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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  Darla is a champ! - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By jpedlhuber - March 24 - 11:51 am

  Ive had this car for the last 5 years and hand loved every day. I nicknamed her "Darla" after taking it out to Colorado for the second time. It did great on all of those mountain roads and even handled well in the snow. I really think that driving it is very comfortable and it was well worth the money. Mine came "loaded" with A/C, a CD player, and power windows, doors, and locks. Im only looking to sell it now because my wife doesnt want to learn how to drive stick!

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  NOT IMPRESSED - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Sad Owner - March 23 - 2:20 pm

  I just got my hyundai sonata serviced because it had this noise coming from the engine and it could be heard from the interior of the car. It made noise when I shifted to drive and reverse. And was loud while driving on the highway. I thought is was the power steering problem because it sounded like it when it is running low in fluid. However, that was not the case, but a solenoid problem. The parts has to be ordered and will call when it arrives. Hopefully, that would fix the problem. If not, according to the service staff, the transmission would have to be replaced. VERY SAD! I had the vehicle for 2 years and put 44,000 miles on it already with regular maintenance. We like to travel!

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  Excellent little car - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By speedracer008 - March 23 - 10:25 am

  It was good to get around town in and it can take a hit. Unfortunately it very successfully stopped a large adult deer straight on the front end but I, the driver, remained completely safe. It was fuel efficient and an easy little car to drive. Its small size allowed for easy parking anywhere! Overall a nice little car.

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  Great Car - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Hyundaiguy - March 19 - 12:14 pm

  This is my second Hyundai. In general I like this car. I have just begun after 11,000 miles to get good gas mileage. took a trip and got 37mpg. Interior is nice to the eyes, but mine has several small creaks and squeaks around front/back windshield, stereo surround. Outside pass side door handle gets stuck and door wont close. Other than that I like it.

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  fabric of cloth seats are awlfull - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Danny McCuiston - March 18 - 9:29 pm

  We just bought the car, we like the dealership every one there was helpful,now for the only bad thing about the car that weve found is the fabric on the seats, if you drop one drop of clear clean water on the seats it looks like a big dirty stain. We took it back for them to get the spots out 80% came out and we are afraid to try anymore cleaning,we cover the seats and arm rest with towels and that is embarrassing. If you have children the seats would be ruined with in a week. I hope Hyundai will improve the inside quality,if they do I will probably buy another one next year from the same dealer. A newer one but for now we will just be ashamed of the seats.

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  Nice but viberates - 2010 Hyundai Accent
  By Dan - March 18 - 8:16 pm

  I like it feels nice to drive, comfort, average 33mph do more hwy. as much as 38. The problem I have it has a vibration more noticeable at 58 or above, took it in to get checked they didnt know what it was, said another one had that also, was checking into it, bummer to feel that on a new car

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  A very economical, fun little vehicle! - 1996 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kalikiano - March 18 - 3:54 pm

  Bought my 1996 white Elantra GLS wagon from an Arizona dealer. It had 118,000 miles on it and was in excellent overall condition (well maintained by a NASA engineer) at the time. I have been quite pleased with this vehicle. Fuel economy excellent (30+ mpg) and reliability solid. Only problem I had was with the check engine light coming on, but adjustment at the local Hyundai dealer resolved that and the car passed California emissions tests quite easily. The cars great fun, handles well, and extremely practical for passenger or cargo use. A few squeaks due to age, but they just add personality to what has proven to be a very satisfactory purchase. Id buy another Hyundai in future!

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  Very reliable, annoying however... - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Tommy - March 18 - 12:17 am

  Put 100,000 miles on it. Havent had ANY mechanical problems, even after not changing the oil for up to 8-9000 miles at a time. Performed regular maintenance (brake pads, oil, filters, etc) and has never broke down once. The center console is terrible!!!! Too much to list here about it, but for instance.. The cup holders... well is really just one big cup holder, and if you have only one drink in there, it will definitely slide and spill into the gear selector. It is now hard to shift gears from the amount of times this has happened. Grey interior is now brown from dirt, even though I keep it clean. Headlights are impossible to replace by yourself without daylight and lots of patience.

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  Catalytic Converter - Horrible - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By Tony Burns - March 16 - 10:46 pm

  Overall my car was a fun and reliable car with very few issues. Last year I could not pass the emission test and the problems began. The check engine light would not go off and the codes said that the engine was under load even in low idle. The there was also a code for a new converter. On most vehicles the converter is under the car and may cost a couple hundred dollars. The converter on this vehicle is attached to the exhaust manifold and cost over a thousand dollars. I would have loved to keep the car but I was so upset with the outrageous price and location of the converter that I had to let it go. Good car, bad converter location!

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  MOST HONEST REVIEW = B+ Grade - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By 4.6 Honest Review - March 15 - 3:24 pm

  Driving: the car drives very good - it compares to much more expensive cars like Audi, Mercedes (not BMWs stiff ride which I do not like). Interior comfort is very good, soft leather seats (that need a bit more support). Lots of rear seat room for 3 adults. I have the tech package and to use the radio you must go through the "mouse" hand control -- unsafe when driving & miserable when it could be so easy with standard controls---same with navigation system (give us the "touch screen also Hyundai), but it does have a Nice big screen. My gas mileage is averaging 21 mpg - good for this size car. Consumer reports says reliability is only average on the v-8