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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  Broken rear window - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By joanne - August 8 - 2:00 am

  I have 225 miles and just bought it a few days ago. I love everything about it, except, for no reason the back window broke. I watched it shattering before my eyes and getting holes in it. It had a chip in the upper right corner and right above the track is where it looks like it started. It was in my driveway, not windy, the leaves werent even moving. all the glass landed on the trunk which tells me the glass popped out. nothing in the car and nothing around the car that could have hit the window. dealership has it now, lets see what they say.

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  No spare tire! - 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Scott Mulrooney - August 6 - 1:36 pm

  We test drove the Hyundai Sonata hybrid, the Ford Fusion hybrid & the Toyota Prius V hybrid. We would have bought the Sonata except for the fact that it did not have a spare tire nor any place to store a spare tire. The battery for the hybrid is in the floor of the truck so there is no space for a spare. That is the sole reason we did not buy this car. It was going to b my wifes car & I did not feel comfortable, and she did not feel safe, driving around w/ only a fix-a-flat. Turns out none of the 2016 Hyundais have spare tires. This was a strategy to save them a lit bit on weight & a little bit on cost. U can buy a donut spare from the dealer for $250-300 but whereas the other Hyundai models have a designated place to put it, the hybrid does not. We own a 2006 Sonata & luv it. We wanted the better gas mileage & would have upgraded had it not been for this issue. The Edmunds expert review does not mention this. We bought the Prius V in the end.

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  Hyundai Sonata: As Good As It Gets - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By abgerard - August 6 - 6:43 am

  We have had our Sonata for about 9 months. We live in the middle of nowhere, and the drive back from the dealership was about 200 miles, some freeway, some mountain highway. It performed flawlessly, showing off its great acceleration and handling. It is comfortable and fun to drive. My daughter, who is 24, doesnt understand why I would buy such a car because, as she says, Im "more of a car guy than that." Buy, you know what, if the purpose of a car is to get you from point A to point B quickly and comfortably, this Sonata with the V-6 is all I could want.

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  A winner! - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By LSR - August 4 - 5:43 am

  I bought this because I was concerned about safety issues, and the standard 6 airbags appealed to me. The standard warranty offered was very good and the price was certainly right. Overall, Ive been pleasantly surprised at how much fun this car has been to drive. Runs well, though a little noisy. Good road-view and manueverability. Basic sound system is better than that on my wifes Toyota. Only disappointment has been the fuel mileage -- good but not great. This is my first Hyundai, and I would look at another one again without question. Great value for the money.

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  Great Value for Price - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By MR2pilot - August 3 - 10:00 am

  I drive 80 miles a day, to and from work, in moderately heavy traffic. I was worried about the handling of a compact car in such traffic, but the Elantra handles more like a mid size than some actual mid size cars Ive driven. The automatic transmission is very responsive in traffic stop and go situations, and Ive been consistently getting 31 MPG as measured by filling the tank every week, then dividing the trip odometer mileage. Very nice car!

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  Best true value for your hard earned buck - 2017 Hyundai Sonata
  By EP1 - August 1 - 6:07 am

  A very good handling car, the car is very quiet while one the road, The car has a very comfortable ride both in the city and on the highway, the dashboard design and placement of controls are excellent, the soft blue back lighting is soft on the eyes, the sport seats are very comfortable and adjustable, having the power heated seats are a nice added plus. I have the sport tech package, I came very close to purchasing the Honda Accord with the sport package but the deciding factor was; Honda does not offer Sirius radio, or even offer telematics like blue link in the sport package, and the 10 year 100,000 warranty was what sold me for Sonata

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  Hyundai in Florida - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By memullady - July 31 - 10:00 am

  Although I have only owned this vehicle a few months, I am very satisfied so far. At this point my only complaint has been some hesitation and jerkiness when accelerating from a rolling start or sometimes from a standing start. This may have something to do with the electronic accelerator linkage. Mind you, I have not reported this to the dealer at this time, as the vehicle is hardly broken in and the vehicle is primarily driven in town. The vehicle is comfortable for me even though I am a large person at over 6 ft tall. I am still waiting for some gas milage improvement.

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  Value not luxury - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By nanmark - July 27 - 10:28 pm

  Little disappointed after switching from Lexus. Navigation sounds like computer girl. Sounds very dated. Plus XM cant get there act together to activate traffic and weather. Still waiting. Home link hasnt been able to hook up on the garage door. My wifes Infiniti had no problem. Dealer thinks I might have a bad mirror Cant raise or lower the passenger seat and the phone doesnt have program abilities Overall it is a nice value, but not ready for people expecting more in quality and service. Id give mine back if they would take it

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  Fuel mpg - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jack Carmody - July 26 - 8:20 am

  This model vehicle is not getting the mileage I was told I would get. At 3000 miles I called the dealer and told him I was getting 19.1 hwy mile per gallon. She told me I would have to have about 6000 to get the miles that was on the sticker. At 6000 miles i called her and she told me it would get better after 8000 mile. I knew something was not right. I took it to the dealer and had a diagnostic check and everything was within the parramimeters of the manufactorers specs. I now have 11000 miles on the car and I am getting 19.8 hwy. My sticker said 19 city and 25 hwy. A dealer in Ohio said I would not get any better. I would not reccomend this car for fuel mileage the 2008sticker 17 and 23

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  A great gas sipper - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dave W - July 25 - 10:00 am

  This car has been a great change from our GMC 14mpg mini-van. We took our first road trip and pulled 32mpg w/a.c. on. Im 62" and have plenty of leg/head room, my wife is 51" and can pull up w/in easy reach. The trunk can fit quite a bit. 48qt cooler,2 sleeping bags/pillows,6 man tent,2 chairs and some toys for the kids. The seats are comfortable but not cushy. Our longest sit has been 3hrs w/one rest stop, a little stiff for that long. For around town and short jaunts its great. I would recommend this car to anyone looking for style, affordability and a great warranty package.