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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  Impressive, but lacking in some ways - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By drewzkie - October 9 - 2:24 pm

  We upgraded from an 08 Fusion SEL to a 13 Elantra GLS because we wanted to save money at the pump. Well, thats been a bit of a disappointment, 3 months and 2,100 miles later were averaging 22.5MPG cty and ~28-30MPG hwy. Some people say were still breaking it in while others say were passed that. Were holding out until 5K miles to see if theres an improvement, if theres not we may be reconsidering the Elantra. Another issue is the cloth on the drivers seat is already deteriorating. Were gentle in our handling of the car including how we enter/exit but its still showing signs of disintegration. We like the car, but we took on a payment to get better MPG, so far were disappointed.

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  Just Great - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By newhyundailuvr - October 4 - 11:38 am

  I do not understand any of these complaints. The engine might not be out of a Viper, but it has no issue getting up to speed or passing a slower car. I have a heavy foot and I still stay around 35mpg. I do notice a bit more road noise then I expected but I think that may be the tires. $20,000 buck and I get and auto, bluetooth, heated seats, sat radio good ride, peppy engine, and it is a good looking car. It is family time here and we bought a Tuscon. We like the car and the dealership so much (which i have never said before) we went back and purchased the Elantra. Just a great car and a great value. And did I mention at the touch of a button music streams from my phone?

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  Best car under 20k - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By ascullin - September 30 - 7:20 pm

  Just purchased a 2013 Elantra Automatic, with the Preferred Package and Auto Dimming Mirror. I highly recommend both options. I do mostly mixed driving and my mpg is averaging in the low 30s with the eco button on.

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  Love my Elantra!! - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By johnb62 - September 30 - 7:15 am

  Have owned my 2013 Elantra GLS for three months (6000 miles) and it has performed beyond my expectations. I commute 65 mile roundtrip daily to work 70/30 highway to city driving and am avering approx. 36-37 mpg. A recent trip I exceeded 40 MPG.

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  Great car - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By catbarone - September 29 - 6:18 pm

  We have had our 2011 Elantra for about 1.5 years. We have about 28K on the car and have had no problems whatsoever. I regularly get 35 mpg in mixed driving and get 40 mpg in highway only driving. We got the navigation and it works very well. Its a fun little car that is great for commuting!

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  Car is a great friend! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By hayleypow - September 27 - 4:51 pm

  Ok, so I got this car when I was 17 and never had a problem with it! Ive driven from California to Washington and back several times and seriously it drives great and is very reliable. I know have 136K miles on it and did replace my clutch about 6 months ago. It will probably need a few normal upkeep type repairs soon. But I hope to keep driving it. It still looks like a new car to me and I am so glad I got this car way back when!

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  2006 Hyundai Sonata LX V6 FWD Plush Ride not Firm - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By mogulprinceton - September 25 - 5:57 pm

  Lets make something clear the 2006-2010 Hyundai Sonatas are not sports cars, its more of a luxury car. It has a very smooth plush ride but the suspension is the worst. Its not a good car to cut corners fast in at all. A lot of body roll. It seems as if when taking off from a red light to a green light at full throttle the front wheels cant really handle the power the engine is giving off so it makes the wheels burn rubber on the pavement which I hate. The ESC kicks in very quick when on wet or slippy roads. I was driving and turned a left at a 15 degree angle at 20mph and the ESC did its job even though I didnt need it to save me at that time. It should have daytime running lights.

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  Very pleased - 2013 Hyundai Accent
  By twiley - September 23 - 11:18 pm

  Several years ago I swore that I would never own a Hyundai. We are very pleased with our decision to purchase the accent. At 10,000 miles so far, weve seen a low of 34mpg and a high of 43mpg, with 38-40mpg for our typically city driving. Its not fast, but its nearly hybrid like economy for tens of thousands less and much more fun to drive. Id have given perfect marks if it came with better tires and cruise control.

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  Mileage and Feature as Advertized - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By reedy06 - September 17 - 3:33 pm

  My wife and I were looking for a commuter car that had navigation, leather and a sunroof. We considered and test drove the Mazda 3, Escort, Civic, Cruze, and the Elantra Limited. We evaluated features, price, comfort, power, styling, warranty, gas mileage and build quality. When using our criteria, the Elantra was the clear winner. We have 1,500 miles on the car and are averaging 33 mpg in mixed driving. You will get 40+ on the highway. As previous reviews said, the road noise can be loud at times however, on a smooth road, it is of normal volume. All in all, you will not be disappointed with this purchase. Hyundai has come a long way in a short period of time.

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  1stCar - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By gijoemc - September 14 - 5:20 pm

  This is my first car, and I bought it almost 2 years ago with about 133,000 miles on it. It is a great car and was a great value. I have had only 1 major problem with it: my alternator belt broke last winter when it got to about -10ºF out, but I still managed to drive it the other half of the way to school (with no power steering). That was the only thing that has broke on this car to my knowledge and now its at the 149,000 mile mark. Also it has a bullet hole in it, so this cars a trooper. Aaaannd, a minor difference, but Id say this is a girl car but not a girly car. Like how boats are always referred to as feminine, thats this car.