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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  hate it - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By conway - September 11 - 8:33 am

  horrid accelarator...NO GAS MILEAGE!!!! does not get 17 city...must read the very fine print on the window sticker to see that it will actually get 11 to 13miles per gallon, and that was only pointed out to us by the service dept when we took it in for adjustments. passenger air bag is all but impossible to activate. must be sitting in exactly correct position to even get it turned on and, so far, we have only been able to activate it 3 times. if in a crash, it would be useless....when driving at low speeds and trying to maintain a constant speed, the ride is jerky and very distracting.

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  What is it, seems used - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By lost no help!!!! - September 2 - 2:03 pm

  Car received as new, missing standard parts. motot and glove box repaired without my ok. motor is hard to start! dealership/Hyundai do not back this car, why? BIG MISTAKE TRUSTING THEM, THEY ACT MORE LIKE BULLIES IN GRADE SHOOOL. Look elseware, I feel ripped off or worse (fraud).

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  Dangerous Steering - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By snehila - August 4 - 1:46 pm

  I bought this vehicle a week ago and have to advise you to not purchase until Hyundai has a solution to the steering problem. The car doesnt track straight at all, darting left and then right requiring constant and exhausting corrections to the wheel. The wheel doesnt center itself. To explain what I mean, while going around a curve if you remove your hands from the wheel, the car continues to go around the curve. It never makes any movement to center the wheel and track straight. At highway speeds I have never felt less in control. Even with two hands on the wheel driving for more than 15 minutes is a frightening and tiring experience.

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  I hate my Sonata Hybrid - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By txteacher1 - August 3 - 1:09 am

  We bought this car for me since I am on the road more than my husband. The gas mileage is significantly lower than promised. I am so disappointed since that is the major reason we purchased this car. My husband drives it now. We like the back up camera (we bought the top model) and the sun roof is a wow factor...but in the hot Texas sun we havent really used it except at night. It sits low so big bumps/dips scrap the bottom. We spent more money on this car because the promised gas mileage ( saleman said) I wish I had made a different choice. The dealer has told us tough luck on the 22mpg...we are stuck with it-or take the lost trading it.

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  Crashed the car and will never buy a Hyundai again - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By PAman - July 23 - 7:50 am

  After a long love/hate relationship. The steering and suspension were awesome.The car crashed with me in it with no known reason whatsoever. I had a near death experience. I was driving one morning and the car fishtailed twice on its own then went on 60 degrees angle to the left and crashed in a ditch!!!. The car was still in "Americas greatest warranty" and Hyundai really dodged it and denied any faults that can be with the car. After a couple of researches, the steering on models from 2009-2013 has a big problem of suddenly turning to the left and locking in that position causing crashed and fatalities. I was completely in love with this car and only using Hyundai dealership for maintenance and had a very horrible sad end. This car is not safe!!!!

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  poor transmission - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Denisco Joseph - July 20 - 6:30 am

  tran constantly slips car cant change gears and very poor gas mileage

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  I will never purchase Hyundai again - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SecondaryGemini - June 25 - 12:43 pm

  I bought my 2001 Santa Fe used at a Toyota dealership, and within three weeks of purchase I had replaced almost 3000 worth of computer parts, as well as the spark plugs. The dealership was full of liars and crooks, but most importantly this car turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life. My transmission blew in late 2008 and cost me almost 4500 to fix, and I only fixed it because I still owe so much on the vehicle and the dealership did nothing to help me. As soon as I can get rid of this car, I will do so and I will never purchase another Hyundai again. Its a smooth ride and the seat is comfortable, but neither does me any good when the car almost never runs.

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  Is it just my car? - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Ex-Hyundai Lover - June 20 - 11:36 pm

  I just wrote a review on my 2003 Tiburon GT. How bad memories i have with it. Let me just add one more negative comments. I was just on the road. I decided to open up a Sunroof to get some fresh air. well, sunroof stop operating in halfway open. It wont close, so I proceed with manual close. it happens that manual close doesnt work either... what kind of car is this? i am so mad at Hyundai. My 2 years of having Tiburon, now i have to add another trip to dearlership for service. My biggest wrong choice i have made my entire 27 years of life is buying HYUNDAI CAR.

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  Biggest regret in my life (car purchase) - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Michael McAleese - June 17 - 7:41 pm

  I traded in my 2014 Sonata Limited 2.0 for a fully loaded 2015 Sonata Sport Ultimate 2.0 in January. I have regretted this purchase within a week of purchasing this car. Pros: solid acceleration, roomy, beautiful Orange color, fairly priced Cons: the panaramic sunroof has rattled since the 3rd day of purchase, Hyundai isnt sure how to fix it. My Antenna had to be replaced due to my GPS not working properly and not my blue link app wont connect to my car. The engine sounds like it is a diesel, it is loud and shakes violently from time to time, all of which I was told his normal. They blame it on the high pressure fuel pump. The road noise is louder then advertised. Now my keyfob wont lock my car. I wanted to love this car, I really loved my 2014 but I wanted the Orange sport model.

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  Extremely Disappointed - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By rtexas - June 7 - 1:44 am

  Bought this vehicle new in May, 2011. Manifold was replaced at 5,000 miles, between 5K and 13K it had to be replaced 2 other times. Radio system had to be replaced; brake switch had to be replaced. Yesterday the vehicle was towed to the dealer as the transmission switch was defective. I was stranded on the road when the transmission switch broke; I understand vehicles have a break-in period; however, I believe this is out of the ordinary. I contacted Hyundai and was told that the dealer will repair all mechanical problems. Not the answer I was expecting.