4 Star Reviews for Hyundai

Overview & Reviews

Average Score

4.45/5 Average
13,764 Total Reviews
Make Overview:

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:

Showing 2871 through 2880 of 13,764.00
  • Catch 22 - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
    By -

    This is my second Hyundai (1st was 2001 Elantra). I have learned one thing: You either get a great car with your average annoyances or a piece of garbage. My 1st Hyundai was the latter. It was as useful as a paperweight with wheels, but this one hasnt been awful. I bought it because the price was right (kind of) but I got and extra 5y/50Km (total 10y/100Km) BUMPER TO BUMPER for $1000, so I figured whatever went wrong was their problem. This one is fun enough for me to drive (I practically live next door to work), is comfortable on road trips and has given me great gas mileage (26 city/30 hwy). Read the manual about the "break-in" tips and FOLLOW IT!

  • Great car for the money. - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
    By -

    Have had only one problem when I brought the car. Alternator did not function properly. The dealership ordered the part and it was replaced within a week. Car is always on the road.

  • Whistleing Hyundai - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
    By -

    I like my new car but it whistles in a crosswind on the highway. Dealer is still working on it. Other than that I am very happy with my Elantra.

  • Love my Santa Fe! - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
    By -

    JD Powers caused me to look seriously at a Hyundai and am I glad. I am one who loves the styling and my 5 year olds favorite game is to spot another Santa Fe. I dont need extra horsepower and I addressed my conservationist guilt with the 4 speed shift. I had forgotten how much fun a stick is to drive! Only one downside, I bought a less than one year old trade in. Great price, clean as a whistle, still new car smell, NO TRANSFER OF WARRANTY! Oh well...I really love this SUV.

  • 99,800 and still going - 1997 Hyundai Sonata
    By -

    I just logged 99,800 miles on my 97 Sonata GLS and I just now had my first problem. A leaky valve cover gasket. Cant ask for much better than that.

  • My Lil Kim - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
    By -

    I bought the Fwd 6 cylinder, and it definitely has the get-up-and-go. It has the power when you need it, such as having to enter on the highway with little room to accelerate. I find it to be the perfect size for all my needs. Way to go Hyundai!

  • Enjoyable Car Except When Dealing With Hyundai - 2018 Hyundai Sonata
    By -

    Comfortable cabin with easy to use features for the most part. The different drive modes are nice and there is a noticeable difference in response when using Sport mode, which I prefer. Not sure why but if using Sport mode it reverts back to the default Comfort setting when the car is turned off but if using the Eco mode it will remember that setting. Navigation has proven to be less than optimal, on long trips we still rely on google maps which are better to begin with but have the added feature of real time traffic avoidance suggestions that prove to save much time. I find it odd that the map lights are a bright white (which I like) but the visor lights and rear dome lights are a dim yellow light. The remote start via Bluelink phone app is reliant on a cell link to the car so it has had about a 20% failure rate for me so while it is a nice feature I wish this vehicle also had remote start that could be triggered from the key fob. This is my first vehicle with keyless entry and start and I love that feature, never having to remove the key fob from my pocket to open doors and start the car is wonderful. Because of the push button on the door handles and the auto opening trunk I have never once used the buttons on the key fob. So overall I love the car, but the downside of the vehicle is dealing with Hyundai. I had an initial issue with the Bluelink account setup with which the dealer couldnt figure out and Hyundai was very little help. It took me 6 weeks of calling every 2-3 days to resolve the situation. I also recently scheduled service for the vehicle via the Bluelink app and the factory ordered update to the computer was not performed, it seems that the dealership either doesnt understand the information sent from Bluelink or ignores it. Either way this is a problem being that they want to charge me $100 a year for this feature after the third year. Summary, nice car but absolutely dread dealing with Hyundai. For full disclaimer Ive dealt with Honda for the past 10 years and the difference in service is huge.

  • Thinks Its a Porsche - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
    By -

    I have the 99 170hp V6 GLS. When I saw how much bigger the Sonata was than all the other Hyundais on the showroom floor, got in it, then found out it had a stick (not to mention the 100k powertrain warrantee and 20k price) I was sold. Fun to drive, suspension could be more firm for its performance capability, but all in all, nice ride. Like hitting 120 mph in 5th occasionally. Car likes to go fast. I think 99/00 Body style is the best. I would buy another Sonata, if the prices and warrantee stay competitive, and especially if they come up with a V8! I think I will keep this car for as long as it runs, continually upgrading it... kind of like framing the 1st dollar. Go Hyundai!

  • 2007 Hyundai Elantra - Speedometer Issue - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
    By -

    I also purchased a 2007 Elantra, on 2/19/2007, and within 2 days I noticed that vehicles, even U-Hauls were passing me, so to stay with traffic, the speedometer was showing 85mph on the Interstate. I purposely drove by a stationary radar unit in a 45mph zone, going with the flow of traffic, the radar indicated 45mph, speedometer indicated 55mph. I contacted the Service Manager at the Dealer, and he said that he is having alot of complaints about this, and that I should bring it in, so he could get the part number off the speedometer, so they could order a new "cluster".

  • 3.5 engine a must - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
    By -

    Turns tight, roomy, bought because of the bumper to bumper 100,000 warranty! Headlights not equally adjusted? AC not great for back seat passengers...

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