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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  Almost to 100K and problems have started - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By ldfranklin - March 11 - 2:17 pm

  I love my car. I have had it for 3 years and never had any issues. Gas milage is awesome and I get money reimbursed to me every time I take it in for an oil change - win win for me. BUT around 87,000 the car started to stall on me when I stopped. Check engine light came on so I took it to my mechanic. He said when hooked up to a computer it says "needs new engine". So I get it towed to Hyundai. They replace an oil senor valve (covered under extended warranty) and it ran fine for about 1500 miles. Then it started to stall again. I took it back immediately and now it is giving 2 codes and one of them is replace the engine. Now I am getting "I am not sure if Hyundai will cover this"!

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  Engine Gone 48,000km - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By Stephen Power - March 4 - 8:14 am

  My Elantra has 48,000 km on it, is not driven hard, driven by me and my wife who are both 50+ years old, and the bottom half of the engine needs to be replaced. My friend has an Elantra that is a year newer than mine and her engine has to be replaced. I know of a couple of other people who drive Elantras and they have ticking in their motor the same as I have. Buyer beware.

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  Comfortable Basic Car - 2014 Hyundai Accent
  By Paulette Lind Ryder - February 19 - 1:12 pm

  This is a small, cheap car that looks nice, feels comfortable, and gets very good gas mileage. While a few very small improvements are in order, I would highly recommend it.

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  Excellent Highway Cruiser - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By averageman - February 15 - 10:30 am

  An excellent cruiser. I have a long commute and I set the adaptive cruise control and this car pretty much drives itself. The ride and seats are supremely comfortable. It is NOT, however, a "fun to drive" car. It is too big and heavy. The grill is the finest looking grill I have seen (Yes it looks like a cross between an Audi and Aston Martin to me). It is very well equipped and is 15k-20k cheaper than the German alternatives. One cant even get a C class (which is an inferior car strait up against this Genesis) equipped similarly for anything near this car.

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  Good but annoying.. - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By frustrated86 - February 12 - 8:35 am

  Wrote a review last year after driving my 3.8 Genesis for about 1000 miles. After about 4000 miles and the weather turning colder in Michigan, I noticed popping and cracking sounds coming from the sunroof, in the rear and front. I have an ultimate package. Because the car is so quiet it really stands out and is very annoying. Happens constantly when there is minor shifting of the cars weight, in addition to driving over bumps. Took it to the dealer who had no resolution to the problem. My next move is to contact Hyundai directly. Shame because it is a nice car but hard to positively compare it to the Germans luxury models.

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  My issues with the Genesis - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By londona9 - February 12 - 12:54 am

  I bought the 2015 AWD Genesis on Memorial day in 2014. Wonderful great looking extremely beautiful car. I was going to buy the 5 series and bought the Genesis instead because of its value for money and Hyundais superb warranty program. After having the car for 8 months, having driven it for just about 2k miles I have some concerns about the car. The leather in my car has been deteriorating with time, more than expected, more than I have ever noticed in my other vehicles. Also, the reading light LED inside the car have failed in the first week of buying the car. Hyundai helped me through it but it still upsets me when I think about the issues I had.

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  Very comfortable and reliable, but kinda scary too. - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By crowcanada - February 6 - 12:29 pm

  Great value for money but not a great driver. Bought the car based on "bang-for-the-buck", perceived reliability, economy, and features. Scores on all those points (unlike others here, my dealer-maintained vehicle has had no problems at all.) Mileage is good but not what was advertised (a lot better than my 04 Mazda 3, though.) Defrosters - front and rear - are inadequate. Mirror and seat heaters are great. Only real problem is the handling. The rear end will "step out" when you hit bumps in turns (e.g. expansion joints in highway overpass). It will hop around even on straight-and-level driving over broken pavement. Overall, its "twitchy". Wife wants it gone as a result.

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  Good if theres no rust - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By pmak1 - January 30 - 10:34 pm

  Had this car only a short time due to an unfortunate accident but put 15000km in that short time and the car was very reliable only problems were the the radio/cd player died and the rust ate through the left lower control arm. So if your looking at getting one just look for rust around the suspension.

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  Excellent workhorse for the price - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By 4356pats - January 19 - 1:00 am

  Ive had this car since 2008, and have put it to the test. It has 112,000 miles on it, including a 6-day drive from the east coast to the west coast, back to Denver, and back to the west coast. Never driven a car that is this reliable. Its not fast, its not flashy, but it goes and keeps going. It has literally never left me on the side of the road except once, for a punctured tire. Practical, perfect for a young person, perfect for a small family. Its likable, it has character, and its surprisingly comfortable and sharp.

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  nice ride II - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By ytown - January 4 - 8:24 pm

  Updating my previous review from August 2013, now have 27k miles on the car. Still have the same opinions as before, it could use a little better handling and maybe brakes that werent quite as soft, but overall an excellent car. I have had no problems with the car and only have done oil changes and tire rotations, so very low cost to own. I actually average about 23 miles per gallon, but most of my driving is highway. If you can put aside the the lack of name brand, this is an excellent car for the money.