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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  average - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By portugal - October 2 - 2:00 am

  i have a lot of problems with the stering wheel,shakeing at avarege 65mph. I need to replace twice the front rotors, tape side doors and right side wheel bearing. The air vents make a lot of noise at 75mph and i had to replace left side view mirror and so on. I will never buy a hyundai again.

• 

  Initially Pleased / Later Horrified - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Russell Gardner - September 28 - 3:13 pm

  Happy with look and performance of the car. Attracted by the "best warranty". After 2.5 years have found it to be built CHEAP, plastic that breaks, seats & mats have worn out. Reliability of car is HORRIBLE. In 2.5 years I have spent over $1,000 for service to maintain the warranty, $2,500 for items not covered by the warranty and the warranty has covered over $4,000 of items that have also broke. Reliability issues have been 2 dead batteries, had to replace flywheel, replace clutch - wore out in 21,000 miles, dome light, cup holders cracked, stereo, auto door locks replaced, alternater died, and steering wheel and seats have cracks and tears in them now. Never another Hyundai for me!

• 

  Piece of crap - 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Teresa - September 15 - 2:07 pm

  Bought car for gas Milage great first 3 yrs got 40mpg now barely get 30mpg. No one knows what is wrong dealer doesnt know and wont call support to find out it grows when accelerating they will wait till warrant goes off then find problem. Wont buy from Hyundai again I can get a SUV for same gas milage I get now 1/27/18. Still same problem. Been looking for new SUV. Will go with Subaru and NO HYBRIDS

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  Car&Hyundai Corp- Major Disappointment - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By L. Nicolai - September 15 - 5:13 am

  What we believed was a wonderful car has turned into a nightmare! It has major electrical problems - doors locking spontaneously, radio turning itself on & off, - what a challenge to get repaired. Numerous trips to dealership and countless hours on the phone to Hyundai Corp. Worst customer service ever experienced at corporate level!! Now, one year later, the problems have returned! A mere 28,000 miles on a 2004 automobile that is an absolute piece of junk!!!!! Forget the hype on the warranty. It is mere lip service!

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  12 repairs in 12 months - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By LobstaMonk - September 6 - 7:18 am

  At first, I was completely thrilled with our purchase. However, then the problems started. We have had two oil leaks in the first year, one spontaneously shredding wiper (scratched windshield!) followed by two spontaneously NOT-working wipers. Also, we are currently in the arbitration process trying to resolve a loud knocking noise in the front of the car. This alone has brought the car into the shop 5 times!! The gas mileage is definitely lower than advertised, and for the mpg that I actually get, I would rather have a large suv with more power. I do *like* the cars design though. It works well for our family with 3 small children, and comfortably fits all that we require.

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  GPS Upgrade, $199.99 "Robery" - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By VICTOR216 - September 1 - 10:53 am

  The GPS update is $199.99 per yr, I will buy a TomTom Portable GPS with lifetime Free Map Updates. Second Problem on the Hwy wind noise is too laud as if we had our windows open, poor construction. Acceleration very week, transmission problem but the dealer cant find the problem. Corporate office wont even help they will refer you to the local dealers where they continued to fail finding the problem. Good looking car but Construction & Customer Service is very poor.

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  HYUNDAI - MADE IN CHINA? - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By vibrations - August 30 - 9:09 pm

  WOW, I was told I had the only Entourage in AMerica with the vibration problems. Usually around 70mph, but also while braking. Since purchasing in June of 06, dealer had vehicle 2 months trying to "fix". They replaced both front wheel hubs and for 60+ days my problem stopped. Cancelled BBB complaint. It has been a nightmare since then. Still have vibrations, but not all the time. The brake rotors have been turned three times, replaced twice along with pads the last time. Hyundai rep replaced on a goodwill basis. Aint he nice? Hyundai is finally making me an offer to replace the vehicle completely. Of course I have to pay for the miles I put on, and Hyundai thinks that is fair.

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  I hate this car - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By TRNJ - August 29 - 8:24 pm

  1st off, within the first 12,000 miles, I had to go to the dealership 3xs b/c of my spark plugs -- then after about 10,000 more miles, I had to get them replaced again -- of course they didnt fix it right the first time... and second off, still having problems, just fixed my transmission and whatnot 500 buck -- of course only covered in the extended warranty--and its still not fixed... it likes to accelerate and drop speed between 60-75, of course per my claim to the dealership -- they have NOO idea what I am talkin about, gotta bring it back in... my friend has the same car, he driver door doesnt lock anymore and her boyfriend has a 2Door accent (all 05) and his interior lights dont work

• 

  Not too bad - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By Not that bad - August 27 - 3:04 pm

  Bought the car for a daily commuter w/ some road trips in mind as well. Ive been pretty pleased with the car, but it is in the shop right now at 42,000 miles to get the rear brakes replaced. Seems way too early, especially since I have the manual and use my brakes sparingly. Dealer seemed mystified as to why only 1 brake pad was worn badly... Tires were completely bald by about 32,000 miles. Clutch is pretty pathetic too, definately not a sport- machine. Sloppy gearbox sometimes leads to a gear grinding here and there (roomate has the same problem with his Accent). Probably going to be my first and last Hyundai, Id rather pay a little more for better quality.

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  Good car overall but a major annoying issue for me - 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Paul davis - August 26 - 5:40 pm

  In this review I want to focus just on the one big problem I have with this car which I wish I had known about before making the purchase. In general I agree with other reviewers that this is a good car overall and a good value. However buyers should know that you cannot just sit and listen to the very excellent sound system in this vehicle without running the engine! If you do you will get a loud beep sound every two minutes or so warning that you are discharging the battery. This beep tone is just as loud as the music so you cannot ignore it. So You cannot enjoy your music in this vehicle knowing you will be hearing this annoying beep every two minutes or so. The dealer just told me that thats so that you dont discharge the battery which of course is important. However why couldnt they have designed this car so that something like just listening to the radio could be done without having to run the engine? For someone like me who likes to sit in their vehicle and listen to their music on that excellent sound system this is a huge issue and unacceptable. If I had known this advance I would never hit purchased this vehicle. I am NOT looking forward to the next five years of this!