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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  Hyundai--No Way #2! - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By Hyundai--No Way #2! - March 2 - 3:29 pm

  Had to replace rear brakes at 23,000 miles. Had to replace a all four tires at 23,000. Had to replace the battery at 25,000...all at own cost. The 2 shocks and 2 struts had to be replaced twice at 29,000 because the factory parts were also defective! (fortunately the shocks and struts were under warranty). If you are going to buy a cheap car to save money like I did, try a different manufacturer.

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  Great Value - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pastor B - March 2 - 4:23 am

  After shopping around for a few weeks & a lot of haggling (which I hate) I was able to purchase my Sonata for the Edmunds TMV of $19,015. The car is very comfortable and Im getting 18 mpg city & 26 mpg hwy @ 75-80 mph. The downside. There is too much plastic used. The "chrome" is coming off the interior front passenger plastic door handle. Dealer has ordered a new one. CD player wouldnt eject, or play. Shut the engine off & disc ejected. Alarm went off while driving through a parking lot. I guess the computer corrected those problems as they have not reocurred & are working properly. Having to hold it under 55 mph for the 1st 1200 m. Excess road noise.

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  great little car - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By drumthumper - March 1 - 8:57 pm

  I bought my Accent to replace a 2000 Saturn that failed me only after not even a year. I drive over 100 miles a day and this has been a good car for that. I have had the check engine light on a couple of times for a random misfire but it goes out after a couple of starts (I did have the dealer check this and they said it should be fine). I compared this with a Yaris and found the Yaris was more expensive considering the features (and warranty). It is not the most comfortable car but again I drive a long distance each day. I would and have recommended this car as a cheap commuter (though I could have gotten it even for less if I could have been able to wait a few more months).

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  Goodbye Elantra..... Hello Tucson! - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By 4TH-Hyundai Owner - March 1 - 9:00 am

  Having traded in my 02 Elantra GT Hatch for the Tucson, I was amazed at what Hyundai had done with their newest SUV! I love the additional performance I get from the 2.7 V-6, as opposed to my previous 2.0 4-Banger. The interior is laid out so "User- Friendly", and pleasant to look at. Everything is right where you need it! I thoroughly enjoy the height increase, that I get going from a sedan to a SUV. I can actually see the traffic ahead now. The ease of the seats folding down, including the front passengers seat back, was a big seller for me. The added bonus of 10 airbags, ABS/TCS/ESP, was the main reason I purchased. Not to mention that my insurance went down $25 from the Elantra.

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  Great car but... - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By bykdude - March 1 - 12:25 am

  Ive had this little guy since April this year (about 6K mileage) and for the most part has met expectations. Very comfy ride and maneuverability. Depending upon highway surface, you may experience some side to side drifting. Just hang onto the steering wheel. Dont know if its the tires or not. Like most other reviews, the one exception is the power perfomance factor. All I can say is if you want power, get a V8 cause this little guy is a dog; if you want mileage get this car. Im averaging roughly 37 mpg but I do mostly highway driving. All in all a good buy but consider giving up some mpg for a little more power if thats important.

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  Still happy - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Diane R - February 28 - 11:13 pm

  I traded in my 2003 Ford Windstar that was getting around 17 miles a gallon for this car. I still like approaching it in a parking lot and still think it is pretty cute. I got a 5 speed because I had one as a kid and was going through a mid-life thing! The gas mileage is a steady 29-31 depending where I drive. I still really like it overall. My husband keeps asking me if I still like it and it has been 8 months. I am not sure when he thinks I will say no. But I hope never!

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  Jerky Trans - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By jarucker - February 28 - 2:48 pm

  It is hazardous to drive this car. There are several issues occurring. The transmission is jerky, hesitates and some times the vehicle comes to a complete stop and will not move, after shuddering and pulling forward. The car does not even have 5000 miles on it. The interior lights flicker on and off. The A/C acts as if it is about to go out. There are times when it seems as if the AC is not even on. The carpet is super thin. I noticed this because a piece is missing and it is a very thin layer that seems to sit on a piece of cardboard. It is too scary to drive it. You have no clue when the car is going to "decide" to come to a complete stop. It always seem to happen when you are on the interstate or when traffic is heavy. It is as if you are risking your life each and every time you drive the car. The Bluelink - car assurance - that comes with the vehicle is not trustworthy. You are "supposed" to get a report when something is not functioning as it should. However each and every time that I have had a problem, Bluelink has not detected this problem. The dealership also cannot get the vehicle to replicate any of the problems so they dont consider there to be any problems. In the mean time you still have to pay for a car this is really worthless.

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  In one word "crap" - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By na - February 27 - 5:19 pm

  This is my first new vehicle. I was looking for something with good warranty , fit in my budget, good gas mileage. I got some of that . I have had it for a short time and its been in the shop more times than i would like to count. I would not recommend this car and will never buy anything from Hyundai again.

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  Great Car for the money - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By AVIBobcat08 - February 27 - 11:47 am

  My little 2006 Elantra is a great car for the money. It has great acceleration in fact some of friends get fooled and think it has a V6 when it is only a 2.0 L engine. I love this car it gets 37 mpg on the freeway and 26 city not bad for this car. My only complaint was the tires they only lasted 33,000 miles but for the price of the car I cant complain it out lasted my cousins more expensive corolla which left her sit a few times so all and all its a great car

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  You got to have one of these! - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Denise - February 27 - 10:30 am

  It drives nice, easy to handle. Smooth ride. Weve traveled to Florida to Kentucky. Heated leather seats are very comfortable. A lot of room in the whole car, passenger area in back comfortable and plenty of room for arm near the window. Back seats are easy to adjust. Its a wonderful car and I hightly recommend it! I would buy second one...I came out of a Honda CRV and didnt think I would buy anything else...but I did!