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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  Great car just no power at all - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By mr_nevotti - June 25 - 8:51 am

  I love the car gas is great just has no power like when i go to Tahoe i really have to get all the way in the slow lane and go like 50MPH in the slow lane its horrible.......

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  Champina -- surprised to find a new love! - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By mikistewart - June 21 - 3:16 pm

  We purchased our used 2004 Accent GL Sedan last August for $3,600.00. This amazing compact car quickly became our go-to choice -- even for distance travel! Shes already been roundtrip from Nebraska to Arizona. We named her "Champina". Our first vehicle is a 2001 Dodge RAM Pickup with every luxury Champy was bought as Moms "local errand car". When gas prices topped $3 a gallon, she became our primary transportation. The Accents fuel economy, comfort and reliablity have won us over our 15 MPG RAM is reserved for hauling, intown errands and "boys night out!" She has needed only regular maintenance in >15,000 miles of all-weather mountain travel.

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  Mileage issue - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By youngblood - June 16 - 2:04 pm

  Ive had my Elantra Limited for 3 months and find that my mileage varies considerably based on a couple of factors. 1) Driving at a steady speed of 55-60 mph on an open highway or interstate, Im getting over 40 mpg. But if I drive in the 70-80 mph range, my mpg drops to the low to mid 30s. 2) Driving in the city with lots of stops, the mph drops to the 24-29 mpg range. 3) Using regular unleaded gas (compared with the cheaper ethanol blend sold in the Midwest) results in significantly higher gas mileage. 4) The "ECO" system has no effect on MPG that I can determine.

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  Great car overall - but read the full review - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By tiversen - June 13 - 3:02 pm

  Have driven the car for about 1000 miles. This is a good choice for a highway commuter or inexpensive family car. Hope it holds up - but bought the 10 yr 100k bumper to bumper just in case. Here is the good, the fair and the needs improvement.

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  i wish i was getting the advertised gas mileage - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By debbishaw - June 12 - 9:52 pm

  i bought the car for gas mileage and i am very disappointed that i am only getting 31 MPG on highways. and they were not coming down on price due their gas fuel economy.is this even legal to advertise 40 mpg when it does not come close?

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  Great Car no problems!!!!! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By hellblitz - June 10 - 9:08 pm

  The Car runs Great now going on its fifth year and doing nutting but basic maintenance. Never had a break down. The one defect to this car I would say is the Brakes. The work great and better then most cars Ive driven but they are small which means that you have to change them every 10k to 15k miles depending on how hard you break.

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  40 MPG? - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By jouett - June 9 - 8:54 am

  Ive had my 2011 Limited for two months, and just under 2,000 miles. Traded an 09 Accord EX. Like the looks inside and out, and for the price, think its very well equipped. My only negative remark so far is with the advertised 40 mpg estimate. I understand all the variables that go into the final average fuel numbers. Driving conservatively on 30 mile r/t per day, Ive not seen 30 mpg yet. Prior to the Honda was an 03 Corolla that did provide 30+ mpg. Im hoping this one improve with time.

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  NOT WORLD CLASS - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By harry73 - June 5 - 3:32 pm

  This is my third Hyundai and my first major disappointment. While an otherwise decent car, the Genesis has a fit and finish problem with its roof. The car shows "indentations" or "ripples" around the sun roof and around the antenna installation. My car was review by the Hyundai regional rep and reported that this issue was noted in other cars on the lot and "came that way from the factory". I appealed to Hyundai Customer Connect who reiterated that "other like vehicles displayed the same characteristics,..operating as designed, therefore, no further assistance. The model should be called the "Donald Trump Edition", it has as many "waves" as the Donalds hair do. Major dissapointment!

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  Questionable MPG - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By txn - June 3 - 12:04 pm

  We got this car a week ago solely based on the 29-40 MPG. So far we have gotten 27 during on the first tank. I hope it improves. The car appears to be made well and the quality of the interior is impressive. I just hope the mileage gets into the advertised range. Anyone here fall short of the low end of the range and try to deal witht he dealer on it?

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  Great car for the price! - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By rtz - June 2 - 11:00 am

  Love the looks inside and out. Ride can be rough and road and engine noise loud. Options installed are fantastic! Bluetooth & ipod hook up. Ive had 3 tanks of gas so far (E10 in NY) and I am getting 31mpg with 15% city and 85% highway. Its rated fpr 29 city/40 highway. Im barley getting over city rating with large percentage HW driving.Was hoping for 35mpg combined. Hopefully it will increase over time.