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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  DONT DO IT!! - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By A_Moreaux - June 6 - 11:26 am

  Theres no denying that this car is one of the most beautiful in its class. However, I was unfortunate enough to ignore the warnings and went with this car. The paint is trash. Look at it wrong and it chips. About 4 months ago I started having problems with the car starting which is a CLASSIC HYUNDAI PROBLEM. Its all over the internet, have a look!!! At stop signs the a/c, radio, and lights will go off until you start driving again and it never quite starts right away (if it starts at all). The seats are hard that the moonroof has been repaired THREE times already. I have heard that there are defective parts in the brain that no one admits to.

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  This car sucks. - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By pepper27 - June 6 - 2:00 am

  I just bought my Hyundai Accent used about a month ago with only 50,000 miles on it. Well right before the warranty ran out the transmission went out on it and had to be rebuilt. Then right after the warranty ran out i was driving down the freeway and the car started to make a funny noise. So i drove to a gas station and looked under the hood to see all of the oil pouring out from under the engine. This happened with only 61,000 miles on the car. So i filled the car with oil and drove home and called my friend the mechanic and he said tha the block was cracked.

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  Warranty is Worthless - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By HaveToyotaNow - May 24 - 2:00 am

  The car was ok at first. When, I moved north and commuting 80 miles a day(highway)trouble started. The car lost control allot even going slow. Parts cost allot and are only avail through Hyundai. The car started running poorly once the miles started going up. Final straw was a minor repair that cost 200. Only a dealership 1 hour away would look at my car & I was w/o it for 3 days because the closer ones couldnt be bothered and normal repair shops wouldnt do the work. BTW it wasnt covered under warranty and they blamed the place I had my oil changes done till someone from there called them. You get what you pay for!

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  not great - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By jsand - May 15 - 2:00 am

  this is definetly a you get what you pay for kind of car. I have found poor craftsmanship, and it costs more than its major competitors. i would recommend a toyota echo or suzuki forenza anyday to someone in the market for a cheap economy car that isnt that economical.

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  hyundai is a fallacy - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By molly - May 7 - 9:13 pm

  Everything was ok for 3 yrs. At 4th yr mark, around 60,000 miles after your initial warranty kicks out, everything started falling apart. A timing belt $700.00. Lots of problems w/tires 1st yr owning car. Now in our 5th year, no more warranty, 71,000 miles & we are having Major problems. Was told it would cost $2800! Car is only worth $4000 - $5000 at this point. We have a 2007 sonata. Will never buy another Hyundai. They are not made when at all & that whole 100,000 warranty thing is a hoax. The car will not make it that far without costing you lots in repairs. We will buy a Toyota next time around.

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  Dont Buy It - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By kcsac1 - May 4 - 1:06 am

  Youll be tempted but DONT Buy It. Value is relative and warranty is only as good as the Company. And that isnt so good. Mine has been in the shop hals as long as I ave owned it. Poor residual value and high operation costs significantly reduce perceived value. Sucks gas like a Hummer, poor ride-handling, partly due to junk Bridgestone Dueler tires. Very severe torque steer. The whole car is a set of trade offs. A lot of features, but all very poor quality. I will trade soon and eat the loss but be done with it. Ill stick with Honda or Toyota, or even GM is better.

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  Huge dissapointment! - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By awasllace - April 23 - 7:29 am

  There are much more negative than postitive in my 1.5 years of Sonata ownership. First is the fuel economy, nowhere even close to Hyundais estimates. Now after getting over that the problems began. It had a poor running and stalling out problem several times the dealer cant duplicate, the front headlights have collected condensation and Im on my second set. The leather quality is horrible, stiching on the bolsters is coming apart already (hyundai calls it normal wear) It wanders on the highway. Ive had the struts, tires, wheel bearings, and control arm bushings replaced...still wanders! The car has just been such a huge dissapointment, it feels like a 5 yr old car already.

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  AVOID - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By sebski - April 21 - 2:00 am

  I have had GLS V6 for almost two years now. It had 60K, now 80K. I got screwed because dealer does not honor warranty for second onwer. I replaced: timing belt, all brakes including rotors, battery, tires (which all were a part of a normal maintenance) but spark plugs, wires, sensors, more spark plugs and more wires and all this crap brings only one conclusion: Hyundai is still a terrible quality. I will never buy one anymore. Ill stick with Japanese. Take my advise: dont buy Hyundai. The dealer is very nice, especially when it comes to paying. And they are money suckers!

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  eh, it was cheap at least! - 1997 Hyundai Accent
  By Hyundaiguy - April 14 - 2:00 am

  sux, period. What else can you say. We needed a car and this was the least we could spend on 4 moving wheels at the time.

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  Cant Believe It - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By DC Lee - April 13 - 2:00 am

  After 8000 miles car broke down in bad weather. Roadside service very good for tow. After 2 trips to dealer and 11 days I finally got the car back. Needed a new engine module. Am fearful of breakdown now. Also had to have cloth seat rep[lace as it tore at the seems. Also do not like breaking feel. Wish i had bought ABS. This car will not get old with me