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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  Bad Rotors - 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By ryan.prentice - December 4 - 7:56 pm

  Rotors warp continuously. Warranted item but no easy fix. The red tape process for getting approval to replace a warranted item will have you eating blood pressure medication at age 30. Hyundai claims they have a "Bumper to Bumper" warranty for 5 years 60,000 miles. Good luck getting them to honor it. Not to mention the replacement of the wheel bearings and seals at about 15000 miles! Of course it took another 3000 miles for them to replicate the sound! Recently took a service manager for a spin and he heard it every turn but the service tech couldnt replicate, hmmm sounds familiar. Overall Hyundai promises you the best warranty but hardly delivers! Still trying to get the rotors replaced.

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  NOT GOOD - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tracie - December 3 - 10:00 am

  I have had the vehicle for 1.5 years and had the transmission replaced once. Now I maybe looking at another new tranmission. Just got my oil changed and they informed me that I have metal scrapings in my transmission fluid. When I called the dealership, they said they are out of loaner cars and cannot get me in for 2 weeks. Very poor service! This thing has been in the shop for a good portion of my ownership. Maybe I got a lemon, but I would expect the dealership to go out of its way for me to rectify the situation. I am a young buyer and have many more vehicles to buy in the future. Sad to say but I will never buy another Hyundai!

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  right - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By g - December 2 - 2:21 am

  bought w/32k in dec 04, its noisy (weather stripping stinks) the dash sounds like a kitten, rear struts squeak (probably leak), replaced oil dipstick at 37k(rust...hmm?) mass air flow sensor at 43k, remapped the computer (whatever that means) 2nd & 3rd gear grind,driver and passenger side window rattle when down, speedometer or tach make noise, cup holders in a odd place.new front brakes at 48k.warranty is up in jan 06 eek!...so whats next to fix!

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  not for the long haul - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By P.G - November 28 - 5:52 pm

  Great little commuter car, 32 mpg, not a car for long trips. Seats poor quality, even in the "upscale" GT model. The car has been reliable with 32K in under 10 months.

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  Nothing but problems - 2013 Hyundai Veloster
  By JT - November 22 - 9:18 am

  I have owned this car for the last two years. Within a month of purchasing, I needed to have a new transmission installed. Within a few months of purchasing, I had to have my stereo/entertainment console replaced! It lags in take off, and will every now and then struggle to go. I almost got hit because of turning and this happened!!! I strongly recommend you steer clear of this car!

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  Air bags dont work - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By JDP - November 14 - 10:00 am

  Checked NHTSA web site for similar air bag complaints, and found many people complaining about frontal crashes where air bags failed to deploy. Ill never buy a hyundai again! I dont feel safe in it at all!

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  Death Trap - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By jblasiclith - November 5 - 2:37 pm

  I leased 2 weeks ago a brand new 2012 Sonata. It has a swerving problem. The car is all over the road. I am scared to drive it. Of course it has been back into the dealership 2 times and they are telling me nothing is wrong. Hyundai refuses to admit they have another steering problem. They will not take back the car. I am afraid for my life, and they wont do the right thing. DO NOT buy this car or anything by Hyundai as they wont help you even when their cars have know DEFECTS. Rating--0

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  Junk - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Laura - October 10 - 2:49 am

  This car is junk. If you want a car that crumbles like a ball in a minor collision from a company that does not back they warrenty (especially on paint) than this is the car for you. If you would like something that will hold up in accidents from a company that backs their merchandise, I suggest you RUN far, FAR away from this companys and any of their cars. If you do chose this car, good luck to you, I suggest you invest a helmet and a great insurance company.

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  Hyundai Santa Fe STEERING PROBLEMS - 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By hyundaman3 - September 18 - 2:30 pm

  My 2014 Hyundai is a nice vehicle but unsafe when driving on highways due to steering wandering all over the lane I am supposed to be in. It wanders from side to side and the wandering increases as the vehicle increases in speed over 50 MPH. Constant steering corrections have to be made just to keep the vehicle in the lane it is supposed to be in and even then it still wanders back and forth noticeable.

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  not what it appears to be - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By 24k - September 18 - 10:00 am

  Lots off rattles and squeaks. Less comfort than expected. Poor acceleration and poor handling. seems to slide off the road over bumps.