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 looking car, questionable paint quality. - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By bhamcarshopper - May 25 - 2:08 pm

  There were 4 paint deficiencies when I took delivery. The worst were on the bottom of the car on the left and the right sides of the car between the front and rear doors. The paint did not match in these areas...I did not notice until a few days after when we had a sunny day. The clearcoat around the bottom sides of the car is splotchy also. The local dealer will be repainting, repairing the problem areas. Hyundai will be covering a loaner vehicle.

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  My First Hyundai - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By andy_yen - May 18 - 4:17 pm

  I bought this car solely for the gas mileage. I did not buy a hybrid because I already have a hybrid. I do not want to have 2 hybrids. After driving 1,000 miles, I only get an average of 24 - 26 mpg. It was calculated by the miles driven and the number of gallons I put in. I drive half city and half highway. I do not understand why some reviewers got up to 46 mpg. Although the display panel shows 28 or 29 mpg, I believe my calculation is more realistic. Besides gas mileage, the car is fully equipped. I have a GLS automatic with preferred package. I paid invoice price. It is a good deal when compared to other dealerships. Most are selling it at or above MSRP.

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  Good car for the $$ - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By soccerwinner - May 14 - 8:21 pm

  I have driven a Ford Escort, and a Honda Civic, and the Accent is right up there in mpg. It is a simple car, no bells and whistles, but I dont mind. Like people have said acceleration isnt the best, but all you have to do is turn the overdrive off and it does just fine. Its no race car, but it can get up and go. Its a great first car, since its cheap and good on gas. Its not in my category of fancy but it is a car. You pay for a simple car, and that is what you get. I havent had any problems with the car.

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  mustve gotten the one with the bad seats - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By rocks3 - May 14 - 3:52 am

  The Elantra caught my eye with its good looks, lots of room inside and spacious trunk for a small car. Comparatively the other cars I tested in the 30-40mpg range were very small inside. Mileage so far has ranged from 30mg to 36mpg, both city and highway. Traffic light stops cut the fuel economy. On the highway the suspension is very stiff, I feel all the bumps in the road, and the wind pushing the car on windy days. Also dissapointed that the Elantra does not come with a spare tire! Ive never had a Hyundai before, Im concerned about what winter driving in snow and ice will be like, mine has Continental tires.

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  Too Good To Be True? - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By rkesten - May 10 - 12:10 pm

  I bought my 2008 Hyundai Accent with only 32k miles on it bout a month ago. it is still under warranty for about another year and a half and I gained incentives from the dealership that covers then engine for the entire time I own the car. Im sure glad I have the warranty becuase tomorrow I have to bring the car in to be looked at. For the past few days the check engine light flashes on, and slows down while doing so. This only happens on my way to work (I have even let my car warm up to see if this works--it did not). Also, the transmition is slow. When i shift from reverse to drive, it has a pretty decently long delay. I find this almost dangerous if I need to back up and drive qucikly.

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  Good commuter car - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By raoul_duke - May 10 - 9:02 am

  I drive 75mi round trip to work, so I needed a low cost car with good MPG. So far so good. I have been averaging 35-37 mpg 80% highway miles. I wanted to stay under 20k out the door so it was between this and the Corolla. The Corolla seemed really basic/bland and I would most certainly had buyers remorse had I chosen to purchase the Toyota. Performance is what you would expect from a 4-banger and the 6-speed transmission seems all over the place, but not too bad.

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  Reliable Driver - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By superlative28 - May 2 - 10:41 am

  Got this vehicle from my mother 4 years ago. Has been very reliable with no major repairs required to this point. Comfort of seats is fair and interior design on base model is bland but it gets the job done.

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  4 Years Later and 63,000 Miles - Fantastic - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By denverman - April 27 - 5:40 pm

  I bought the car new in 2007 for only $14,900 out the door. The car has been excellent, no issues at all. I had the 60K service done, regular oil changes, one new set of tires, a new battery, and a couple of sets of wiper blades. Except for the battery going out, the car has never let me down. It looks great on the inside but the outside is a little boring. I would love to step up to the 2012 Genesis but I hate to have a car payment. My car is paid for and it works great. Ive not had any issues driving in the snow. Ill probably have this car for another trouble free 4 years. Im 63 with plenty of headroom.

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  Amazing Car - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By dog32 - April 25 - 2:03 pm

  This car is amazing, we bought it brand new and Im glad I bought it. This car has never let me down, the winters are tough around here and the car can handle it better than any other car weve ever owned, The backseat cupholder did break and the pouch in the rear seat ripped, but other than that its in pretty good conditon for being a four year old car, not even any rust! I would so buy it again, it,s AWESOME!

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  Love it for the most part. - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By laura_s - April 20 - 5:42 pm

  Ive had my 2007 Elantra for a 1 year and 8 months now. I purchased it with 55,000 mi on it for $6,900, and I feel like I got a pretty dang good deal. There are a few issues that are quite annoying, but nothing that is huge. I would definitely recommend this car. It would be best if it has a good warranty, though.