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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  Not What I Thought? Confused - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Alvin C - August 22 - 4:13 pm

  Lots of inner noise - sqeeks when hitting bumps. Auto lights feature doesnt always work correctly. Some of the noise come from the CHEAP Brigestone Dueller 2 tires on the vehicle - would definitely change to Michelans or Good Year Eagles

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  Reliable and Cheap - 1996 Hyundai Accent
  By Richars2 - August 9 - 11:09 am

  Simple car, no frills, few options. This was before the 10 year 10k power train warranty. Ive had no problems with it until it hit its 11th birthday - then the trans began to slip. Overall its been a good purchase and has been quite reliable. Cheap car, cheap to drive. Trans was always a little rough in shifting. Seats are average at best.

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  Wish I would have saved my money - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Candy - August 7 - 1:01 am

  This was my first car and Im not happy with it. 1st year was okay but after that all down hill. Check engine light keeps coming on after car has been worked on. Back seat is cramped. Warranty would be good but the only dealership that is close to me does horrible work if any at all. Gas mileage is great when car doesnt over rev before I even shift it out of park. Handling is okay as long as the road is not wet. Car tends to fishtail on any road with more than a few drops of water on it. The breaks squeak like crazy when it rains and after it rains. And forget about decent pick up. Also for some reason the performance of the car plummets when AC is on.

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  Bad Mileage....Worse Customer Support - 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By badsaturn - August 5 - 8:33 am

  I own a 2012 Sonota Hybrid Limited. I am currently getting 24mpg in city driving. I have done all of the service upgrades recommended by this forum and its readers. I met with a field rep today to discuss the poor mileage. He told me as long as I get 23mpg or better Hyundai wont do anything for me. I have spent numerous hours on the phone with Hyundai and several trips to dealerships without any effect. Sorry, that is not good enough...this is the third Hyundai we have purchased since 2010. One would think Hyundai would value me as a customer. Apparently not. Too bad....I like the car other than the mileage. Hyundai does not stand by their customers based on my experience. Wont buy again.

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  watch out for that warranty - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By john o - July 25 - 4:44 pm

  they fail to tell you how much is excluded from the warranty and non warranty repairs are very expensive

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  Smoothness while driving Tucson-2010 - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By JYOTI - July 21 - 11:46 pm

  I bought this vehicle in Feb 2010. The serious problem with this CUV is its smoothness in accelerator. It would suddenly stiff and may cause smooth running. I am still observing but would like HYUNDAI to please resolve this soonest possible, else, they may have to call back the vehicles. Someday it is smooth with av of around 10 L/100 km some day 12 L/100 km and stiff Accelerator/Sometime it hinders the smooth running the vehicles speed.

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  Dont let looks fool you! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By junk car1 - July 15 - 2:00 am

  *Air bag sensor 700 miles 3 trips to the dealer. *Altenator 2,000mi *Replace transmission at 5,000 mi. *Battery 9,000mi. *Throwout bearing failed in new trans at 9,800mi. **Michelen tries replaced on front at 15,000mi *Front wheel bearing 20,000mi (car sounded like jet *car overheats(everthing associated has been replaced started at 11,000mi and still attempting at 28,000mi 5 trip to dealer. You will probably see good review early on, but once this car hits 5k you will wonder if it will stay fixed.

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  New Transmission at 22K - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By Eileen - July 9 - 1:04 pm

  At 18K miles, it started to ride sluggishly so we had the transmission looked at. At 22K it needed a new tranmission - fortunately, it was still under warranty although we bought it used...with 12K on it.

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  Never buy another one - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Nik Wis - July 6 - 6:30 pm

  I brought my Sante Fe two years ago in 2004. It was ok at first and then at 27,000 mies the clutch started to stick. It would lock up in 2nd gear. Well, I took it to the dealership and thet were supposed to fixin the problem. Well guess what! One month later when I got it back it ran smoothly for 2 weeks now Im havin the same problem again after they claim to hav replaced the Transmission, well in addition to that! Ive spent 300 dollars on tires not to mention the brakes has some issues! All I have to say is Im done with Hyundai! I will either trade it or get rid of it!!!!!

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  Transmission Failure - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By gotshafted - July 5 - 7:51 am

  2010 gls with 34954 miles transmission went out with a bang 600 miles from home and now waiting for a replacement. Hyundai expexts me to drive 1200 miles to pick up the car when ready... UNREASONABLE !!!!! Buyers BEWARE.