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 car! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By houstonscott - September 16 - 5:27 am

  Have almost 2,000 miles on my base Sonata Hybrid and I am impressed with the vehicle. High build quality and great gas mileage. Recent road trip returned 41+ mpg.

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  pretty good start - 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By tdinsight - September 16 - 4:58 am

  Bought this car about 3 months ago after test driving vs Optima and Camry hybrids. The assembly and ride are very nice with pleanty of room for me at 63" and a very usable rear seat. There are complaints about the car being jerky of the line. Only happened once to me merging into traffic while turning and ICE kicked in chirping a tire. Brakes are a little nonlinear but never felt unable to stop smoothly or agressively if needed. Open road fuel efficiency is very good with electric mode frequently running half a mile or so on the freeway. Traffic mpg not so great especially in 20-40 mph range. I average about 36 mpg but can be significantly less. More like 44 on a couple trips.

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  Saved my life - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mikki - September 16 - 3:46 am

  Less than a year after I purchased 2007 Sonata Limited I was t-boned by a Ford Explorer doing 60++mph. The impact was directly in my drivers door. Miraculously, I climbed out of the vehicle and walked away from the wreck. I loved the car from the second I bought it and love it even more now. I will be buying another one just like the one that was wrecked and probably buying a Hyundai SUV for my husband. I drive an average of 40000 miles per year just for work and I really enjoyed this car.

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  I love Hyundais - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By lauram - September 16 - 1:02 am

  This is the third Hyundai Ive owned and I loved all of them. My last one had 250,000 miles on it, yes you read correctly thats not a typo, 250,000 miles. And its still going, I sold it to the salesman who sold me my car! He bought it for his daughter and he loves it. I never had a problem with any hyundai, I cant say the same for the 2 fords I had. terrible cars. give me a hyundai any day. I am totally sold on these cars.

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  Best yet! - 2014 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By badler - September 15 - 3:29 pm

  I only have a couple hundred miles on the odo but here is my initial review. Comfortable but the seats could be a little wider and have more leg support. It has the smoothest shifting manual I have ever driven which is good because I prefer automatic for a daily driver. Picked the car up for 15,900 after rebates. It has the style package with Leather. Ride is fantastic and I love the selectable steering feel. Gas mileage has been 30mpg in mixed driving and its not even broken in. Bluetooth and voice activation work perfectly.

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  Piece of crap - 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By Teresa - September 15 - 2:07 pm

  Bought car for gas Milage great first 3 yrs got 40mpg now barely get 30mpg. No one knows what is wrong dealer doesnt know and wont call support to find out it grows when accelerating they will wait till warrant goes off then find problem. Wont buy from Hyundai again I can get a SUV for same gas milage I get now 1/27/18. Still same problem. Been looking for new SUV. Will go with Subaru and NO HYBRIDS

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  love it - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By HappyCleve - September 15 - 1:06 pm

  I bought this instead of the RAV4 and I am very happy. Cute, comfortable, leather heated seats are great. Seats flip down easily for my xc skis. Plenty of trunk room. Even my mom fell in love and it is a great value!

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  Car&Hyundai Corp- Major Disappointment - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By L. Nicolai - September 15 - 5:13 am

  What we believed was a wonderful car has turned into a nightmare! It has major electrical problems - doors locking spontaneously, radio turning itself on & off, - what a challenge to get repaired. Numerous trips to dealership and countless hours on the phone to Hyundai Corp. Worst customer service ever experienced at corporate level!! Now, one year later, the problems have returned! A mere 28,000 miles on a 2004 automobile that is an absolute piece of junk!!!!! Forget the hype on the warranty. It is mere lip service!

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  Fast, but you pay for the power - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By fishingsocprof - September 15 - 1:46 am

  We have put about 26K on our 2006 Azera SE. Bought it for about 22K. Lots of zip but overall gas mileage right about 21.5. Have had some issues with it (a/c compressor overvoltage, rear windows not going down, crack in dash) but dealer has been very good about fixes. As with most dealers, service dept tries to make a lot of money. Saying that I had to flush and fill transmission at 30K to keep warranty. 175 dollar deal. Easy to change trans fluid yourself on this car. Finally pinned them down and flush/fill not required to meet warranty, just drain and refill. Keep receipts for trans oil, of course and use special Hyundai oil like the book says.

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  Hyundai Continues to compete and win with Elantra GT base - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By salmonking46 - September 14 - 11:24 am

  If you are in the market for a car that is the perfect combination of fun, affordable, and functional the Elantra GT beckons a look. The Bluetooth functionality is practical and fun, Blulink is a useful. The steering mode option is clever, and again practical and fun. Eco mode is great for economy, averaged 39 mpg on the interstate first time out. Turning Eco off gives you some extra punch in the pedal. The seats are a comfortable compliment to a stable ride that seems to mix sporty attitude with touring comfort perfectly. Standard heated seats are an unexpected bit of luxury. It would be nice to have more compartments for storage. Exterior appearance beats the competitors by far.