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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  So Sorry I Bought One - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By citrushtsgirl - September 28 - 11:30 am

  I needed a good gas mileage low cost car to get to for work as my top priority. I got a little over what I wanted in payments, not bad but here is the worst part. It gets 19mpg on my commute and 17 if I am late and racing the car. Going back to the dealer they just point out on the sticker (I kept) that even though it says 30-40, in very small print by that it says 13-99mpg. Best vehicle rates 112 mpgs. Depends on how you drive. I just go to work and back! The cars do not come with spares & during my deal I was told they dont make them. So no offer was ever made to get me one. The next day I called back and they said they would sell me one.

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  Terrible car!!! - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By jiannaccone1 - September 17 - 11:25 am

  I bought a 2007 new and had to repalce the engine at 71,000 miles. This was completely covered by the factory warranty which I was greatful for. Two years later and 35,000 miles into the 2nd engine it blows again!! I am being told that the whole bottom half of the engine needs to be replaced and that Hyundai is willing to help by paying 1/2 the cost of the repair. While I agree that is a somewhat nice offer I feel they should cover the entire cost of the 2nd new engine. I would still have to pay $2650 out of pocket if they cover half and my confidence in the cars reliability is completely gone. They do not stand behind their car or engine. I am at a loss now.

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  Motor Blew - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By shelly47 - August 15 - 7:51 am

  I bought my 2012 Elantra September 2012, it only had 25,000km. I purchased it in Orangeville, Ontario, The customer service was great when I was on their lot. After purchasing my Elantra, the customer service plummeted, I was no longer worth the time of day to them. 3 months after buying the car it started ticking, Iam thinking no way I bought this car thinking I would have no problems so early. After 4 months of back and forth to hyundai dealerships, they told me my motor was going. I was appaulled, this is a brand new car, they treated me like crap, I wanted to give the car back, compensation $100 gas card & 1yr free roadside assistance. DONT BUY FROM HYUNDAI

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  Bad Mileage - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By jeniferlw - August 15 - 7:27 am

  I bought the car used a little over 2 years ago. It had high mileage but the price was right and I trusted the Hyundai brand. Boy was I wrong. The car functioned fairly well for the first 2 years, I was getting the street mileage ( 26 mpg) but was no where close to the highway mileage (35 mpg). Then in April my mileage suddenly dropped. Since then I now average 20 mpg, which is 200 miles per tank. Basically I can no longer afford to drive the car. I contacted Hyundai who told me to take it to their service dept. I have spent over $500 to try and figure out the issue. The only thing left to try is the fuel consumption test, which I am saving up for.

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  dissapointed - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By gismo2012 - August 10 - 8:32 am

  I bought a 2012 accent last yr new,I like the style and interior but the performance of it is very bad,last winter i had an experience I have never felt with any car,the roads were slushy and I had no control of the car,it was all over the road,stearing went one way and tires went another,also felt like I had no brakes took to dealer,of cource they found nothing also the gas,oh my god it eats gas,and the gas gauge is way off all the time,the range gauge that tells you how much further you can drive on that tank drops 2-3 miles as you are driving,even if I go a block.I have the digital gas gauge and that drops fast to,The dealer says nothing wrong,of course.

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  Bad Mileage. Check out the lawsuits. - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By lonyjeff - August 6 - 4:13 am

  I bought the 2012 Elantra. The most mileage I got was 24MPG on highway 18MPG on the street I do not drive fast. Steering wheel peels. Awful car. I fill up every 3-4days on 66 miles per day do not buy this car read the real reviews first. Hyundai lawsuit gave $89.00 for gas compensation for 25000 miles. that not even three weeks worth of gas.

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  Do not buy - brakes fail on lots of HYUNDAIs - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By i_love_carz - August 3 - 10:17 am

  Brake pedal goes to the floor occasionally. No braking at all!!! I am told the ABS module has failed and not covered by warranty at 62,199 miles as I am the 2nd owner. $2,500 repair cost. This is a chronic/common problem with Hyundais and should be covered as a recall because the engineering/manufacturing process or something is obviously is defective! Do your research as brake problems with Hyundais is way too common. Go to http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov and look for yourself

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  Wouldnt Recommend this Car - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By dwrbebop - July 12 - 8:58 am

  I am sitting in the dealership service department waiting for them to Fix a coolant leak, the A/C, and try to figure out why it blows an astronomical amount of smoke when I accelerate to pass another vehicle. This is a $21,000 brand new automobile and there is no reason for me to have this kind of trouble this soon after purchasing. As many of the other post stated as soon as Hyundai get your money they dont want anything else to do with you. Actually called Hyundai Motor Company to get explanation as to why I was having this trouble this early in my purchase. I was told that they have no explanation and was very rude. I will not be buying another Hyundai any time soon.

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  2012 Elantra Wont Start - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By 20grand4crap - June 25 - 10:37 am

  Brand new car. Intermittently wont start. Starts only maybe 30% of the time. Six trips to the dealership, all to no avail. they scratch their heads and send me back home with the hunk of junk. Every week, im having to get it towed in because it wont start.

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  Horrible car - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By genesiscoupe7 - June 11 - 12:32 pm

  I bought the limited 2013 brand new and it has had problems from day. Not to mention they lied about the MPG, and now there is a recall for the car. Also when you step on the brakes hard the whole car sounds like its about to fall apart. Stay away from Hyundais they are not what they used to be. THey are having problems with all of their cars now. You will see massive recalls and their business will go down. THey are pushing leases now so people dont realize what junk they bought.