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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  Solid, Reliable, Excellent Drive - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By canada_bc - December 24 - 4:45 pm

  I bought my Accent after 11mo./23000km of use as a rental, during which time it had no accidents or service issues. After my 6mo./12000km it continues to perform without issue. Excellent fuel economy - I achieve or beat the ORIGINAL consumption rating regularly on the highway, though the city rating is a bit optimistic. Smooth ride, perfectly comfortable for long highway trips (I have many). The air conditioning/heating system takes a bit too long to warm up, but thats minor also my windshield fogs up a bit too easily, but easily managed. Not top-end materials inside, but no problems with them. but Overall I am very happy with almost all aspects of the car and would fully recommend it.

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  2013 Genesis Sedan V6 Technology & Premium - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By gldman1 - December 24 - 8:02 am

  Excellent Value. New for 2013 Blue Link is great if you are not paranoid about Big Brother. Note you can only download one destination from the internet to your car at a time. Note that the feature rich new Ultimate Navigation is not touch screen like the new Premium navigation. Auto dimming outside mirrors are only available with the V8-R-Spec. I have the Silver with Cashmere interior on my V6. Only a black interior is available with the V8. The V6 uses regular gas and the V8 uses Premium gas. The steering wheel moves up and away when you exit but the seat does not move back like the infiniti/nissan. All seats are heated but only the drivers seat is cooled. Enjoy this Car.

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  Bought a Second 12 Genesis - 2012 Hyundai Genesis
  By fernwood - December 21 - 10:23 pm

  We ought our first Genesis in 11/11. We love the car and have had such good luck with it that we purchased another Genesis last spring, trading in my wifes Audi A6. Build quality is great with no squeaks or rattles and so is the reliability thus far. We are getting about 21 mpg around town in mixed driving and over 28 mpg on the road.

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  Great car - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By eanjel - December 20 - 6:19 pm

  I have 2,780 miles on the car I boght in Oct./12. My mpg was between 24 and 32 since I bought the car until today when I got 38.1 mpg. Im noticing that as the car breaks in, the mpg is getting higher and the performance is getting better. Its a little bumpy on uneven streets or highway, but I can overlook that aspect of the car because of the great price and features this car has. I took 3 weeks researching and nothing came close to the Elantra GLS in price and features. Great car! Ill keep updating my reviews as time goes on.

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  LOVE THIS CAR - 2012 Hyundai Genesis
  By frankb_2012 - December 17 - 11:56 am

  I have had 14 cars ranging from Mercedes E320, Lexus LX 470, Audi S4, Lexus RX 330, Acura TL and the list goes on. I purchased my Genesis and Ive had it a few months, so far the car is great. I love the ride quality and the Lexicon sound system is amazing. I must say Hyundai has give the high end car market a run for its money. I almost puchased another E320 but saved some money and got what I feel is a nicer car.

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  Dont be seduced by the phantom fuel economy - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By zapfogldorf - December 16 - 9:06 am

  Had our GL for almost two years and got our best mileage during the break in period which we were told was 3k. It didnt get better after 3k. We were told that the break in period is actually 5k. It didnt get better after 5k. T keep this shorter, we went in after each required distance had been travelled and each time were told that it was more. After 5k it was 7k then 10k then 12.5k then 15k then, finally we were told that under no circumstances is break in less than 20k, ever. Where did all the other numbers come from then? Bottom line, we are at over 29k now and we get the worst mileage in the life of the car. Were getting 11-14L/100 km. Were extremely disappointed.

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  Wow, no thanks to the Elantra - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By rickpettry - December 11 - 12:24 pm

  Wow So disappointed in the Elantra. I talked my wife into selling her 10 year old Honda and buying a used Elantra. I wanted her to have a car with low mileage and a warranty. sometimes I have to leave town for work and I wanted to make sure she had no problems. while I was at the Dealership. I looked at the new 2012 Elantra. I under stand that the car would not get the estimated mileage on the sticker. but the salesman talked me into trading my car in based on the money I would save buying the new Hyundai. Here is what I fount out. the Elantra only get gets 3 more miles to the gallon than my other car. it dose not get the mileage the sales person told us. what I gave up is handling. comfort, and more. I am saving about $20.00 a month. the car has so much road noise I have to crank up the stereo to here it. the stereo. is one of the worst I have had. I swear I can hear the wind blowing through my windshield right above the rear view mirror. the seats are not very comfortable, my last car was a better car, and only had 50,000 miles on it. this car is not comfortable especially for long road trips. my wifes Elantra wow. this car came with the Hyundai. certified used car warranty. all 4 tires were bald on the inside. so you couldnt see it. it was out of alignment. and we just found out the Transmission Had never been serviced.. and now it has a electrical problem. the Car only has 40,000 miles on it. that over $700.00 we had to put into a certified used car. this car gets less mileage that her 10 year old civic. and also has more road noise, ect. Now her interior is more comfortable than my new car and she cant ride in my car for long periods of time. she has a bad back. I only had 1 year left to pay off my other car. then I would have about 4 to five years of no payments. I would take that money and save it for my next. car. i figured to have my last car 8 to ten years, and then buy another new car. this way it keeps my payment down. Now I get a letter stating Hyundai will give me credit for the mileage the car doesnt get, great. that doesnt solve the the comfort, and other problems I have with this car. If I trade it in on sothing else I will take a loss. I cant see having this car for 10 years. Thanks Rick Pettry

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  Engine Fire...2007 Azera - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By gsuroviec - December 9 - 7:12 pm

  I owned this car for 3 years. I am 2nd owner. The 2nd owner only gets 5 year, 60K mile warranty. I was about 3 weeks past the 5 years when the engine caught on fire while sitting in a parking lot, turned off. It was a total loss... and also for others parked near by...as they too lit up. The fire started in the very front of the engine compartment. Hyundai denied any assistance or responsibility for the engine fire. They were not interested to investigate. I am just so thankful it happened out in the open, rather than back in my attached garage. I will never own another Hyundai or Kia again. I value my safety and that of my family first.

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  Just purchased - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By kmunroe - December 7 - 3:50 am

  Yes I first decided to test-drive my 2008 Hyundai Accent DS because of the pretty Apple Green color. First stick shift in 10 years will take getting used to driving standard again. Granted this little car doesnt have power seats/windows/side mirrors. It doesnt have cruise control/tilt wheel. But it does have A/C and a CD player. My former car (2000 Taurus) had all the above except no CD player and the A/C didnt work for 8 years. It handles well and I like the stick-shift you have more control. I suspect the car will also handle well in the snow because of the stick.

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  Rough rider! - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By exhonda - December 6 - 9:23 pm

  Without a doubt the noisiest and hardest riding car Ive ever owned. On complaint,I was told perhaps nitrogen filled tires may be unbalanced. Guess what? That was not the problem. I was told they could not duplicate the problem[s] and was signed off. I have 2400 miles and will trade in on another brand ASAP!