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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  Excellent Car - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By bigkev7 - March 10 - 9:48 pm

  I bought this car 1/2010, only had to replace regular maintenance items. Rotors, timing belt, etc. Its been a good reliable car. It had a good engine to get up to speed when you need it to. I do recommend the Hyundai Elantra.

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  Some bads aspect reviewed - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By edmunds_logon - March 10 - 9:13 pm

  I buyed my elantra 2011 3 weeks ago after carfully reading reviews and comparing different models. Im 35 y-old rep, i drove around 40 000 miles/ year and just replace my yaris manual 2006 with 160 000 miles on it. Before this, i had a Subaru WRX turbo also. I gotta say i do have my rally offroad license as im a racing enthusiasm, i race motocross and i am also aware of suspension settings and reactions. MPG was very important and thats also the major point wich is deceiving. While i was doing 360 miles per 13 gal, i now go for 280 with the Elantra in mixed City/highway conditions and a sporty driving style, at 75 mph on highway, wich i did not change from the Yaris.

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  THIS LITTLE CAR IS AMAZING - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By sanzabartrust - February 28 - 10:17 am

  Let me say it seems like ive been a car a year Im 22 and this is my 5th car (the others were $1000 buckets. Im in college so reliability was key in my decision. Saw this car at a wholesale dealer for $1800 and jumped at it after I test drove it with only 115,000 miles. Ive just got scheduled maintenance on the car and it has been very good to me. The only major (haha) repair has been a corroded flex pipe which make my little car sound like a monster truck (luckily its a $30 part and got it installed/welded for $60) The inside is clean and standard which I was going for. Upgraded all the speakers they burst when I put a new radio in. All and all good car for me as a college student.

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  2007 Azera Ltd - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By whigbee - February 24 - 9:13 pm

  on 02/24/11 19:08 PM (PST) I had both Plastic engine shrouds fall down while driving. I drove it home with them pointing forward hitting the ground. I unbolted the remaining bolts and removed them and took it to our dealer( Poor Customer service), and they questioned me, but I showed where they broke. The car radiates a lot of heat when you get out of the car, by the drivers door, from underneath. I had the Door panels replaced, the Rear shade replaced, the rubber around the sunroof replaced. The battery replaced after 2 years. The ride can be rough, but the power is great.

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  2.5 years owned, so far so good - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By trunkmonkey - February 19 - 9:33 pm

  1st new car, bought July 08, after end of model year. MN driver, 38k+ ODO now. Good car, growly @35-45 MPH. Sluggish & rough when started in -10 to +5 degrees, until warm. Factory tires, got stuck in own driveway in 5 inches snow! Now new Coopers, well see. W/o ESC car would be bad in MN winter, with it pretty good. Handles fine in rain. Summer 36hwy/29city, winter 29hwy/24 city, better than my old Buick but still. Good ergonomics interior-have chronic back issues & no problem on long drives. Smooth ride at cruise speed, no trunk popping - mystified by that complaint. Spilled drinks, no electrical short-but not big spills. Trunk poor drainage on opening. Good cargo space seats down.

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  Great Hyundai! - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By hyundai2002 - February 19 - 7:49 pm

  I honestly dont understand all these reviews. I guess their previous owners didnt take care of their little Hyundai because my car runs great and is in great shape. The transmission and engine runs great. I dont understand the comments on the handling. The brakes could be better, but they have no problem. People need to realize that Hyundai was still not a very large company when the 2000-2004 Accents came out. And the Accent was Hyundais least expensive car. The interior scratches easily and the paint gets dings and scratches easily as well. But this was meant to be a realible INEXPENSIVE car for people that want a decent car and have money to put gas in it too. =]

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  Competent Commuter Except in Snow - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By waldteufel - February 15 - 8:59 am

  I bought this car new in July 2009 for my daily commute and to run kids around town for music lessons, sports, you name it. The positive reviews, incredibly low price, and long warranty make this basic piece of transportation ideal for my needs now. MPG varies from 28-33 combined depending on the weather, really expected much better. It took a long time to get adjusted to the clunky, sticky manual transmission nothing like the Mercedes 230 or VW Golf sticks I used to drive. I tried to find an American brand vehicle of similar cost and quality but nothing came close.

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  Blk Ext. Gry Int. GLS auto w/pref. equip. pkg. - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By craign1 - January 29 - 1:02 pm

  I went to dealer the to drive a Sonata and noticed the Elantra which I think looks even better. Test drove both it and liked the smaller cabin with sportier ride and "growling" engine of the Elantra. I traded down from a 03 Accord EX-L (both the new Accord and Sonata felt too big to me). The front cabin feels similar to size to the old Accord. The back seat room is smaller but fine for kids, and the car is more fun to drive than the old and new Accords, Sonata, and Fusion. $17,500 with a 45,000 service contract and lifetime power train warranty from the dealer and I was sold. With 600 miles on it Im getting about 32 MPG which is fine, but I assume it will improve with time.

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  less than 10k - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By screwedinaz - January 24 - 10:20 pm

  this thing sips gas, is alot of fun to drive since it is a manual trans. i have to keep checking the tachometer to make sure it is still running very quiet at idle. which the idle is low way low around 500rpm??? the interior is adequate for tall drivers im over6 feet tall and no head bumping. overall performance is about what i expected from the 4 cylinder. i do miss my 3.7l v6 dodge but the pain was at the pump. so i look at this little can do car as one huge tylenol on my wallet.. with the 10/100 optional warranty and the dealer provided maintenance it will be a long time before i reach into my wallet to put out a dime for this car outside of the payments and washes

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  Reliable, comfortable, but annoying - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By kmfdmdude - January 7 - 5:35 pm

  Performance and realiability wise I really like this car, but sadly it does have its flaws. I know Im not alone but researching all the forums, Hyundai is known to have RATTLES. The dash board likes to rattle, glove box is REALLY noisy, the last two days I have heard my door panel rattle. I purchased this car in November 2010 and I have been to the dealership 3 times. Fourth time is tomorrow (thank god for the lemon law). Buyer beware...If you hate rattles in your NEW car, think twice...