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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  Still going strong after 210,000 miles - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By Bought new - May 20 - 4:14 pm

  Upon deciding if I wanted a new car or not, my thought was basically this: Invest 1,200 dollars into an 8 year old car with 209,000 miles, and drive it for 2 more years, or buy a new one and have a 500 a month car payment for 3 years. I no longer drive 35,000 miles a year, so the deciding factor for me was doing a compression test on the engine. It was still well within factory specs., and it uses NO oil between oil changes. The body is still in good shape, everything still works fine. Why buy a new one? I will say I have changed the oil every 3k miles with fully synthetic oil, Slick 50 every 50,000 miles, timing belt with exterior belts every 60k, and regular tune-ups.

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  Great on Gas - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Laura - May 20 - 2:01 pm

  I didnt know about the belts needing to be replaced after 60,000 miles and I drove it to 85,000 before finding out the hard way. I had to put a new head gasket on, because it bent a couple of pistons. But what couldve been a $200 job, turned into $2,000 (my fault). But other than that, I have put over 100,000 miles on it (while only changing the oil every 3,000) and NOTHING has gone wrong with the engine or trans.! I especially love that it does great on gas.

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  I love my Santa Fe! - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Donna - May 20 - 11:16 am

  I purchased this vehicle brand new, and from the day I picked it up to this day, it has served me well. I recently had a 60,000 mile check-up, and although it was expensive, I had great feedback from the mechanic who did the work. I have never broken down anywhere, nor have I ever been afraid to take my car on trips. I feel safe in my car, especially being above most other vehicles. I recently replaced my brakes and tires after 60000 miles. Can you imagine that? Brakes that stop and tires that keep on running! When the day comes to retire this wonderful car, you can bet that I will turn right around and replace it with another Santa Fe. I love my Santa Fe! Donna in Sacramento

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  Great Value - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Art S - May 20 - 7:50 am

  I needed cheap transportation but still like some comforts and the GT is a great bargain. My daughter loves to drive it when she is home and she has a new Beetle and loves it but talks about how much fun to drive the GT is. Personally I love the trip computer and that was what made the difference for me.

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  75,000 miles and no problems - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By NikoinCA - May 20 - 4:09 am

  I just hit the 75,000 mile mark and havent had a single problem. I quite literally just change the oil, havent had to do a single thing except normal routine maintenance like new transmission fluid and timing belt. Highway mileage is great, I average about 33. City mileage is pretty bad, I average about 20. The cars look is pretty bland and the resale value is laughable. But if your thinking about buying this car and you can find it for under 45,000 miles and under 7 thousand bucks I highly recommend it.

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  Great Hatchback - 2014 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By lorainelt - May 19 - 8:37 am

  I am leasing this car mostly because of the great deal that I got but more than likely will buy it out at the end of the lease. AWESOME gas mileage, I drive in the ECO mode all the time and consistanly get at least 36 mpg. I drive the speed limit but dont go over, so that make a big difference in the gas mileage. Also I dont rabbit start my car. The interior is roomy and very comfortable. Not a much space as my old 2005 Toyota Matrix but pretty close. LOVE the blue-tooth, I will never go without that option again. Car has plenty of speed and power, will be anxious to see how it does in the snow.

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  Best Economy Car Ever! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By techguy378 - May 19 - 3:32 am

  I bought my 2007 Hyundai Elantra to replace my 1997 Chevy Malibu LS car. My Elantras engine actually has more power than the 3.1 liter V6 engine in the Chevy Malibu regardless if Im doing city driving or highway driving. The 2007 Elantra has virtually no engine noise and absolutely no road or wind noise whatsoever even when traveling at highway speeds. The headrests on the front seats can be adjusted to provide neck support just like the 2008 Nissan Versas chair height front seats do. The horn sounds like one from a large semi truck. The trunk space is massive. I havent had the vehicle long enough to test reliability.

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  Overall very satisfied - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By docthor - May 18 - 10:31 pm

  Purchased vehicle almost 6 weeks ago, and have already put just over 6K miles on it (purchased in Florida and driven to California) Automatic with Style Package. It is being used as daily driver to work, about 42 miles each way, mostly highway, some city. Incredibly happy with vehicle. It handles great, the styling is modern, sporty and attractive. The interior looks and feels like inside a much pricier car. I am 63 ft and I have no issues with head/legroom up front or in the back, although my head is close to ceiling interior because of sunroof. It is not superfast, but has enough power for anything you may encounter in day to day driving. Suspension feels firm but not too hard.

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  Why? - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Mike - May 18 - 10:11 pm

  These cars arent meant for mountain driving, but more for city. Granted it is supposed to hold 5 adults, these adults must be pretty small. It can fit four adults decently and I would not recommend it long agonizing drives like when I would have to drive from Arizona to California. (Those were long trips!!) We bought the thing with 100K miles on it, but after putting 5K on it the tranny died and it was stuck that way. (No money for repairs.) We lived in a valley so... mountainous driving this car doesnt like! But anyways, if you live in L.A. or New York and put few miles on it daily and baby the thing, it is a decent automobile.

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  Definitly worth the money - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By truckinnines - May 18 - 11:00 am

  Ive owned the car for over 7 months now and barely have a complaint about it. Fuel economy is great for the V6 power. I get 26 mpg city and almost 30 highway. 6 speed is tons of fun, zippy but could use more power. Interior is very sexy(2 tone leather) and i cant get enough compliments about it. It definitely needs a remote truck release but thats just about it. You would not be disappointed going with this car, I will own this until the tires fall off.