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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  Mixed Experience - 1990 Hyundai Sonata
  By wnc - October 11 - 2:00 am

  This was my parents car. It only has 89000 miles on it. I use it to commute ~90 mostly highway miles daily. It makes an OK commuter car. It had a defective torque converter that was replaced under warrenty. It has a problem with the ignition switch. Installed a push button to bypass the ignition switch. It is hesitant to start. The air vents are cheesy and they have fallen part. The air conditioner still works but the outside air vent is now jammed open. A water leak has rusted the AC blower fan. Put some oil in it to quiet it down for now. On humid days the windows can fog up easily. DO NOT BUY UNLESS YOU KNOW THE CARS COMPLETE HISTORY.

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  would never buy a hyundai again - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By candyb - September 29 - 2:00 am

  This car has been in the shop 3 times for various things that were covered under warranty, along with another hyundai we have that has been in the shop twice.

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  Timing distruciton - 1997 Hyundai Sonata
  By bhart - September 20 - 2:00 am

  You should get your timing belt changed before you hit the 65000 mark. The car has no saftey engine shut off when the timing belt goes and the engine is therefore ruined and you will need a whole new one because all of the valves get smashed together. I was only in my driveway when mine went without any warning. I turned my car on and boom the timing belt went and so did the engine. Buyer beware.

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  Oops I should have got smt else,,,smt reliable - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By peter127 - September 16 - 9:32 am

  Had for a little over 2 years, lately I have been going to a delearship often to have issues fixed. Major issues I found were, engine wont start, thankfully I was in town. Front door wont unlock with a remote, I had to use back door to open front door last time I did that was ,,,,never ,,,Current issue, I heard a hamming sound from the dashboard, it actually felt like some one was mowing grass, honestly I rolled down my window to check. They said it was at the back of the radio unit and they took out the whole unit including gps. Guess what I am driving, a car with a big hole on my dashboard,,that could be ok but I feel it is not reliable. Better spend ur hard earned money on reliable car!

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  I will never purchase another Hyundai! - 1997 Hyundai Elantra
  By UNHAPPY - September 1 - 2:00 am

  I would not recommend this car to even my worst enemy. The transmission has failed twice. All of the paint (original paint) is chipping off. It makes horrible banging noises when turning and no mechanic (not even Hyundai dealer mechanics)can figure out why. The steering column shakes (another "feature" thank no one can seem to fix). We have done all we can to no avail. I will never EVER buy another.

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  Problems with no help from dealer or the manufacturer - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By emlod - August 30 - 5:49 am

  The car pulls to the left. The rear brakes went at18,000 miles. They blamed me for not having the sliders lubricated but I too the cAR FOR SERVICE TO THE DEALER SINCE i BOUGHT. wHY DIDNT THEY TELL ME. THEY DIDNT. A CALL TO HYUNDAI MOTORS RESOLVED NOTHING. I DONT ENJOY THE CAR. When you trade it in you will get nothing compared to Honda and Toyota. Some dealers are selling for $3,500 above sticker price. There is no reason for this. Dont pay it. Go on the internet and find a price there, but I would not recommend this car. Honda, Toyota and Nissan mask much better cars and have better service and trade in. Why by a sonata?

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  Never again - 1997 Hyundai Accent
  By almerinda00 - August 16 - 2:00 am

  Nothing but problems. This car really put a bad taste in my mouth toward all Hyundai vehicles. I would never buy another one.

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  Unhappy - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By unhappy1999 - August 8 - 2:00 am

  Took car back to dealer 13 times during one year for the same problem. Bad elctrical system. Faulty door locks and stero system. Car does not hold any resale value. I will never buy another one.

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  Really disappointed - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By kmflutist - August 7 - 3:12 am

  Owned this car for a year & a half and have had nothing but problems. Sway bar bolts (or something to that effect) had to be replaced. A/C died -- need a new compressor ($1000+), and now we need new fuel level sensors. The most disturbing thing is our mechanic has told us that ALL of these problems are common with the 07 Santa Fe. We bought this car because of Hyundais great reputation, but I can tell you, were not impressed. Will never buy another Hyundai.

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  Piece of Junk! - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By bmohandas - August 5 - 3:10 pm

  I purchased the 2013 Sonata GLS with Popular package on 5/5 and starting day 1, i was getting a brushing noise on the steering wheel. I took it to the dealer on 5/17 and its been 7 days and they attempting to fix the issue. they are replacing the steering column! Never buy Hyundais! go for Honda,Toyota or Nissan