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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  Disappointed-do not understand the rave - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By num2thum - November 11 - 5:13 pm

  I certainly do not understand the expert car reviews. The Hyundai Sonata is sluggish: the auto tranny is sluggish and jerks in acceleration, interior is weak and has no personality, and the windshield cleaner devices are like eyes looking back on me. Why did they put these ON TOP of the hood? Bad bad design. The only good thing I can say about it is that it is great on gas. I would really loathe driving it everyday. Thanks to Edmunds for rating something so well and now I am stuck with a car for 4 years that I do not enjoy. Do they build cars cheap so car reviewers can get kick backs?

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  THIS CAR IS A POS - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By blucas2 - October 29 - 2:13 pm

  Hyundai built a cheap car and used cheap parts. I can see the South Koreans that built this thing laughing seeing Americans driving it down the road. Numerous clutch problems, paint fading, four different tries at a e-brake and its the noisiest car Ive ever driven. Stay away whatever you do. This thing is a death-trap. I wont sell it because I dont want to have it on my mind that someone is out there driving that POS.

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  Poor Quality - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By howellmom - October 23 - 3:10 pm

  Needs a redesign. Bumber can not clear sidewalk when parking head on. Exterior falls apart easily.

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  Driving Hazard - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Hottasalsa - October 11 - 2:00 am

  I also drove not only my new Accent but another one. They both have the same steering problem. Resulting in the way the car is made. While driving the goes pulls to the left. I was told that with the torte steering and a small car it will do that and is not a repair issue. As the months went on the pull to the left got worse. It was very hard to handle on the road and I feel it is a driving hazard.

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  Not so hot - 1993 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ryan Usher - October 7 - 2:00 am

  This was my first car, and the two yeas I owned it were an exercise in frustration. When the thing was working, it drove pretty well. Handling and brakes were decent. The interior was uncomfortable, and at least half of the controls stopped working within six months. Fuel economy was so-so. My main problem with this car was the terrible reliability, I had it in the shop eight times in two years, and for some big problems: Transmission, alternator, starter, and finally the engine failed, costing me a total of twice the price I paid for the car, before I called it quits and donated it to charity.

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  ERRATIC STEERING PROBLEMS - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rockyatv - September 7 - 12:59 pm

  We purchased a 2013 Sport 2.0 Turbo Oct 2012 and have only put on 4000 miles since then because of the poor steering. Picked it up on a Friday night and was back on Saturday,could not drive it on highway and keep it between the lines. Have had it back 6 times, adjusted the alignment, flashed the computer and even put in a new steering column and still have the problem. Filed under the Lemon law and have been going through the process for 4 months. Have to go through the BBB auto line before the state. BBB is funded by the auto industry, just found out our claim was rejected, even after the arbitrator had an expert driver do the report. DONT BUY WITHOUT DRIVING ON HIGHWAY,WORST DRIVE.

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  Waste of Money.. A LEMON!! - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By buyalemon - August 25 - 12:57 pm

  My car has now been in the shop for 44 days and have not had a call from the dealership for a week. purchased the car from West End Hyundai in Edmonton On Oct 20, 2010 and have had nothing but problems since. drove the Coquahalla in severe weather conditions only to find there was no wrench to change the tires if we had a flat.. contacted the dealership but never got a reply.. then the troubles really started,the window would not go down, the truck would not open, car would not go into gear, no reverse, took the car to service centre for the 5th time. More tests.They said 1O Days to have part come from Korea BY BOAT! now 44 days later no car, no loaner, huge disappointment!!

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  Sell before warenty ends - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
  By ChandlerSunDevil - August 18 - 2:00 am

  Gas mileage getting worse as car ages, expensive to repair, rubber and plastic parts already crumbling from the heat here in Phoenix. Had to replace front strut mounts @ 60k due to rubber rot. Very poor quality materials. Lots of rattles, paint on front bumper oxidizing badly from sun despite lots of wax. Car aging very fast. Good college/school car but get a real car fast afterwords. Once bumper to bumper warranty expires the depreciation of value and cost of repairs make car a very bad choice. Long wait for parts for major repairs such as bodywork.

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  Great Warranty, but needed it too often! - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By talie - August 18 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car because of the price and the warranty and those were the reasons I liked it. Until sensors started going out, the airbag light was on, rotors went bad, and I had to have it hauled to the dealer too often for my liking. Dealer was great, they repaired it nicely and really stood by the car, but it hasnt been as reliable as I need a car to be. Its at the dealer now. ANOTHER sensor went out at 53,000 miles. This is the last time Im doing this. As soon as I get it back from the repair shop Im trading in before the warranty expires because this particular car really needed the warranty to make it worth keeping.

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  Driveshaft Broke - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By auby27 - August 8 - 9:03 pm

  Driveshafter broke at 134,000, which pulled the ball joint out of the right front wheel, throwing a piece of metal into the serpentine belt, breaking it. The right front tire fell off. Thankfully, I was driving thru a parking lot when all this happened. Earlier I was going down I-70 at 70 mph. There is a recall for 2013 driveshaft breaking but Hyundai doesnt want to admit there is a problem with the driveshaft. It doesnt just break.