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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  The creaky Coupe - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Stinky - March 9 - 7:06 pm

  This is a follow-up to my previous submission. This model is in its infancy. I cannot speak for others, but mine is seriously lacking in structural rigidity. The Sun roof creaks at low speeds and on uneven pavement. It has noticeable flexion about its long axis. At speed on very smooth pavement it is fine. The front suspension doesnt match the rear at speed when pitching it around...it doesnt have the feeling of being engaged regardless of input. It has a rather squirmy feel to it on uneven pavement. The engine is in serious need of mid range torque and the gear ratios need to be rethought entirely. Not a bad boulevard cruiser as long as the pavement doesnt challenge its structure.

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  GLS V6 with leather is not a bad value - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By bgg - March 9 - 2:00 am

  The ride has seemed to have gotten firmer along with more wind noise since Ive had it. Bumps in the road are very evident. It was kind of loud in the cabin to begin with but its gotten worse as time goes by. Sometimes when its very cold, the windows wont roll down. They fog up constantly if its rainy, or snowy and/or cold. The heater MUST be set on just defrsoting the windshield or all the windows will fog up. Thats a real flaw. The only things Ive had to do is replace the "rear wheel" bearings and Ive had to replace both front headlights. The only thing its missing is a Moon Roof.

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  Electronic issue or just bad parts - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By J.C.J. - March 6 - 3:40 am

  I liked 31/23 mph (but since only getting 26/17) also liked dual moon roofs and style of the dash and interior. But a week after a/c compressor broke & was replaced right away. Then the speedometer intermittently stopped working or read wrong. I took back a few times before they could concur that it was bad. Blue tooth would connect and then kick me out Bluetooth & speedometer repalced. I opened up a case with Hyundai-consumer that something might be wrong with electrical. They replaced and now a month later the blue tooth did the same thing going to replace again. I opened up case suggesting electrical, but they say nothing is related. using up sick days to go to dealers once a month.

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  Veloster speed - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By bkj50 - March 4 - 9:38 am

  I bougth this car to save gas(mainly) ... however, id like to address the issue of acceleration. This vehicle is not the fastest out of the blocks but not a creeper when driven correctly. Its pretty fast once that second gear is achieved. When driving the autoshift its even faster, dont be afraid to step on the gas while going up hill in auto transmission but one should downshift a bit when attempting to gain more power when using the very smooth auto shift clutch. I luv this car, it a lot if fun to drive. This is a fun and semi powerful car for its class when driven correctly.

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  Watch out Camry!!!! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Charlie G - March 3 - 9:23 pm

  Purchased a 4cyl 09 limited in June. On my 2nd tank and averaging 25mpg locally. Build quality excellent. Previously owned 2 Toyotas, both Avalons but the price point on this car was exceptional. Would recommend highly!

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  Very Surprised - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By theboxer5 - March 3 - 2:00 am

  2001 Sonata gls,xlnt value,no major problems,comfortable,gobs of power,negative: front end is very low to ground and received numerous road chips in paint,so buy a bra. Had to buy a new battery at 20 months.

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  Very good car, GREAT value - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Flipper - March 2 - 1:43 pm

  Build quality is excellent, interior is well laid-out but materials are less classy than some competitors. Ride is excellent, though not particularly exciting. Roominess, fuel economy, and reliability/warranty make this car a fantastic value! But Ill confess that Im glad its my wifes car and not mine -- partly because the lack of excitement to drive, partly because at 62", I cant straighten out my legs behind the wheel. Still, amazing that we bought it for less than my 2000 Saturn LS1 when new - especially with all those standard safety features.

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  value for the bucks - 1997 Hyundai Accent
  By santamc - March 2 - 2:00 am

  huge upgrade from the old "econo-boxes" of the 70s & 80s. biggest difference is the ride comfortable seats, good suspendtion (sp.). no power steering is tough at times. I have over 135.000 miles on 97 and no oil consumption! good car for the money!

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  I really like it! - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By happyindywoman - March 1 - 7:41 pm

  Since the first time I saw a Tiburon, I wanted one. Finally, in 2009, I purchased one. It was the first sporty car Id ever owned and I loved the low slung design. Unfortunately, after I drove it for a few months, I started to have trouble getting out of the door. Back problems soon followed. So I gave the car to my husband who loves it. I think I would have had the same back problems no matter what low-to-the ground car I had driven; it has nothing really to do with the Tiburon. When it reached 58,000 miles it suddenly stopped dead on the street. Fortunately, we were still within the warranty period (barely) and ended up getting a completely new engine under the warranty!

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  Nice Car, Horrible Company - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By no thanks - February 28 - 2:00 am

  While I enjoy driving my Elantra, and I cannot come close to saying the same for the company.7 months after purchasing they had made 7 attempts to fix it.The company paid me no attention until I filed for Lemon Law arbitration.The car was fixed another time between them contacting me the week before arbitration and offering me a settlement.The light recently came on again, #10, and now it is like pulling teeth to have them at least honor their agreement.Nevermind the fact that they will now be able to resell my car to another poor customer and make more profit off of it, they are now trying to make me pay for the scratches on my car which is being replaced.