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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  Warranty Is Worthless - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By MrPitt - October 25 - 10:00 am

  I had a problem at 3200 miles resulting in excessive tire wear. The dealer refused to check the alignment. I took it to a local tire dealer who showed me feathering on all four tires. I payed for an alignment and called Hyundai USA the next day. Hyundai promised to reimburse me for the alignment. In the interim Michelin offered to replace all four tires for 30% of retail. Hyundai USA promised to investigate the tire wear. Two months later Hyundai refused to pay for the alignment or tires. Dont buy this car if you are counting on the warranty being a positive feature.

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  Sick of visiting the mechanic! - 2013 Hyundai TUCSON
  By michelle_3150 - October 24 - 5:26 pm

  I bought my Tucson in November 2013, a month after I had purchased it my problem started...I had not even reached my first oil change and my check engine light was on! I took it to the dealership I bought it from and they hooked it up to their fancy computer and diagnosed the check engine light had came on due to a cylinder misfire. They told me that they would have to do a computer update and that would fix the problem. Long story short I have been back to the dealership on average once a week for the same check engine light to be turned off. I have had a total of 4 computer updates, they have changed my spark plugs and coils two times and I still have the issue! Its been 9 month now!

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  Tons of issues - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By John - October 14 - 8:40 pm

  Wow! Where to start. Here is the beginning. Not even a year, air noise on the drivers side back window, oil pressure gauge, oil temperature gauge, inside gauge for the outside air temp, engine ideling issues, brake rotors warped at 8000 miles, multi CD player sticks and wont eject, auto shut off of lights stops working from time to time, a major rattle in the dash, and not to top it off, The TRANSMISSION is having issues. The dealership is waiting for the district rep to come in. What more can I say. I got a lemon.

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  Comfort, bells and whistles but still cheap - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By Gaius Gracchus - September 22 - 1:24 am

  If you are after a vehicle that has a lot of space and nice features - like a backup camera, adjustable passenger seat (height, too!), automatic mirrors, etc., for a low price, you may consider the Hyundai Sonata 2016. It has tons of passenger room and the seats are pretty comfortable. The turning circle for a car this size is great (much better than the Accord, for example). It also has a surprisingly quiet ride and is not too bumpy. However, Hyundai still does not know how to make a good engine. When you start your car in the morning, it rattles and taps like an old sewing machine. After a bit it quiets down. Also, at a stop when you are idling, it will start to vibrate a lot. It sometimes seems to shudder upon acceleration or even sometimes coming to a stop. Thankfully it has a good warranty, but if you do not follow the maintenance rules exactly, they will void your warranty in a heartbeat. It is probably best to get them to do the oil changes, even, so that they cant say you did not do it properly. Hyundai is notorious for trying to bug out of honoring their warranty.

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  Car Has Poor Review - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By jent - September 6 - 2:00 am

  My transmission fell out of the vehicle 10,000 miles after i bought it. I have had nothing but problems with it. DO NOT BUY ONE...THEY SUCK.

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  Car Has Poor Review - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By JenT - September 6 - 2:00 am

  My transmission fell out of the vehicle 10,000 miles after i bought it. I have had nothing but problems with it. DO NOT BUY ONE...THEY SUCK.

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  What I Paid Too Much For - 1995 Hyundai Accent
  By Mary - August 23 - 5:05 pm

  Dont have a blow out on the front tire, it will tear up your front bumper, your fender and if on drivers side can tear up your wiring harness which can cause the car to catch fire. Very dangerous how they put the wiring harness where they did and so close to the front tire. Great on Gas Milage, especially highway up to 40 mpg. City avg. 28 mpg. Would I buy this car again - NO WAY!!

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  Nice first SUV - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dengxiaoping - August 21 - 10:00 am

  Theres a lot of std equipment on this car(including side airbag) and its build solidly and tightly. I am satisfied with this car even though I had quite a few trip back to dealer to fix the engine computer that refuse to behave. Its fuel comsumption is on the low side even for SUV.

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  Hyundai is junk - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By Hyundai hater - August 2 - 5:05 pm

  I got this with 39K and I now think it was traded in initially for poor quality. Had a $500-$700 engine repair every 6 months or so. My trusteed mechanic said that parts were very expensive compared to more common makes. This was a very poor quality car and I will never go near Hyundai or KIA again. It was a little cheaper than Hondas and Toyotas but nowhere near the quality. Lesson learned. I simply couldnt stand owning this thing any longer.

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  Steering problems - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By Martin - July 30 - 7:46 am

  After less than 1000 miles the car started pulling to the left on any road or highway which isnt perfectly level. Speed doesnt matter-at low speeds the steering wheel make a 45 degree turn to the left, on highway I can merge into the left lane by just letting go of it. Took it to the dealership 4 times, alignment is ok, rotated the tires but still no difference. Dealership checked with Hyundai if this is a known problem and said it isnt (?). Of course, they say they cant do much more than that. Never had this problem with my 2 chevys and 08 Santa Fe on the exact same roads. Obviously, this car has suspension and steer design flaws. At least mine is a smooth and quiet ride on any kind of street.