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 car until 100K mile, now very disappointed - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By John - May 11 - 5:45 pm

  All schedule maintenance had been done on my car and despite that. Right after my 100K warranty ran out in year number 3! 1. Starter failed at 105K miles 2. Engine replaced at 135K miles after usual hwy trip the engine light flickered went off and then followed by engine noise *(knocking or ping). Other than that great car. I thought this car would have been as reliable as my 2001 Hynadia Elantra which is still running with 207K mile on it.

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  below average car - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By block1974 - May 9 - 8:18 pm

  bought the car brand new, and not worth the money. Once you go over 100 k or so, expect a lot of problems. Baseline model, do not expect much from the car. Just a box on wheels.

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  Terrible Car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By E.Martinez - May 3 - 9:41 am

  I bought this car with 50k miles in 2005. Its been a problem after another. I had to replace the engine at 80k miles and now at 98k it has the transmission issues. The Motor Mounts were also replaced. Yes, its a cheap car. However, the maintenance becomes very expensive. I change the oil every 3k and do excellent maint. on it. Nevertheless, its still a problem. Would never buy a Hyundai and/or Kia in my life again. Pay a little more upfront and save a lot later when purchasing a Toyota, Honda or Nissan. Most of Kia and Hyundai engines are joint venture with Mitsubishi and they are not very reliable engines.

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  problems - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rockyfour - April 28 - 2:00 am

  i bought the suv in nov and when i bought it the rear winshield wouldnt stop working it was moving but wiper was off, ive been to the dealer numerous times but they cant fix it, so now i bought a 27,000 vehical,that i cant even use a winshield wiper, and to top it off both of the front winshield wipers and broke , the passenger side when it was snowing and the driver side when it was raining. (not fun driving home in the rian with no winshield wipers)

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  Terrible experience with Veloster & Hyundai Dealership - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By ssmith160 - April 23 - 4:14 pm

  Since receiving a letter in the mail about the recall on the sunroof in my 2012 Veloster; Ive had issues with what the dealerships would and would not do to fix my car. I set up an appointment to get my sunroof tested for the recall issue and found out the dealership in Brunswick, GA didnt have the tools for the recall test. After repeatedly calling for weeks on the status of the tools, no response was given to me. I was driving home from work one day and my sunroof shattered. The dealership in Brunswick gave me alot of difficulty on how I would transport the vehicle to them for repairs. So I ended up having to tow it to the closest dealership in Valdosta, GA. Terrible service in Bwk, GA

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  Got a lemon - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By cruzin3 - April 22 - 10:06 am

  I bought it in July 07, the first 1 that the dealer got in. Ive had nothing but problems with this car and Im considering arbitration to resolve the matter (in NV, you have to have the same prob 4x). My first incident happened at approx 1,000 miles when my fuel pump failed to get enough pressure and my car almost left me stranded in the middle of the desert. I had to take it back right away to get fixed again. At 7500 miles, I had to have my fuel pump replaced once again because the car kept seriously lagging on hills and sometimes would not start or start rough. Now the ESC off light comes on, wouldnt go in reverse for 20 mins, and once again lags on hills. Interior is nice though.

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  Just a nice face - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Ronald - April 20 - 7:58 pm

  I am getting about 20.5 mpg in city driving,slow to down shift. On mildly rough roads this car is a handful, even after the dealer replaced both front shocks, I still feel every bump in the road. I also own a 2004 Sonata, however, I am going to get rid of this heap ASAP

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  Watch out if you had kids!!! - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Jenn - April 16 - 9:18 pm

  My boyfriend bought the van over a year ago for him and his kids. He was sold on the "safety feature" that said that any obstruction would automatically open the side door. Since then we have constantly had problems with the power doors-- if you are on any type of incline, the power doors have a great chance of not closing as well as sliding forward on their own. His 9 year old son has actually had his hand crushed in the doors (that DID NOT automatically open) when he was reaching to grab his seat belt to buckle in as the door closed. Both of his children are now terrified of the closing doors and warn their friends to not touch the doors. I am almost 30 and even I get nervous about it.

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  Good for a first car... - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By westerized - April 7 - 7:16 pm

  I got this car in 2006 and it had 54000 miles on it. The first problem I ran into was at about 62000 miles when an engine seal blew, which was probably because i was doing burnouts using the e-brake. Then at 73000 miles i had to replace the brake pads, which is apparently a common problem with the elantras from what Ive been reading. It is important to note that I coast a lot instead of slamming on the brakes so 20000 miles without new brakes was probably due to my driving style. At 74000 miles the head gasket blew and caused the oil to leak into my radiator and now my engine is toasted. The entire time i drove the car it always drifted to the right, even after i got the axle changed @ 7000

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  Wont start - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By stranded in FL - April 7 - 3:40 pm

  For the first year it was great! Soon after the automatic doors would pop open a few seconds after they were closed. Then one day it would not start. It has power but will not crank. It has been in the shop 5 times for not starting and it always starts with the doors acting funny. I also have the squeaks and rattles and the engine has an odd sound when the air is running. The gas mileage is not as great as claimed. I would not care about those things if I just had a vehicle I can get in and know it will not leave me stranded waiting on a tow truck and wasting an entire day. I have started the lemon law process. I hope Hyundai does the right thing and gives me the van I thought I was purchasing.