 10 yr 100,000 mile warranty appears to just be on the powertrain and most of the warranty expires on important parts of the car on years 1-3-5.

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  Best Hyundai - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By dlflyboy - March 28 - 9:00 am

  Just took delivery on July 15th. Its a nice car. Good looks and ride. Nice features. I average 23mpg mixed driving. The car has a nice exterior design. Inside is kinda boring. Get the Lexicon sound system. Youll love it (I know I do). However, the cd changer had to be replaced (stopped working). The service department is not up to par with other luxury dealers (especially BMW). Loaners are nice when your car is in the shop for a day (the shuttle vans dont cut it). And for the amount of time I own a car (usually 3 yrs) BMW still has the best warranty. Love the standard maintenance warranty (4yr 50k). At the end of the day this is still just a Hyundai. But, overall Im happy with the car.

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  Very Satisfied - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By silver foxx - March 28 - 6:46 am

  I purchased my car 2 weeks ago - silver GLS model. So far 700 miles and Im happy with the vehicle. Coming from a Buick V6, I am happy with my new Sonata.

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  not a lemon - 1995 Hyundai Sonata
  By sonata user - March 28 - 2:00 am

  I had problems with my auto transmission, I did not have the transmission coolant flushed, so it overheated eventually and killed the transmission, bought a new one, still going strong. Had a fault with the auto door locks, sometimes they would lock without warning when I got out of the car, locking my keys in. The brakes have lasted forever on this car, confortable ride even on the worst frost-heaved roads. My only complaint has been expensive parts/ unavailability of parts. Right now I need a valve cover gasket, and none of the dealers can get it for me.

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  good car except for the mileage - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By amcurtis1 - March 26 - 12:18 pm

  love the car and the support from the dealer... except for the gas mileage. I have 5600 miles on it now and I have been getting 27-28 mpg combined with a 60/40 mix of highway/city miles. I try to not hit the gas to much or run the ac to hard. Today I got my computer reprogrammed for the recall that was just issued hopefully this will fix the mpg to what was advertised. I also came home to a letter informing me that hyundai is sending hybrid owners a $50 debit card for the recall inconvenience.

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  2011 Sonata Turbo - Inherent Rattle that Hyundai says is expected. - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By kappamerc - March 26 - 5:28 am

  The car is fantastic with one minor flaw that you may run into: The car Rattles when going between 2000-3500 RPM. There is a TSB from Hyundai stating that the rattle is expected and they wont fix it: During normal engine operation, natural engine vibrations are transmitted to the turbocharger waste gate actuator rod, the pivot point, and the waste gate valve. The rattle or buzzing sound that may occur results from the required tolerances in the waste gate pivot point and the waste gate valve. These tolerances are necessary to allow operation under the extreme operating temperatures experienced by the turbocharger. This is unacceptable. I hate that I bought this car.

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  1 year update - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Drvrage - March 26 - 2:00 am

  To give an update after one full year of driving in both the hot and cold of Canada I have to say Im still in love with my car. Still fun to drive, Zero problems. Still feels tight and downright zippy. If you dont get snow tires youll be sorry. Im buying mine in a couple of days to prepare for the snow. I also recently got stuck in super heavy fog and really appreciated the fog lights. Excellent car. No reservations in recommending it. It is a keeper.

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  hotdog - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By whoever - March 26 - 2:00 am

  i have found the sana fe to be a very good car this is our second however i have been having a problem with the paint since day 1 the clear coat keeps bubbling in places i had a heck of a time to get them to repaint the hood were it was the worst now i have a place the passenger door where it is doing the same thing

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  Good deal - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By RL - March 25 - 12:10 pm

  Some minor adjustments needed (hood alignment, headlight aiming). A little bit of rattling in the cabin while driving on bumpy road.