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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  airbags do not deploy - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By used2love - March 15 - 6:11 pm

  I took my Hyundai in for service to fix my airbag warning light 5 times. After the fifth time, I complained that I dont feel safe driving my car, and I dont want my wife driving it, when the airbags dont work. They agreed, and offered us a rental while they looked deeper into the problem. Turns out, the standard wiring for the airbags under the driver seat is defective and had to be replaced entirely. BUT, the airbags do NOT work in most 2007 Elantras. Google "2007 Elantra Airbag" for real horror stories about the airbags not deploying in serious (and fatal) accidents!! Do Not Buy 2007 Hyundai Elantra before reviewing this necessary information. This is Your life.

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  Buyer beware - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By No Hyundai - September 17 - 2:00 am

  Had car for under a year, replaced O2 sensor, brakes, battery and tires. Next year battery (only 1 kind available) O2 sensor. Next year, belts, water pump Brakes O2 Sensor. Every year I had to replace at least 1 of the O2 sensors, speed sensor and trans sensor of some sort (since year 3) None was covered as it is normal wear and tear (!@#$). Gas pedal stuck after 5 years and now my trans is failing. Will never buy again, bad warranty, bad price and cheap, cheap car (not in price just in quality)

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  Waste of time and money - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By Prakash H - April 25 - 1:34 pm

  Just bought this car few weeks ago and already facing problems with the engine. Engine is extremely weak, weaker than I had anticipated. Some times I have trouble to accelerate into merging traffic, and since I live in hilly area. It revs very loudly and power is very insufficient. Consider buying a used Japanese or European car which is 8 years or so old. With more power and features. And gas mileage is not as great as people think it is...

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  Worst Car Ever - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By knaimoli - March 3 - 5:43 pm

  I am the current owner of the 2002 Hyundai Elantra that my mother purchased brand new in 2002. From the time it was purchased there have been numerous recalls and so many problems with this car. We have had both axles replaced recently, the car is constantly at the shop and it is terrible. Terrible to drive no pick up what so ever. There is nothing good about this car.

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  DO NOT BUY THIS CAR! - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By joseph - January 22 - 7:17 pm

  I have had my accent for two years now and I cant stand it. Let me tell you about the problems I have had. Starter both Windows in the doors fell out hatch would not stay closed throw out bearing and clutch went out weather striping fell apart paint has blistered in a lot of places fabric on both front seats has busted open and seams coming apart and it wont even start half the time. And I had to replace and fix all these things myself because Hyundai does not stand by any of there so called warranties if you have anything go wrong with your new Hyundai, they will find some way of putting the blame on anything but the fact they make junk cars. Will never own another Hyundai!

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  If you have bought it yet PLEASE DONT! Horrible - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Blanca S - November 24 - 6:57 pm

  As of September 25, 2015 I own a 2016 Tucson ECO model. Within one yes ONE week of buying it the gear shifter got stuck,. My car would NOT shift to reverse neutral, Drive etc. After several attempts I got it to go and took it to the dealer. They switched out the shifter for a new one (should have been a red flag at the time that it had to do with the transmission). In Jan 2016, at only 3,000 miles the car started jerking while stopped for over 2 minutes. It was pulling back and forth like if it wanted to continue to go, I took it back to the dealer and they suggested i tried higher grade gas. I tried switching up the gas I used and the problem continued. I took the car is a 3rd time, and this time they claimed it was a computer issue so they reset the computer and I once again drove off, WITH A VEHICLE THAT STILL MALFUNCTIONED. Finally, I took it in a 4th and last time before the determined the issue is the transmission and it needs to be replaced. When have you heard of a NEW vehicle needing a transmission replaced at only 4,000 miles???? Please save yourself the headache and DO NOT buy this Tucson!

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  DCT is a non-starter - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Barry Lynas - November 22 - 6:31 pm

  In March of 2016, I purchased a Hyundai Tuscon Limited with a 1.7L Turbo and dual-clutch automatic transmission. About a month later, when accelerating, the engine would rev, but the car would not move. Very dangerous in traffic! Took it back to dealer. Told they were aware of the problem - called "false neutral" - and Hyundai was "working on it." Told me to take it home and not come back until I heard from them. Needless to say, it kept doing it, making driving pretty scary. Reached out to Hyundai Customer Care. After several weeks, they finally called me back. Told me to take it back to the dealer, leave it, and I would be provided a rental. The dealer told me it could be weeks, or even months, before I get it back. Im driving a basic rental car while my $31,000 Tuscon sits collecting dust.

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  Pricey for the car you get - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By leo garcia - November 2 - 6:01 am

  Need better performance

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  The Junkyard dog. - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By wan - November 1 - 11:09 am

  It started great but when downhill from there. The exterior seals constantly leaked. Allowing moisture and water to seep in. The paint started to faint after 2 years. They should borrow Toyotas paint manufacturing process. At 40000+ miles, the engine inexplicably started to burn a little bit of oil. Then at 55000 miles, it suffered a catastrophic terminal engine failure which included a blown exhaust manifold. I will never buy a car from Korea again!

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  shake rattle and vear off the road - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By not happy - October 9 - 10:00 am

  test drove this car on the suggestion of a friend it was NOT at all what was promised, all the while the sales person is sitting next to me talking up the car, especially the warranty, but I dont think I would ever keep this car around long enough to even tap the warranty, it is dull car that has shakes and creaks new