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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  Economical Unique Hot hatch! - 2014 Hyundai Veloster
  By hero253 - November 29 - 2:59 pm

  I bought my veloster turbo a couple of months ago and thought it was time for a review. I have never been disappointed in this car and I love the way it drives. I average about 34mpg combined! And I still have enough power to accelerate and pass when I need to. The sound system is pretty good especially on xm radio. There is plenty of trunk space, especially with the back seats down. Everyone looks at my car as I roll by and I have not seen another veloster turbo in nor cal since I have bought it. I love that this car is really uncommon. From a stop, the car will pull you back into the seat as you race the engine! If youre looking for an economical car with some power, this is it!

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  Mediocre Hyundai Accent - 2006 Hyundai Accent
  By Andie - November 28 - 12:01 pm

  I bought this car used from Enterprise Car Sales. It is a 2006 Accent GLS with about 45,000 miles on it when I bought it. It still had some of the 60k warranty left, which turns out I really needed! The car was fine for about a month, then a sensor went bad. Took the car to the dealership and they fixed it, it was covered under warranty, I was only disappointed that I was not provided with a rental car. Now I am at 54,000 miles, purchased that car 5 months ago, and an engine coil went bad. Took it in to the dealership, and turns out the warranty doesnt cover new spark plugs or a "decarbon" which I was told i needed, so this little car is starting to cost me quite a bit of money in repairs.

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  Trans Issue! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By DAM - November 27 - 12:16 am

  Was on cloud 9 when driving home w/my new 2011 sonata, until 2 weeks and 680 miles later, on my birthday, to find myself calling roadside assistance 1 hr before having to leave for an event, when I placed my car in drive and it went into reverse! Thinking I was crazy, I tried 3x from park to drive with no luck. Called my husband to witness this, and 2 additional bystanders saw my car problem, car was in drive & went into reverse without foot on gas! They reset computer and do not know why this happened, but dealership and Hyundai want car to duplicate problem before they will take action! Do not feel safe and I am not the happy car owner I was 2 weeks ago! I will continue to take action!

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  A great car for the money - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Steve Williams - November 26 - 10:00 am

  My limited is a great car, however the interior still feels a bit cheap. The plastic applique on the inside of the door is horrid, IMHO. Traded an 07 V6 Altima, so it truly isnt quick compared to the V-6. Cant believe the limited didnt have dual exhaust! I was shocked at no heated seats in SE. I know Im sounding picky, but this is my 38th car and Ive had all makes and models. The stereo (Dimension) sounds pretty good. The trunk in the Sonata is huge, yes 4 sets of golf clubs! Back seat is smallish due to slopped roof-line. Center stack very logical. Sunroof is smallish too. But mileage is great and the price cant be beat. Great car for $. Leather seats are mediocre.

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  2006 Hyundai Sonata LX - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By jrp7329 - November 25 - 3:16 pm

  Until I purchased this Sonata, I had never owned a Hyundai ... but you can bet Ill buy another one! This car is truly an excellent value ... reasonable price with solid design and performance. Quick, comfortable and just great to drive ... whats not to like? Top notch build quality with a sophisticated engine ... 28 MPG in all- around driving for me.

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  Nice car overall, but beware of brakes - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By jas - November 25 - 1:07 pm

  After 2.5 years and 33,000 miles, the car has been pretty good overall. Have had some issues such as XM receiver needing replacement because of water damage due to a weld in rear panel failing allowing water to get into XM receiver box located in trunk, brake switch replacement (recall was issued). So far the only major complaint is the pathetic quality of the rear brakes. Have had to service them twice so far, once at 20,00 miles and just the other day at 32,000 miles (not covered, pay out of your own pocket). Its a terrible design that the dealer admitted to, but Hyundai is not willing to do anything about it. So beware, brake issues are coming if you have not all ready experienced it.

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  Almost Happy - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Old but young - November 23 - 3:06 am

  Car runs well except lifters are noisy on startup, good pick up good on turnes,Gas milage so so. Might as well throw out the back seats not of any use, But all in all a good car for the money.

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  Great SUV - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By khym54 - November 22 - 4:28 pm

  We purchased a used 2011 Tucson GL with a 5 speed manual. Very happy. Love the small turning radius. Getting 25-29 mpg in a mix of about 75/25 city/highway driving. Happy with the gas mileage. Lots of room for what we need. Handles well. It has adequate power.

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  No Econobox Hyundai, a real sports coupe - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By 257Roberts - November 22 - 7:56 am

  My son needed a new car and had pretty good luck with a used Kia. He was looking at an Infinti coupe, but couldnt afford a new one. I found out about the Hyundai Genesis Coupe from one of the car 10 best lists. My son really likes the car. It has the performance of the Infiniti without the price tag. The features are great and the 100k warranty was proof that Hyundai thinks they did a good job building it.

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  pleasantly surprised - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By russ - November 22 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car for my wife to drive around in. the air cond/heating is fast and efficient as is the pickup in it. I was a little disappointed in the legroom as Im 61" and am used to the legroom in my fullsize pickup but when I put the seat back tilted a bit, it works out fine for a trip. The cargo space and style are also very nice and we get compliments on it all the time. I