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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  Great car, no complaints - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Paul Cocke - January 8 - 10:40 am

  A few months ago, I bought a new 2015 Sonata Limited 2.0T. Hyundai moved from the Sport 2.0 with the Ultimate package to the Limited 2.0T. Not sure of the difference between the two but both have a lot of features. The Limited 2.0T I bought has the turbo paired with a four-cylinder engine (245 hp), leather, heated and cooled seats, panoramic sunroof, navigation, great sound system and a bunch of safety features, including rearview backup camera, smart cruise, blind spot warning, lane departure warning and a cool brake hold button that in stopped traffic lets you keep it in drive and take your foot off the gas pedal. I traded in a 2009 Sonata Limited V6 (which never had any problems – just did the regular maintenance and drove it to 108,000 miles before trading in and got another 100,000-mile Hyundai warranty). I test drove a lot of cars and SUVs and narrowed my final list down to the Sonata, Ford Fusion with turbo and AWD and the Suburu Legacy V6 with AWD. I have a 40-mile roundtrip commute on highways through the Cascade Mountains in rainy Washington State. I really wanted AWD because of the weather here but the Fusion and Legacy dealerships simply would not negotiate much of a deal with me. Also, the Sonata Limited 2.0T included many more features and, at least to my eye, the build quality appears really good. I was able to negotiate with several Hyundai dealerships and get good deals on both a substantially discounted new 2015 Sonata and above-Edmunds price on my trade-in. (Note in negotiating: get pre-approved for a loan then make dealerships compete on the price of the car; don’t get too picky on a color as that reduces your ability to negotiate. I made three different dealerships compete – via phone and email – on a price and worked the last one down another $1,000 from a price with incentives already $7,000 below MSRP. Then in the finance office I told them I was pre-approved and they actually got a loan via Hyundai at an even lower rate than my already very low rate). I love Hyundai’s long warranties but watch out for dealer options in the dealership finance office. Why do you need any extended warranties when the regular one is so good? One dealer option in particular, a high-tech service to track your car if stolen, is sometimes included in your contract. It sometimes is as high as $750 or $1,000! They told me it would lower my car insurance. Check with your auto insurance (my auto insurance covers my cars if stolen – no need for it). So far I love the Sonata. The steering is much, much better than my 2009 Sonata. It has three driving modes: Sport, Regular and Eco. The car really gets sporty in Sport and that’s a good time to use the paddle shifters. Eco is for saving gas. I drive mostly in the Regular setting. I liked the extra power of my V6 so was attracted to the turbo, which appears to be a very good engine with some notable differences. The V6 engine really was pretty fast, and could take off quickly. The turbo is not at all in the class of a V6 in starting out from a stop but in the mid-range speeds pulls very well, which is what I was interested in anyway in highway driving. I am getting about 32 mpg highway and about 26 to 27 combined, better than my V6. If you do much highway driving the smart cruise works well and is a great feature. The blind-spot detection has already saved me from an accident. The lane departure warning is annoying and you can turn it off. The cabin is large. I am 6 feet 2 inches tall and weigh 260 pounds and am very comfortable (the front seats lower). The pull-down sunscreens for the back seats have been a huge hit with kids trying to take a nap. The navigation system is good. Very few beefs: the trunk is large but the trunk opening is narrow; I wish the audio/radio had a mute (maybe I just haven’t found it yet) and visibility is slightly obscured to the rear but the rearview camera helps with that. I don’t like the flashy chrome along the sides (tacky) but like the overall slightly Genesis look much better than the fluidic sculpture design of the previous model. The car is comfortable, very quiet, no rattles or squeaks and so far very enjoyable, with no problems. It does not have AWD and does not drive as well as the Fusion (though much better than the Legacy) but I overall am very happy with my purchase.

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  Excellent Value, Car like Ride.......... - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By IlovemySantaFe - January 8 - 6:03 am

  I am so happy with my new Santa Fe I had to come on-line and write a review. It has everything I wanted and more, excellent value and warranty and the sales experience were quick and painless. My salesperson Bobby explained everything and showed me all the features and benifits of buying a quality Suv. Most important Hyundai has done so much to improve the quality of their cars and with their warranty I have no worries.

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  Great Car - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By sshawkins - January 7 - 1:03 pm

  Ive been driving the car for 3 weeks, and was concerned about the Hyundai name. This car is great to drive and the fit and finish are excellent. I am averaging about 22 miles per gallon, which isnt too bad for the 3.3L V6. I traded a VW Jetta for the Hyundai, and havent been disappointed. The back leg room is great for teens, and they especially love the blue dash lights.

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  Love It - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Firefly - January 7 - 12:40 pm

  We were deciding between the Hyundai Azera and the Buick Lucerne. After driving both cars and reading the reviews in Edmunds.com, we decided to purchase the Azera. The milage is as advertised as we got 29 MPH on a round trip from Phoenix to LA and back. In town we are doing 23/24. The performance is outstanding. I really have to be careful not to push it because it is so quick. The ride is smooth and quiet. The car is really sharp and we get a lot of comments on how well it looks.

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  piece of junk - 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By geologist26 - January 7 - 10:09 am

  the sante fe is one big piece of junk. I purchased it new GLS V6 AWD and have had several minor issues with it. The biggest being the AWD DOES NOT WORK! it has a ton of cheap parts inside and out and is just a bunch of junk overall. Me and my parents have owned mercedes, chevys, cadillacs, and fords and this vehicle is one of the worst! HYUNDAI DOES NOT TAKE PRIDE IN THEIR VEHICLES, no matter how good they might look.

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  Good for the big guy - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Larry - January 4 - 6:33 am

  I am 66", 350 pounds and have been looking for a small car that I fit in for quite some time. I have found it with the Elantra. I have a 2004 Town Car and a 2007 Tundra which have plenty of room but not that great mileage for an everyday driver. I can actually exit the Elantra easier than I can the Lincoln as it has more head room. The interior is a little narrower and the leg room a little less but I am larger than most and I figure I have to give up something for that 34 mpg. The car is very impressive. The mileage on a trip was 34.5 and in all town driving in the 29 range. The acceleration is good and plenty of power for the MO hills. I would recommend the SE to anyone.

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  Comfortable & practical, but gas hungry - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jpc477 - January 4 - 1:36 am

  Up until buying my Santa Fe I had always driven the smaller cars (Honda Civic, Mazda Protege). Its a good vehicle & very comfortable inside, but I might end up selling it & going back to a sedan. I expected my gas mileage to go down with it being an SUV, but still thought Id at least average in the low to mid 20s with it being a 6 cylinder and not an 8 & not being that big. However Im averaging 17 to 20 miles to the gallon and thats even with driving very conservatively. The ride is smooth but I find myself being afraid of any sudden moves. Overall its not a bad vehicle but be ready to pay more at the pump if you get one.

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  Fun to Drive! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Happy Hyundai Owner - January 3 - 7:11 pm

  I love my Elantra! It handles like a sports car, with tight cornering. Climate control is great and the heated seats are SO nice! The sound system is nice, with lots of speakers. The accessory outlet is handy, but the steering wheel audio controls are the best! Cruise control is precise. Trunk space is good with drop-down seats for added length. Good leg-room in rear seat. The ride could be softer to feel the bumps less harshly, but its firm and responsive. I think its sporty and fun, especially in red!

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  Awesome little coupe - 2008 Hyundai Tiburon
  By 08Tib - January 3 - 3:26 pm

  I have had this car for over a month and even though thats not a long time I cant help myself but write a review. The car is pretty quick, not fast but quick for a daily driver. I like the interior design also over something like the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Chevy Colbalt. It looks unbelievable at night too. All in all its a great car but the engine should be able to put out more power stock. Nothing a little aftermarket support cant fix though :).

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  Great Little Car - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Hugh G. Rection - January 3 - 1:55 pm

  I purchased this car used with 58000 miles on it. The Carfax report said that it had been a rental in its previous life. Despite that, this car looks great, drives great and even with a V6 is good with fuel economy. I have since put 12,000 miles on the car and have had no problems. Just put on some new tires and have been diligent with the oil changes. I hope this car performs for another 30,000 or so. Then it should be about time to buy a new Hyundai.(Ill get the warranty next time:)