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 Reliability - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Michael Jordan - January 11 - 2:52 pm

  this has been a great car. very reliable, have not had one mechanical problem with this car. i would buy this car again.

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  Brakes and Tires - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kadaro - January 11 - 8:51 am

  I have 2 of the 2003s for my kids. Both are great and have one major flaw. You cant get the tires off if you get a flat. The steel rims rust to the hubs and needs a large rubber mallet to remove! This happened multiple times on both cars. Also, replacing front brake rotors....I couldnt remove them, and both cars the shop had to use a sledge hammer and bust the rotors off. They seize to the inner hub with rust.

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  it has been a good car - 1998 Hyundai Elantra
  By george - January 10 - 8:22 pm

  this car has gave me better service than the gm s i have owned they r crap this car is cheaper and was more reliable than my saturn and cavalier but dont get the automatic model the trans r crap and if you change the timing belt when you should you will have no problems with the engine the worse design is the front rotors the r a bad design but i updated them to 2000 spindles which spindles r better but all car have so flaws and this one has a lot less than the others have been a mechanic 4 30 years have worked on everything and this is one of the better cars maintenance is the key to a lot of them but transmission problems is a problem with all the automakers right now

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  One of the best used car values around - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By mattba - January 9 - 9:09 pm

  My Elantra is a 5spd model. Excellent power and fuel economy. Very good build quality and very comfortable for the class. This car feels like it will run forever. The only negatives are the ease in which you can dent the body panels and the engine turns a bit to many rpms at highway speeds for my taste. The resale value is poor, which makes it an excellent used car value. I bought mine in Dec. of 08 with 23,000 miles on it for $7.5k Would highly recommend the Elantra

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  great ride - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By irlaxhicksy - January 7 - 9:28 pm

  i average about 30,000 miles a year and i have not had any problems with this car other then a thermostat at 75000 miles and oxygen sensor at 70000 miles, i live in the north east where we average five to six feet of snow a year and i never have had a problem in the snow till start driving in about a foot of it, and thats with two rear tires that wont pass inspection now

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  sorry senior - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By marty lenny - January 2 - 5:06 pm

  After a few months non repairable transmission shifting problems. Drivers seat cushion repaired four times. Dunlop tires edges wear causes noise and vibration. Sunlight blocks nav screen and back up camera. Window washers only spray lower half of windshield. When starting the car in moist weather half the windshield fogs up. Windshield wiper blade still rubs even after being replaced. No light under hood.

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  Great car for the price - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Lonnie - January 1 - 9:41 pm

  I bought this car as a commuter mostly because of the gas mileage. I was fully expecting to have to make allowances for driving an "economy" car but have been completely surprised in all respects. People are going to laugh but I actually drive my Elantra on weekends now while my 07 Caddy CTS spends most of the time in the garage. Absolutely no problems with nearly 45000 miles on the clock. I added aftermarket tinting and put new, larger tires on it with some aftermarket wheels just for appearance sake but theres not much else Id change about this car. All this for under 13000 out the door. Great job, Hyundai!

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  Sonata +/- - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By etcindi - December 28 - 7:45 pm

  At 18K miles. I love the look of the car, very high class. I love to drive the car, handles, accelerates, performs excellently. I get 27-28 miles to the gallon driving 50 miles to work. 10 miles @ 70 mph, 30 miles @ 60-65 mph and the rest in town. I came out of a Jeep Commander so all the things above are delightful. Cons; there is no lumber support so Ive had to buy a contraption to be more comfortable. I have my seat high which may be why I feel like the vents dont blow all the places I want them to. My ring has gouged the rubber off my steering wheel a couple of places. Road noise, and if anything, a bug or rain, hits the top of the car it sounds like a tin shed, and many rattles

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  Best value in car industy - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Owen - December 27 - 10:28 pm

  I bought the car in July 09 with 12,000 miles on it. I have since put about 6k miles on it and the car is superb. The engine is quite yet powerful. The design and look of the car rivals some of the 2009 and 2010 models out there now. The looks is absolutely timeless. This is my first Hyundai and I have to say I think I have found the company I will give my future business to. The only complaint I have is that the suspension is a little noisy. Sometimes even little bumps in the road sounds like your hitting a big pothole.

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  Swimming with sharks - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Codascoram - December 27 - 10:00 am

  I compared this car to the Acura RSX, the Chevy Camaro, Toyota Solara, and Honda Accord Coupe. The shark has better handling than any of the above. Better 0-60, 20-60, and 0-40 times than all but the Camaro. The ride is rough, and the interior is a joke. The dash is obnoxious, and the stereo system is average. This car is the prettiest of the bunch, but looks arent everything. Its real hard to see out of the right side window when making turns. The mirror acts like a wall. The headlamps restrict night vision. Finally, it has NO crash test ratings. The NHSTA hasnt tested it. So technically, you could be purchasing a 20,000 coffin. Its a risk.