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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  2006 4 Cyl GLS - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By brantw - December 13 - 10:16 am

  We bought this car 3 years ago for our daughter. It was a one owner, well cared for car with 90K miles. It now has 105K miles and has been good to us. I had the usual 90K mile service done when we first got the car (change fluids, belts, hoses) and all has been well. While the engine may be slightly less refined than my wifes camry, the build quality and fit and finish is better. I am a car guy a really like this car. The mass air flow recently failed but this is relatively minor and the car sits outside at college day after day and this may have had something to do with it. Mileage is good and would buy the car again.

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  2006 Azera LTD - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By brantw - December 13 - 9:26 am

  We bought our 06 one owner Azera for my daughter. It had 93K miles but was well cared for. We have had the car for a year and the engine and interior are top notch. Highway mileage is 27 but in the city it is abysmal. The rear sunshade is a gimic and trouble prone. The car is solid and is a good value used as Hyundais still dont hold their value as well as the Japanese cars but in my opinion are similar in quality.

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  Its Not A Lexus But It Doesnt Charge to Be One - 2013 Hyundai Equus
  By royals - December 11 - 6:33 pm

  Only complaints I ever really had about this vehicle are: (1) Its got to be one of the most worthless navigation systems I have ever seen I used a $ 115.00 Garmin most of the time in my otherwise luxury sedan and (2) gas mileage is horrendous as compared to the competitors. Ultimately I ditched the vehicle for the two reasons above. I am a realtor and I need a good navigation system and gas mileage that beats what this car offers. I opted for a Land Rover HSE. I figured if I was going to get poor gas mileage I would at least get a vehicle that is fun to drive. A limousine type vehicle will never be a fun drive.

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  2011 hyundai accent SE 4 speed automatic - 2011 Hyundai Accent
  By jakethib1 - December 11 - 4:47 pm

  I have a 2011 Hyundai accent SE 4 speed automatic with 61,000 KM, i love the car i like that it has a sunroof fog lights, 16 inch alloy wheels. The car is comfortable and good on gas , it is sporty and handles very nicely, i love the car, but their are a few things i am dissapointed in. I have had some suspension problems i have had to replace 2 struts in the back and now a sway bar link kit in the front is clunking, it is all covered under warranty so its not a big deal, i also don like how the plastics on the interior of the car scratch so easily. But other then that i love the car it has never let me down its fun to drive and stylish. i recommend this car to buyers.

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  We could not be more happy with our choice - 2012 Hyundai Azera
  By bucca1 - December 7 - 10:37 am

  We have been thoroughly please with our Azera. I have not had a car that I love to drive like this one. We love just going for rides. This thing is fast!! and if we want to take it easy on freeway on 300 mile trips we get 30 to 32 mpg. Our overall average is 22 with city, freeway, going easy and punching for fun moments. Seats are way way comfortable. My wife loves how the passenger seats automatically adjusts to any height or position she wants. I am 6 3" and she is 5 4". our other car when she is in passenger seat sits way below me. Like below I could go on. We simply could not be more pleased.

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  Warning: It costs $4,000 for a clutch job! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By rob_anderson - December 3 - 1:54 pm

  My clutch failed at only 85,000 miles (and half of those highway miles), and to my dismay I found that this car has a "dual mass flywheel" that can not be resurfaced and costs $4,000 to repair (even MORE if you have the dealer do it). Ive also read online that brakes are REALLY expensive to repair on this model - but I havent had to do that yet. So, if you buy this car (and probably other Hyundais) be aware that you will have huge repair bills down the road. Ill sound like a shill for saying it, but my mechanic literally told me that I should have bought a Honda. Its too late for me, but not for you.

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  RSPEC 2013 by brian125 - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By brian125 - November 29 - 10:42 pm

  So far in 2 weeks here is my review..I love the sound system, very quite inside the cabin, very fast and fun to drive. The ride is jittery on bad roads just like the reviews. On the highway this genesis rides like any luxury vehicle. So the Positives outweight the negitives so far. Im a big guy at 61 250 and the drivers seat and position is very comfortable with plenty of head and leg room. I bought this vehicle for 38.3k plus taxes 20% of the msrp.

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  Vibration while idle--poor customer service - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By imaupin - November 16 - 7:37 am

  I bought my 2012 Hyuandi Elantra almost 2 years ago and I feel like I should have kept my previous vehicle. My car has been giving off a vibration while idle for over 6 months and every single time I come and complain the service people do not find anything wrong with my vehicle. I met with the service manager and he test drove my car and stated that the vibration is normal. I am not sure how vibration is normal, my car literally shakes. I am almost at 30000 miles and then after that my warranty will be up! I am done with Hyuandi and if I could drive my car through the dealership to show my frustration I would. I do not recommend this car That is why they provide all these warranties!

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  Car great, Han Kook tires not so great. - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By jeff1235 - November 13 - 1:06 pm

  I had a 2007 for 5 yrs until I got my 2013. Other than 3 radios put in, and at year 5 I did have some minor problems such as a back door handle broke internally and problems rolling up a back window. However the real problem was with the Han Kook tires. 3 of my 4 original tires got flats, one literally from what could only be called a large splinter. After 2.5 years I ended up replacing all 4 tires. Fast fwd to 2013. My nitro filled tires. I had my car 6 months. I notice the tire light go on. Sure enough I had a leak. I took it in for an oil change, looked at and told me I needed a new tire! The leak was too high to patch. All they had in stock Han Kooks. Han Suck! Loud on highway, tires?

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  Nice Car But! - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By tedtlaw - November 10 - 2:04 pm

  Suspension engineering and steering awful. Owned this car for 2 years and had to replace both rear shocks in addition the dealer could never get the steering working properly. I believe it to be an engineering flaw. The front suspension started thumping and in general this car got to be one of the worst cars we have owned.