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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  I wouldnt buy another one - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Rae - July 14 - 2:03 pm

  I am just so used to my Toyotas that the quality of this car just stinks in comparison. The consul is already scratched up, it rides really rough. It jerks and feels like it is out of balance but the dealer says it is not. It looks like it has some power but it doesnt at all. I will never buy another Hyunai car again.

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  Poor Quality XG 350L - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By AnnieP - June 19 - 10:00 am

  My car has less than 4000 miles on it. The wheel baring has been replaced, I had to purchase 4 new tires, and this morning on my way to work the check engine light came on. The dealer has been no help, refuses to perform warranty work and refuses a loaner car (as was part of the selling features). This car is poor quality and the dealer offers poor service. Unfortunately, the dealer is an embarrassment to Hyundai. Give me my JEEP back!

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  Bad MPG - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By firstsonota101 - June 17 - 12:05 am

  bought mine about 2 months ago. MPG as advertised is not!! advertised 24/35 and on hwy i get 29 and in town I get 18. when I took to dealer ship to have looked at, service department told me that everyone he knows does get 29 hwy. the digital readout may say 34 but when you divide the miles driven by gallons put in, it doesnt match the readout. Anyone can make a computer readout say anything they want to. I would not buy this car again due only to the false advertisement on the sticker on the MPG. The fine fine fine print on sticker says the average person will get 28-39. Can you say WOW what a difference in range. And car has alot of road noise.

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  **Piece Of Crap** - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Marc - June 11 - 2:56 pm

  **If you have the V6 Engine take note** Hyundai knows about a problam with the timeing chain auto tensioner which will cause your timing chain to fall off on the V6 engiine. I have 3,500 miles on my "06 LX" and it had to be towed in to the dealer and have the engine removed, taken apart and put back together again. It was in the shop for one week out of service. How was Hyundai service ? the dealer did a great job fixing it but Hyundai offered no compensation. Hyundai and the dealer also told me they know about the problam with the V6 and are trying to pull cars off the lot to put in the new piece. This is my second Hyundai and my last.. Look at the Honda or Toyota not Hyundai

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  Will Never Buy a Hyundai Again :) - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By TBCHOP - June 2 - 3:34 am

  I have had problems with this car from the minute I drove it off the lot. Discovered an oil consumption problem when there was no oil in the car after 1000 miles.According to Hyundai specs it is acceptable to burn a quart of oil per 1000 miles in a new car. I tried to get them to fix this problem under the warrrany but they refused. I was very dissappointed in the corp. They finally admitted and fixed the problem at 60,000m when in the shop (for another problem) it was discovered that the piston ring gaps were lined up. Also numerous power window problems, wheel bearings, new catalytic converter,check engine light constantly coming on. Have had enough it is time for this car to go!

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  New 2012 Santa Fe - 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By 2012nomore - May 14 - 6:45 pm

  Purchased this car new & do not like it. Seems to hesitate while accellerating. At a stop light,stop sign, or going slow when you press the accelerater the car hesitates and takes a second to finally go. Cannot make any fast decisions. Tried to go into traffice from a stop sign quickly,car hesitated & I almost go into a accident. Makes you drive completely different from the way you normally drive. Does not happen every time,but 2-3 times a day. Took car back to the dealer,they test drove,pulled the computer results,said all looks fine. Was told the computer controls the accelerator & it takes a while for the accelerator to go to the computer then back to the accelerator.Trying to unload it

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  Nice appearance for a piece of junk - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By mikeb - May 13 - 4:56 am

  I bought the most expensive Hyundai I had higher expectations due to false advertising. Lower gas mileage than advertised I get 16 miles a gallon highway. Dealership says its the additives in the gas that only affects Santa Fe B.S. High cost for maintenance and the car runs worse with every service they do. The transfer case was just replaced and its still making grinding noises and the gear shift needed to be replaced as well, frozen wipers wont move even my small economy car had good wipers. I could go on but there may not be enough space here...very dissatisfied. I wish I could get my money back!

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  You get what you pay for.... beware - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Buyer beware - April 14 - 10:20 pm

  I bought this car looking for a reliable vehicle with a good warranty and a useful design. I thought that with a 5yr/60000 & 10yr/100000 warranty that Hyundai was confident in their product. I was wrong. At 61000 miles the radiator blew at 70mph - resulting in an engine overheat and SEVERE engine damage (needs a new engine) Hyundai will not honor the powertrain warranty if damage is caused by an unwarranted part (the 1000 mile over warranty radiator). Its in the fine print on most powertrain warranties. Hyundai has accepted no responsibility or offered any apologies for their cheap Korean part (radiator). You get what you pay for - sell it before it goes off warranty!!

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  Safety issue-car does not accelerate after stoppin - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By effecticommaz - April 11 - 10:49 pm

  Brand new Hyundai Tucson purchased February 2016. Weather turned hot in June. Car would not accelerate at all after stopping at red lights. Foot on accelerator all the way to the floor. Tachometer reving but car not going. Happened numerous times. Car brought in June 29 and kept by dealer at manufacturers request. Finally contacted by corporate. They state it is a "software"issue in the dual clutch transmission and they now have a fix. Turbo engine has significant lag even for a Turbo. They are still selling 2016 Tucson 1.6 turbos and now 2017 although the fix has not yet been validated and is not ready to install. Those cars at the dealers still have the faulty transmissions and are not safe to drive. If stuck at a light, stop sign, making a left turn, or intersection you run the risk of being hit and having a catastrophic accident because your car esssentially is not in gear and cannot accelerate forward. You are a sitting duck!

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  Disappointing Accent - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By bumble_bee82486 - April 10 - 5:32 pm

  I lost all respect for Hyundai with the purchase of the Accent. Its cramped, choppy ride, and even refuses to start on too many occasions. The service at Hyudndai is almost as bad, they dont believe it does these things so wont attempt to fix them. I would buy a used car over a new Accent