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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  Never again...!! - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By EMurray - February 25 - 2:00 am

  I bought the Accent GL as my first brand new car. From January 31 to April 20,2000 it was in the shop 4 times for the transmission, it was slipping as it shifted. Every time they told me that they found the problem and it was done but after having the car home for less than a day the same thing was happening so I had to bring it back again with the same result every time. Also, I took the car from RI to MD (350miles)and back one weekend and when I went out to start it for work Monday morning, it wouldnt start so yet again, I had to have them put it in the shop. I wouldnt ever buy this car again!!

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  you get what you pay for - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By josevilla - February 25 - 2:00 am

  By far the worst car I have ever owned. If it wasnt for the hatchback feature the car would be useless. Its so bad that the people at the service center not only know me on a first name basis they recognize my voice when I call to make appointments. This car is mechanically inferior and what is the point of 32 miles per gallon if you have to fill up 3 or 4 times a week because the tank is so damn small.

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  Not worth it even for the cheap price - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By matt44 - February 12 - 4:30 pm

  Multiple trips to the dealership for problems including leaks, washer motor, etc... and one recall. Very poor gas mileage. Much worse than the accord i owned. Resale value very poor - over 50% of all sonatas go to fleets. I guess real buyers know better than to buy this.

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  What a piece of junk - 1997 Hyundai Accent
  By bultaco - February 9 - 2:00 am

  Constantly breaking down. Water pump, clutch, power steering, window seals, window cranks. You get what you pay for!

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  TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By derrick - January 19 - 8:43 am

  The transmission stinks... period. Going from first to second gear is whatever you want to call it, a slip, hesitation, pause, delay but it is not normal and Hyundai knows about and continues to put a vehicle on the market with this transmission. It ruins the entire driving experience because when its cold, the hesitation is horrible from first to second gear and continues, at a milder rate, even when its warms up. Shame on you Hyundai this is a lemon law issue.

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  Bring Duct Tape - 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SEZ - January 18 - 9:53 am

  Dont be misled by the appearance of the comfort of this vehicle. The 2012 Santa Fe, while performing well, is loaded with subpar craftsmanship and design. After not even 3 1/2 years I have had pieces literally fly off the car, constant recalls and a myriad of simple things being replaced -- from light switches to a sun roof that leaked. Handling is OK, but there is more than comfortable body sway on corners. Winter driving is OK, but if youre in heavy snow areas, winter tires are highly recommended. The Blue Tooth set-up is second rate as is the navigation. In fact, the navigation is so whacked out, that even the dealer I bought the car from did not how to use it. Adjustments for things like auto door locks are non existent and the appointments, such as switches and controls and second rate -- at best. Quite honestly, if Toyotas Rav-4 did not have the goofy side-opening rear door (which they have since done away with) I would have gone with that car, or maybe the Chevy Equinox. I generally keep my cars for an extended period of time, but this will not be the case with the Santa Fe. As soon as its paid off, or hits 50k miles -- its gone.

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  unreliable - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By jerseywoman - January 12 - 2:00 am

  At 3000 miles had parts for clutch replacedagain 5000 miles- DiFeo just did a little adjusment to shift -it performed the way it was made to ignored my complaint about back brake sound. Before 7500 service, shift has been grinding, brake squeeling. They ordered partsmy ONLY means of transportation and needed it to get to 2 jobs(bought new car so I would not be in repair shop!!). I was told they would provide a car. Took car in early Friday morning, was told person who was to give me car was not in: they would look at it(I had just spent 4 hours on a Sat..I would like to enact the lemon law if I can!!

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  Do not buy Hyunday Accent - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By Cleve - January 9 - 2:00 am

  Five times in repair shop for different reasons. After 75000 miles burns oil.

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  Do not buy this car - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By DoNotBuyThisCar - January 4 - 1:20 am

  I bought this car 1 1/2 years ago and had nothing but trouble. The tranny and clutch had to be replaced (own expense - no warranty) and the paint is slipping off all over the place. The dealership doesnt acknowledge warranty claims and sent me to Corporate which in return sent me back to the Dealership - nothing but the run around! I dont care if you buy the car or not but let me tell you, its badly build, poor quality, bad customer service. Hyundai surely stands to their reputation, to be a cheap auto maker. Do yourself a favor and pay a couple of thousand bucks more for a car you can enjoy rather then get awfully frustrated with! Good luck

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  would not recommend - 1998 Hyundai Sonata
  By alina - December 9 - 2:00 am

  Ive had a Sonata for two years and it was only two years old when I bought it. Ive had more problems and put more money into fixing it than I ever should have.