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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  Avoid This Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By rffines - May 12 - 11:11 pm

  From the day of delivery, the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has been nothing but trouble. In order of occurrence: 1. Sputters an hesitates violently from 0 - 45mph in any and all conditions. (Hyundai dealer and Hyundai Consumer Affairs say): Get used to it, thats how hybrids perform. The salesman never mentioned that the car will perform like its running out of gas. 2. Intermittent stalling: Car stalls w/o warning in both city and highway traffic. This problem has caused 3 near-miss accidents. (Hyundai response): It didnt stall during a test drive - its running as expected. 3. Extremely poor mileage: 22 highway/19 city. Hyundai says engine needs break-in. Hyundai does not care!!!

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  New Car that is horrible - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Clara E. Schrand - April 29 - 4:36 am

  I have had my Sonata since May 09 and it has been towed 4 times. The first time the day after I bought it would not start. Second day after they fixed it would not start. Third time about 3 weeks later I was driving for about 15 minutes and the car died would not start back up. The fourth time 3.5 months later problem with transmission put it in Drive and it will not go any where. I asked for my money back and they said no. So I have a brand new car that is not reliable. Stress when driving always fear that you will break down.

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  No acceleration! - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Lori Anthony - April 15 - 8:39 pm

  The car does not accelerate when you press on the gas. There is a tremendous lag time, which has resulted in serious safety concerns for me and my family. Im told its due to its "dual clutch" (which recently had a recall...the fix did nothing). Regardless of the reason, its not safe and I do not want it. Hoping to trade it in tomorrow.

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  Be prepared for frequent check engine! - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Michael - April 8 - 6:20 pm

  I bought this car a year and half ago as a second user. It had only 75K miles on it and it looked in a great condition. 5 Months after, and the check engine was on. It took me days and trial and error at the mechanic to troubleshot the issue. it wasnt the mechanic fault, it was how complicated the issue was, and the code tells more than 8 different possibilities! Now the engine light is back on again but this time is for transmission! it has only 100K miles, and the transmission specialist told me it would be at least $1800 to get it fixed! That was very unreliable for a car that is only 6 years old with 100K miles exactly on it. I wish I bought a Camry.

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  Overall Great Car but.... - 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Russ Chambers - April 7 - 8:21 pm

  I went from a 2011 Buick Enclave to the Santa Fe. Its the perfect size for us. I like the looks, comfort, overall performance and economy. Road noise somewhat greater and road comfort not up to the Enclave. However the real annoyance is the front passenger seat is not height adjustable , this is a real problem for my wife. In fact had she ridden in the car before leasing it, we would not have leased it. Ive ridden in the seat also and agree with her, its annoying and neither of us are short people. She sits on a cushion when we travel....cant understand the design not including height adjustment. The other shortfall is the nav. system....we loved the OnStar system in the Buick. This one is OK, but not nearly as user friendly as the OnStar.

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  Very Disappointing! Does not accelerate - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jason - April 7 - 6:20 am

  The 2006 Tucson is a very nice looking vehicle, however, there is little power. This vehicle does not accelerate. My wifes Toyota Rav 4 has much more get-up-an go then the Tucson, and is much more quiet. The motor of the Tucson is very loud. If I had a chance to do it again, I wouldnt buy a Tucson.

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  Worst Car I ever owned!! - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By raalex82 - April 5 - 5:39 pm

  When I purchased my 2002 Santa fe in 2006 I thought I had found a great deal. It had only 45k miles on it with one previous owner. The first couple years were great...then the problems began. At 80k my transmission was replaced. At about 100k everything started leaking from engine coolant to power steering fluid. Then to top it all off I was driving on the freeway 2 days after an oil change and my engine started knocking and I as I was trying to get over to pull off the road it began to smoke. When I popped the hood there was a small engine fire. Needless to say I needed a new engine, but opted to get rid of it. I had already spent close to $5,000 in repairs and was done.

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  Defective Car-Hyundai refuses to Fix - 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By genesiscoupe7 - April 4 - 8:34 pm

  I bought a brand new 2013 Hyundai Genesis coupe 6 speed, when I pressed the clutch the car makes horrible clanking and rattle noises. I took the car back and they told me that normal. I then switched the car for a different one and that car makes the same horrible noise. THe master mechanic at Hyundai states lots of people have complained but hyundai says they do not recognize this as a problem. I hate this car with a passion, it sound like your driving a 1980 sports car that rattles and clanks. DOnt waste you money the car is a piece of crap.

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  Mad, sad,the worst car ever!! Do not buy - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By inot34 - March 26 - 7:44 am

  Bought the car 10 month ago , problems since the beginning !! Already been on the warranty 9 times ,replaced the navigation sistem after 3 fix, rear bumper replaced by the warranty after being melted by the exhaust , melting again btw , engine light on 8 times !the gas meter on the tank has been replaced , damaged again btw !the car shakes like a train after 75 miles !! And hyunday dont pay for the rentals so paying a car monthly plus a rental Evry month ! For a week while the car is on service ! Do not buy ! Still waiting for hyunday to buy it back ! First time ever reviewing I hate complaining , but this is to much ! This car is a joke! I should of stay with Honda .

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  Problems - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By L Morgan - March 24 - 5:13 am

  I have owned my 2007 Hyundai Sonata for 2 weeks. After a few days, I realized that when I turn on the rear window defroster there is a lot of interference with the radio reception. Also, some of the defroster "wires" dont work at all. I took the car to the dealership. They confirmed the problems, but didnt repair them. They are currently "talking" to Hyundai to see what they will do. This is ridiculous. This is a NEW car with major problems and Hyundai cant decide what to do. For me, the only option is for them to replace the rear window. I think I made a BIG mistake by purchasing a Hyundai.