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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  This vehicle is terrible - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By john_stone37 - July 5 - 4:30 am

  This car is fun to dive, but if you dont have a ton of money, dont buy it. Bought one at 99k miles, it now has 124k. In the span of that 25k, Ive replaced all tires twice, replaced the clutch twice, replace the shifter cable twice, replaced the transmission and flywheel. All tiburons after 2003 are crap. Also, any transmission repair (clutch, shifter cable, flywheel, etc.) is 1000$ more than with most cars because it takes extra work in a tiburon to get to the transmission

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  hmmmmm, jury is still out. - 2008 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Salem Boicot - July 1 - 9:53 am

  So far, I like the general conservative styling of the vehicle. I have the black interior which gets rid of a lot of the tackiness and cheap feel. Audio is great. Handling is brilliant for a car in its class. A few blind spots, but otherwise vision is good. Space is well used in car, although question to the depth of the dashboard, could be smaller so that the interior is forward with larger boot. Fuel economy and engine performance is rubbish. Thus far have got no where near what the dealer claimed, transmission is horrible, it needs 5 gears with better ratios, and it loves a drink. You watch the fuel gauge more than the road. Dont get this if you want an economical car.

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  For the souless. - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By pukklepopper - June 29 - 11:20 pm

  This car is a good runner, as long as you dont want to run fast or in comfort. Never had any mechanical issues with this car, but it feels completely underpowered and lifeless when on the road.

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  Good deal, could be better - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bob Devon - June 2 - 2:00 am

  Good warranty and seems reliable. Some interior cheapness is a bit iritating but for the price I can stand it. The illusion of the money saved definitly makes the car apealing but after some further research I realized its actually cheaper over a 5 year period (even less probably) to by an Accord. The accord has a better transmission, better engine and is better to the enviroment (this Sonata is a smog machine). Hyundai added some extras to make the good selling points vs. the Accord but these are features rarely used compared to daily driving, ala hyrdrolic hood.

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  should have waited on 2006 - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By John - May 20 - 8:09 pm

  I had a 99 Elantra with 160,000 miles and it was a great car. I saw an ad for the 2006 Sonata and went to a local dealership. He told me that it would be several months before the 2006 Sonata would be available and wouldnt have any discounts for 6 months after release. I gave in and purchased the 2005 GL with the power moonroof as the only luxury. They gave me nothing for my tradein. The salesman kept me so busy using the shifter that I didnt notice the 4cyl engine vibration. I did the first day I took it to work and brought it in to be checked out, they told me all the 4 cyl vibrate that badly and there was nothing that could be done. I have had people stop carpooling because of it.

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  Stumble start problem,,My biggest mistake!! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By ecube - May 14 - 12:07 am

  The car did great except city MPG worst than they say in city.. My wife and I had 2 near accidents because the engine didnt kick in after we pulled out in front of people on highway,,Dealer Crain in Little rock was the worst,, told us nothing then went home and a lot are having these problems and Hyundai doesnt stand by their cars,,unless you can be at the dealership instead of at work getting paid,,We spent 3 trips trying to fix car and another to replace part.. Warranty doesnt mean crap if you are there every 2 weeks..BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!

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  Transmission Issues - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By aaronpc - May 12 - 7:13 pm

  Since I bought my XG300 I experienced a slight shutter when going from 3rd to 4th gear. The dealership said this was common in the 01 XG300. I now have 87K on the car and my warranty is not valid since I am the 2nd owner (non- transferrable 100K drive-train warranty!), and the extended warranty I bought at the dealership is null-and-void since firm went bankrupt. Im stuck with paying for a brand new transmission on a 3.5 year old car! I called Hyundai direct and they said not their problem.

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  Watch out! - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By philly331 - May 1 - 10:00 am

  I purchased this car with the mindset of it being a family car for the next ten years. Now I hope I can get five. I had the car in for its first oil change and had the dealer look at the transmission since it had been shifting hard into first, second and third gear. To my surprise a week later I had a new transmission. From reading the other reviews it looks like this is a universal flaw. If you have this car I hope your dealer is as honest as mine was or you could have a big problem on your hands! To anyone thinking of buying this car dont!

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  Danger Alert for 2011 Hyundai Sonata! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By mommyt - April 27 - 3:33 pm

  I loved this car. I drove it for a week before it almost killed myself my son and my husband. The steering wheel whipped out of my hands and the next thing I knew, we were in the oncoming lane! I had to fight with all of my strength to bring it back and keep it over for the distance of around 6 car lengths while the wheel shook and jerked to the left. Thank God there was no oncoming traffic or there would have been a head on collision! In the end...after being handed a lot of bull crap, I made them take the car back. They Hyundai Corporation never contacted us to even apologize. They are not going to warn any customers either. So I am. Ill never drive a Hyundai of any kind again!

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  Ive driven better - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By JJ Leonidas - April 20 - 5:03 pm

  I have a 6 cylinder Sonata and for the first 30,000 mile was great. After a tune up, it was down hill. The disc brakes keep making noise, it has a bad sensor that I spend too much money on, the transmission keep slipping, and when the power windows need repairs, only Hyundai can replace it, with a cheap plastic piece to draw it up and down. I may have drive the crap out of the car, but the reliability is bad. It also revs up to 4000 rpms after I start it up. Ill stick with my Ford Tempo which out last the Sonata so far out of the two cars I have.