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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  What a piece of Korean junk! - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By freud2000 - September 12 - 2:28 am

  Brakes went out under warranty. But by 58000 miles they were out again. ESC and ABS lights and system recall taken care of and four years later same problem so we had to pay over $600 for a new brake light switch and a new G-force sensor. They had to pull the entire dashboard out to get to the G-Force sensor. Over $2000 for fluids change and belts and a bad water pump. Lower control arms went a few years ago ... that was a real treat replacing those myself. Battery went under warranty. Despite wheel balance and alignment the car vibrates under normal driving conditions. Underside would have rusted through had I not been keeping up with the rust. Drive timing rings are ready to crack.

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  Hunk of Junk - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By cabbie - September 12 - 12:59 am

  This car has had the following parts replaced. Sun roof motors(2X), Drivers side window(2X), Antenna Motor, Pwr stearing hose busted, Breaks and rotors every 27,000(3X),Transmission Seals, Every sensor under the hood, the oxy.sensor(3X)They said that doesnt qualify for lemon law. It has to break 4X. The Radio, The Battery died in 03. the exhaust rotted out - they wanted 1500.00 to replace that. The car now has 90,000 Mi. My mechanic told me that I need a new motor. Hyundai will not replace the motor because we are not the Original Owners. DO YOUR SELF A FAVOR BUY A FORD !!!

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  Why I wont buy a Hyundai again - 2010 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Alan - September 11 - 6:53 am

  11/5/17: I sold the car last month. Replacement vehicle will be a Honda CRV. 5/3/17: Since my review I posted concerning an oil leak recall I have had the following issues with the vehicle which now has 68,000 miles. Discussed two additional oil leaks on two different occasion and late last month the engine seized up and the dealer found metal shavings in the oil pan. Had to replace the entire engine. So the net is 3 oil leaks and an engine replacement all by 68,000 miles. The cost to repair all of this is over $10,000. Since the I bought my Veracruz as a 2 year old vehicle with 20000 miles on it. I got a good price from a dealer. While I havent needed to have the car into the shop very often (currently 66,000 miles) there are things about the vehicle that will keep me from buying another Hyundai. I have found you get what you pay for. First, the car was modeled after a Lexus RX, meaning Hyundai used the RX and the standard for the product. A couple of years into ownership I received a recall from Hyundai that there was an oil leak on my car and that it had to be repaired. Vehicles today are largely designed to go 100,000 miles or more without any major issues, but having an oil leak on a car at less than 50,000 miles is unheard of; it just doesnt happen any more. A few thousand miles later, after it had be repaired by the dealer, it was determined it was still leaking oil The dealership replace the defective gasket with the same gasket system, which proceeded to leak. Hyundai has not redesigned the defective part. Duh! The new gasket seems to have fixed the problem. Fingers crossed. Also the driver seat is wearing very fast (poor material quality). There is a clanking noise when I put the car in reverse (transmission problems??). Who knows. Im going to go back to my Japanese imports. While they are not perfect, I havent experiences problems like this in 25 years of ownership of Toyotas and Hondas.

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  Dangerous and done with Hyundai - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Phil - September 3 - 5:00 pm

  Dangerous car. I bought a 2016 Tucson and after owning a 2012 Tucson and New Genesis I thought this was a Quality product. Not so with this vehicle. Transmission would not go in gear when I stopped at lights or would slow down to 20 mph on the open road. Very dangerous. There is no fix at this point. The dealer who was great changed the clutch actuator and it worked for a month. After almost getting hit by a truck I decided I had enough of Hyundai pretending they never heard of this while there are hundreds of owners on the web complaining that they can not drive their cars, I decided to take a loss and traded it in on another brand of vehicle. I guess corporate profits over customer safety.

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  Transmission stinks - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By trussell - August 3 - 7:23 pm

  As it ruined my experience. There is no doubt it slips and hesitates between first and second gear. Hyundai will not do anything about it. This is definitely a problem that will come to haunt as more consumers experience it. Horrible gas mileage at 15 combined.

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  Extended Warrenty - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sam - July 2 - 9:55 am

  This car has been a joke. We bought the car and are not high-mileage drivers. We also purchased the EXTENDED Warranty to "Protect" us in the future. As of today it has 51000 miles. Problems, Air went out, 3 batteries, broken engine mounts, fuel sensor (which it seems is not covered by our Extended Warranty). So much for "protection." Add to this our local dealer went belly up and we have to drive forever to get the car fixed and it is time for the Toyota.

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  The car is junk. - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Joe S - June 28 - 8:48 am

  After 9,000 miles, Im embarrassed to take people in the car. Theres a new rattle every day - the doors, the dash, you name it. Its worse than the 1980s GM cars. The car restarts itself - people really laugh at me when that happens. The nav sends me into lakes. The transmission clunks. The engine stalls pulling out into traffic, which is terrifying. You cant stand to sit in it for more than 30 minutes. It vibrates. In cold weather, it clears one side of the wind shield and freezes the other. The rear defroster does nothing. The list is endless. Im a real customer and not a shill thats why youre getting the real truth from me.

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  Engine rebuild at 85,000 miles - 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Matthew P. - June 9 - 4:45 pm

  Oil seal failed at the right-hand side of the engine (accessory side, not transmission side). Found the cause to be worn main bearings allowing the crankshaft to move within the engine block, which pushed the oil seal out. $3700 to have the engine removed, rebuilt and reinstalled. Though the car has been in our family since new the Title was transferred from husband to wife, then to mother so Hyundai sees it as having changed ownership 3 times and would not honor the 100,000 mile power-train warranty. **update** Since original post the engine came out again at 90,000 miles. Unable to locate a new crankshaft, the shop that rebuilt the engine performed a weld repair on the crankshaft which failed resulting in a ticking noise. The repair shop honored their warranty and repaired the engine at no charge, but we were down a car for 5 weeks. Car just passed 101,000 miles yesterday and the engine light came on. To be continued . . .

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  BAD WARRANTY - 2008 Hyundai Entourage
  By wizardsrepair - May 29 - 8:30 am

  I bought this vehicle in March of 2009 and in the first two weeks I noticed a discoloring in the headlight lens which I was told would not be replaced under the warranty and now I am sitting at two month mark and I am having problems with my drivers seat rocking and popping and now I am being told that yjis also will not be a warranty repair. I will never buy another Hyundai again.

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  Buyer beware! - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Dave - April 5 - 3:57 pm

  This car is not safe. Dual clutch transmission will end up hurting somebody. Vehicle will unexpectedly stall and put people/families in danger. Dealerships are not able to respond to customers. Not an isolated problem (see reviews). How is there not a recall on this vehicle? Vehicle is currently at dealership (shop)...I dont expect it back anytime soon. I really hope my dealership steps up and takes care of this....looking at a Subaru Outback.