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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  Mistake in purchasing this SUV - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By kazakone - March 2 - 8:26 pm

  Really wanted to love this vehicle but ultimately had to get rid of it after only 6 months! First road trip, only 3500 miles was stranded between AZ and CA. Threw a rod, had to have a new engine ordered and installed. Did I mention only 3500 miles??!! Began to notice rattles right away, gas mileage never what was advertised, brushed nickel (?)substance on steering wheel started to peel off, front fender came loose. Didnt care for the dealership in AZ as well, didnt return calls, provided inaccurate information. Not at all helpful. Definitely cannot recommend this vehicle!!! Would like to think it was not a Hyundai issue, but just got stuck with a lemon.

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  warranty does not matter - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By margot - January 30 - 1:00 pm

  I purchased a Hyundai because of the warranty. However, everything major that could go wrong with the car did (transmission, power steering, axle) and continued after the bumper to bumper warranty expired. Most of the Hyundai dealers closed, so you have to drive 15 miles to service a vehicle under warranty. Not a good sign. Also, the dealer I serviced it at, L.A. City Hyundai, would not cooperate with the manufacturer when warranty issues arose. I would never buy a Hyundai, regardless of the price or how long the warranty is. The aggravation of breaking down and having to pay for a rental car and waiting days for a part is not worth any warranty. I need a car that is reliable.

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  LOVE GROWN COLD - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Linda L. Evans - January 17 - 6:41 pm

  Oh the tears I have shed. I have owned two of these vehicles. One was 3.4 v6 and the one I have now is 2.7 v6. I truly loved this car enough to purchase my second one. I didnt drive my first one but for 30,000 miles. It had 67,000 miles on it when I traded it in. I have been very happy with the vehicle and would have purchased a third one had I not lost my career employment. I drove over 1,000 miles per week so went through 100,000 mile warranty in two years or so. It has been a mechanically sound vehicle until the latter years. I have experienced power steering going out, while driving in the rain, and no one can find why it does that. Now I cant use the hand operated door open and lock because it triggers something to do with the parking lights or signal lights not sure which, coming on and wont go off. I can hear a ticking sound like the signal lights. When this happens and I do not realize it the car is dead the next morning and I have to jump it. Plus the automatic lock feature is not a good idea. The seats are not that good. They were hard when I bought the car new and they are hard now 11 years later. Now the paint is peeling off on the hood and the clear coat is coming off in other places causing the paint to peel. On the hood the paint was peeled by a hard rain, not hail, but rain. It peeled on the hood on each side and in the same place on each side. Strange to say the least. The clear coat had not come off on the hood but paint still peeled. I have persuaded a few friends to purchase this car because of its performance which I can say is the best on the highway. But now that they have seen how my paint has done they are reconsidering. This was to be my last car because now I am old and unemployed and cant purchase another car. I was so proud of the one I have now because I took care of it. It still looked in appearance nice enough, but now is an atrocity from the paint peeling. I could cry a lot over this. Now the vehicle I once loved has turned cold like the car. T

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  Ill trade for a good used car - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By JL Williams - December 31 - 11:33 am

  Well, its almost an ok car, but... I heavily researched the car before even going to look at one. On paper it looked great. I bought it in late October, 2004. EPA mpg ratings are 17-20 mpg city driving and that is what it has gotten: anywhere between 20 and 16.6 mpg from one tank-up to the next - thats 15-20% difference between tanks. Literally, I have gone from 20 to 16.6 - 17 mpg in one tank full - twice. Despite being an SUV, half the drivers in my family cannot drive it. One family member is very overweight and, tho she fits in a Toyota Camry just fine, the Hyundai seat will not go back far enough, nor will the steering wheel adjust enough th

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  Never again - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By kt - December 22 - 3:36 pm

  I will never buy another Hyundai Santa Fe. This car had multiple major problems, including timing belts replaced, transmission replaced, rear and front catalytic converters replaced, etc. The tires were replaced multiple times, as were the brakes. The driver window fell down into the door and needed fixing. This was definitely a high-maintenance car. My car wouldnt accelerate above 30 mph on a highway so I had to drive on the shoulder of the road while utilizing my flashers. I took it to the dealership, who apparently misdiagnosed the problem multiple times and had my car for 5-weeks without a loaner vehicle. The customer service dept. and service dept. were less-than-acceptable.

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  Look around before you buy - 2014 Hyundai TUCSON
  By deputy320 - October 21 - 4:48 am

  We are in our late 60s and wanted a small suv. Mileage is nowhere close to what is advertised about 21MPG. It is underpowered to the point of being dangerous. If you are driving in any kind of wind, HANG ON TO THE WHEEL! Maybe after someone is killed in one of these Hyundai might listen. This is the worst car I have ever owned and I have owned plenty in my lifetime

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  Sorry I bought it on day 3 - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By disappointed - October 21 - 1:53 am

  The first six weeks of owning my Sonata it was back to the dealership every week trying to fix all the rattles. Broken part replaced for the glove box, broken part replaced in the dash and another noise resolved in the steering column. Today had a door panel replace due to poor plastic welds in the original panel. This isnt the end to the noise. Still has a rattle in the instrument panel. Seatbelt chime is annoying. It dings even if your in park. Heat always comes out from defroster even when set on floor only. Legs never get warm. Defroster defrosts windshield unevenly. Car jumps around when hitting road imperfections at higher speeds.

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  Dont buy this car - 2018 Hyundai Sonata
  By Urjit shah - October 12 - 12:55 pm

  Its very very noisy. In just 2 days its engine sounds very grinding loud noise.

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  TOTAL LEMON!!! - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By doraimon - September 28 - 3:07 am

  I bought my 2010 Santa Fe V6, full option, last year. Ive been having problems from the start. I noticed a violent jerk and sounded like my transmission fell off. I took it in to the dealer but they couldnt find anything wrong. My wife drives the Santa Fe, and the engine shut down on her twice. When we took it to the dealer, he gave us a rental for a week while they test drove it. Again, they didnt find anything wrong with it. Last month, when I was driving, I was making a left turn and when I stepped on the gas, the car was not moving, only the engine revved up. I hope people read this and never buy this crap. I am Korean-American and I will NEVER buy Korean crap again. Thank you.

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  NOT SO GREAT AFTER ALL - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By mreyes6868 - September 16 - 11:58 am

  Wanted to buy a mid-sized sedan with good gas mileage. Considered an altima but the interior was much better on the sonata. After hearing about the 10 year 100k warranty and the 35mpg rating I had to have it. The panorama roof, 200hp, and 35mpg were the three main reasons for me buying the car. After one year and 16k miles I am very dissapointed with the quality, performance and gas mileage. The car has had several electrical bugs and the engine sounds horrible. It really doesnt seem to have the 200hp hyundai says it has. I struggle to keep my mpg above 26 mpg going about 65-70mph on the highway with eco mode on. This car is not as good as I thoght it was. Dont fall for hyundais mpg lies!