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 HER! - 2014 Hyundai Elantra
  By code1 - May 17 - 8:57 pm

  Just bought my new 2014 Elantra Limited and it may be to soon to get an accurate review on the reliability I can say I love this car! Its my first brand new car and im glad I made the purchase! Van Horn Hyundai was extremely helpful in making sure I got exactly what I wanted. I would recommend this car to anyone who is looking for a small or midsize car.

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  Has been a great car, bought used with 35k miles - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By ksh1981 - May 17 - 3:15 pm

  This car is a well-built machine. Solid, fun to drive, reliable, modest (well, very modest on gas), A/C and heat are great. I bought the car used from a dealership in 2011, with 35,000 miles. My jeep completely had died and I was desperate. But since then, (it is now May 2014).. no problems. None. Ive driven long-distance, I commute to work Mon-Fri, and also worked weekends carrying people and 100s of pounds of equipment up to 2 hours away. In all weather, the car did great. This past winter, the battery finally went. 2 degrees F will do that to a battery! Took the car to Sears Auto..new battery...back to normal! If you think you are "settling" for a Hyundai...think again. Test drive one.

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  Value for A to B drivers - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By jake013 - May 16 - 6:26 pm

  If youre looking for a car to get you from point A to point B thats reliable, cheap to own and decent looking, youve found the right car. If youre looking for handling, performance or fun, go somewhere else. Safe, reliable and cheap! Over 250,000kms and still going strong. No rust, heck, the car still looks new. Its never even been rustproofed and I live in Canada.

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  Loving my Azera! - 2013 Hyundai Azera
  By bluebird79 - May 13 - 6:58 am

  I absolutely love this car! I have the Smoke Grey Metallic w/ tech pkg. You rarely see it on the street unlike the Sonata which is everywhere. Its so much car for the money, perfect for business or a night out on the town. Loads of room and I am so glad that they included a 40/60 folding back seat as this does come in handy for those of us with kids. The leather is beautiful and the heated seats are great. Now for the critique: for a car of this price you should not have to subscribe to a service for remote start period Hyundai really dropped the ball with this one it should be standard period! Also at 2500 miles I am still not getting the advertised mileage but I am getting closer.

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  Excellent value when new, even better as preowned - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By papacito - May 13 - 1:35 am

  I bought my 2002 Hyundai Sonata new, driving 100 miles from my home to the dealer who had the color and options I wanted. Overall, this car has been excellent. It now has 190,000 miles on it and I can honestly say the problems that I have had have been minimal. Those issues include a bad oxygen sensor, a power steering leak and the starter replaced, all of these things after 120,000 miles. I will admit that I have not been as maintenance conscious as I should have been, but despite that, she continues to run like a champ.

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  Badly worn rear tires, fishtailing and slipping since day 1 - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By ellegirl - May 8 - 9:27 am

  How do I get the dealership to acknowledge this issue? Both rear tires are extremely worn and cupping causing a deafening roar on the inside of the car. The rear slips and fishtails over bumps in the road (regardless of whether we are going 35 or 60 mph). I thought it was something we needed to get used to, but after much research we realize there is a serious issue. Finally took the car in yesterday to Rick Case Hyundai and the service tech told me it was normal because the rear axle is a solid fixed axle so it cannot be out of line and that the fishtailing/slipping is just because the car is lightweight. Rear tires are visibly pigeon towed and roll slightly inward.

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  Great car, I have certain dislikes - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By rmasters2007 - May 5 - 9:59 am

  Car has only (or exactly) what I need and wanted, and no unnecessary gimmicks (which I would have to pay for and which can brake). The design is what caught my eye first. Plus the great gas mileage. Interior has plenty of space for hips and shoulders. Comfortable seats. Drives nice, very responsive, very comfortable (for a car this class and way built).

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  Bought based on reviews... VERY disappointed - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By aybaker87 - April 29 - 9:48 am

  I bought this car used in February 2011 from a private seller with 32k miles on it. FF 2 years, Ive since had to replace the headlights EIGHT times (even with the top bulbs from Advance Auto), had to replace the passenger seat due to a random airbag malfunction -- which was annoyingly expensive! --, the paint is slowly but surely beginning to chip on the hood, the passenger door handle literally came off. One night, attempt to open the door, the handle broke off in my hand. And most recently, even having had scheduled, routine maintenance done, the engine now needs to be replaced. After everything Ive dealt with, Im buying another car instead of spending 2 grand to fix an unreliable car.

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  I wouldnt buy it again. - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By tanian - April 29 - 8:35 am

  I got this car in May 2011 with only 10 miles on it. At 63,xxx miles the wheel bearings went out, on the driver side then 65,xxx the left side. at 85,xxx spark plugs and computer update. Now at 94,xxx miles the drive train broke. I have a 100,000 mile warranty so its covered. But this car is sluggish at times and the gas milage isnt all that. I average 32 mpg. I drive mostly highway some city. Lots of backroads and hills. The car dents very easy with door dings galore and a small hail storm got the best of it. I found putting V-Power gas in it makes it run alot better. (cost alot more though) and the seats stain with just water.

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  Is this thing really a HUNDAI? - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By sierrapoet - April 28 - 6:26 pm

  Having spent ample time in the seat of Mercedes SL 55 and an AMG 63, I had low expectations of the 5.0 R-Spec Hundai. Uhhhh...WOW, was I wrong. For about 1/3 the cost, the Genesis Sedan is a fantastic luxury muscle car that hangs with the big dollar Europeans. Oh yeah, and for under $40K total, it came with a bumper to bumper 100K mile warranty. The Genesis has so far averaged roughly twice the gas mileage of my two previous Mercedes. Really? a Korean 429 HP luxury sedan that gets 27 MPG? Whats not to like? Great price, fast, comfortable, reliable. The Germans had better up their game really soon, because I just bought two of these things, for less than my last European.