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:

• 

  Ahhhhh! Its comfy - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By Ed Pawlowski - November 1 - 8:11 pm

  I drove a 2014 Genesis base model and liked it enough to check out the restyled 2015. Glad I did. Major improvements and it will be looking good for a few more years. Bought one 4 weeks ago. I have 3000 miles in the first month. This weekend, along with another couple, we took a 750 mile round trip. After 300 non-stop miles, I never felt better getting out of the drivers seat. This was a combination of highway and secondary roads. On the highway, after a few hours I realized just how comfortable the seating and ride are. Very quiet, it is less tiring to drive. The technology is great. Adaptive cruise control is fantastic. If you are buying a premium car you should have all the options. Nit picks. I wish the headlights turned on when you turn the wipers on. That is old technology I had on cars 15 years ago and is a simple to do safety feature. Id like to have remote start on the fob. Using the phone works, but takes too many steps that can be done with a simple button push.

• 

  10 years on.... - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By chris - October 27 - 9:05 am

  I bought my black Sonata brand new on March 13, 2006. It had just came off the truck and had all the plastic on the outside and inside. They hadnt even checked the car in yet. I drove the V6, but decided on the 4cyl and I have NEVER regretted that still after 10 years. I have had no problems and this is my 3rd Hyundai. 2 previous were Elantras(99, & 04), which were trouble free as well. I still love driving my car and nothing has ceased to work and it still like new even at 10 years old. I only have 62,000 miles on it. My family has a variety of makes of cars (Subaru, Honda, Toyota, Nissan) and I still love getting back into my car as the quality is just as good as the others and mine is older than any of theirs. It shows how Hyundai just got it right with the 06 Sonata at the time. I feel the newer ones may be better in areas where mine was "lacking", but there is something about the newer ones that I just dont like. Im not sure if there are way more plastics than softer material on the inside or what. Gas mileage is fantastic as well. It never changes and I get pretty much the same each trip. The best I got was a 10 hr round trip to OC, MD and back at 600 miles to a tank of gas. Yes, the gas light was on, but I still had 30 miles to empty reading on the computer. How can you beat that.....I have never had really any issues with any of the Hyundais that I have had, yet people still think these cars are not that great...If you maintain them and service them they will last just as long as any other...Interesting that people are starting to realize that Hyundais are competitive and really great cars...Something I new about the company for 16 years now since Ive had my 99 Elantra.

• 

  thumbs up! - 2013 Hyundai Accent
  By Jerome - October 26 - 2:40 pm

  love this little car, almost as much as my old 1981chevette ! I frequently drive 300 miles at a time with one tank of gas, and no backache! Handles very well, although it bounces around at times still the traction has been there when I needed it. Fantastic mileage!

• 

  10 years on the road, still like new. - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Amkor - October 12 - 6:58 pm

  Bought this car new 10 years ago, when Hyundai still had a shady reputation... But I fell in love with the design, and took a chance.... This model of the Sonata was the FIRST really quality car coming from Hyundai, and it turned things around... Though I have only 55k on the odometer, the car rides like new, smooth, quiet, adequately powerful, stable, relaible, no problem. We have owned Accords as well, and I must admit there isnt much difference in built quality (but huge difference in price).... This is a good car.

• 

  My Little Hootie Hyundai - 1999 Hyundai Elantra
  By Luna Reneé - October 11 - 12:43 am

  I got my 1999 Hyundai Elantra with 52,000 miles (and some change) on it and I have NEVER had a problem with it. I got it almost 2 years ago and I plan on running it until it wont run anymore! It has fantastic handling in the snow (front wheel drive) and great gas mileage. It was a great graduation gift from my grandmother and I recommend it for anyone. Its such a reliable car and Im so glad that it was (and still is) my first car!

• 

  LOVE THIS CAR!!! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Blaine - October 9 - 10:02 am

  I bought this car 3 years ago with 60,000 miles on it. I now have 148,000 and still runs great. Front seats can be uncomfortable at times. Powerful V6 and fun to drive. Replaced the fuel pump at 127,000 miles, other than that, just brakes, rotors, tune up, oil change ect....got a aftermarket radio so I could have us plug in and aux cord plug in. Get about 22mpg city and 26mpg highway.

• 

  BEST SEDAN ON THE ROAD - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By Gary Lewis - September 28 - 7:59 pm

  Top notch sedan. The 4.6 is the one. 3.8s just dont cut it. Ive had this car for three plus years and wouldnt think of even trading it in. Great performance and beautiful lines. No issues whatsover. Change oil, brakes, tires. A++++++

• 

  13 years & counting!! - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Jim Hoth - September 27 - 12:49 am

  I bought my Accent L new in early 2003. It was a carryover 2002 model, so an additional $500 was taken off of the already low $9,495 window sticker. I was not after a car with a lot of bells & whistles... in fact, I liked that it was a bare bones base model as I felt there would be far less to wear out when it got older. 13 years later I have 77,000 miles on it & can truthfully say its been the most reliable car Ive ever had. its started in -21F with wind chills of near -50F, its idled in 102 degree heat with the temp gauge never leaving the midway point. It handles decent on wet roads, fair in the snow, & excellent on dry pavement. I have done very little to it except routine maintenance, which I have done everything at their recommended intervals. The engine is smooth, I can shift the 5 speed manual transmission with one finger, & the original paint looks like new yet. The only items I have had wear poorly are the shifter boot, the door panels faded very easily, & I am now needing to have the foam rubber inside the drivers seat replaced. The exhaust flex pipe developed a hole in 2010, but it was covered by the 10 year / 100,000 mile warranty. The gas mileage is far above what the window sticker rates it at. I consistently get 40-43 MPG in the Summer & have even topped 50 MPG once on a trip with all highway miles @ 55 MPH. I use Bosch triple platinum plugs, full synthetic oil, & run mid-grade unleaded. I plan to have this car for many years yet.

• 

  Everyone looking in this segment, test drive Equus - 2015 Hyundai Equus
  By J. Solecki - September 22 - 7:07 am

  I just leased the 2015 Hyundai Equus Signature. When I came to the dealership I was not really expecting to end up with this vehicle and test drove Genesis V6 and V8. Liked V8 better and then started thinking of maybe leasing this vehicle for my business. The sales person (Brett of Humble Hyundai in Texas) mentioned that they have a very good deal on Equus lease so I test drove it and actually liked it a lot. It maybe is not as sporty as Genesis but instill a lot of confidence on the read and the ride is much, much more refined. In the end I decided to go with the Equus as the lease offer was really good and Brett was really accommodating, followed up timely and was not pushy at all, unlike some of other car dealers I visited prior. Considering this is my first ever lease they made the process easy and I was in and out of the dealership pretty quick. We will see how the vehicle holds up quality wise but so far I am very satisfied. Everyone looking in this segment really ought to look at this car.

• 

  An absolute bulletproof workhorse - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Brian - September 21 - 9:35 pm

  Lets be perfectly clear. This is a commuter car. If that is what youre looking for, then this is the best value there is. My wife bought this car brand new before we met. Now she has a 20 mile commute and mine is 120 round trip, so the Elantra now carries me to work everyday. I plug away the miles, in traffic and at 80mph day after day. There was some sort of sensor problem a couple years back, but that was while it was still under warranty and hasnt repeated. Im about to roll over 100,000 and it is running like new. I fully expect to get well over 200,000 out of this little beast. Even though its small, i fit comfortable as a large man. Im 65" and 240lbs. I spend 2.5 hours a day in this car and am plenty comfortable. It fits 4 normal sized adults comfortably. On the professional level, I sell components and raw materials into the Asian auto markets. Hyundai is right up there with the Japanese auto makers in terms of quality control and engineering. It is built to last.