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:

• 

  Piece of Junk - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Carolina girl - March 27 - 10:03 am

  Bought van 2 years ago and it has been in the shop 11 times. 3 new batteries, 2 new oxygen sensors, 2 tension pulleys.....it just goes on and on. 25,000 miles and the Michelins wouldnt pass inspection they were so bald. Brakes were starting to squeal. Decided to trade and even with rebates etc we lost 5 grand! It was losing $1000 in kelly blue book every month. Do not buy this van you will regret it and be so far in debt on it you cant get out!

• 

  Major problems with my Tuscon - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Mark Plettinck - March 21 - 3:44 pm

  Currently the 2016 Tuscon is having major problems and Hyundai cant seem to put its finger on what to do or how to comfort those that bought this lemon. I took my Tuscon in after owning it for a month because the car didnt seem to know when to shift into the next gear. They told me it needed a system update and immediately after the update the car was shuttering when you come to a stop. Literally, the car starts vibrating and jerks back and forth as if it wants to move while your foots holding down the brake. Long story short, after talking to 2 different dealerships and customer service and corporate I was told to live with it. That they have no answer to the problem, no idea when it can be fixed and that it may be how the car is supposed to drive. I was livid, I couldnt believe what the guy from Cororate said over the phone. And this came out of Corporate. At that moment I lost all faith in HYundai and I knew I would never again own a Hyundai. Please, please, please do not buy the 2016 Tuscon until this problem is fixed. I am in the process of selling mine as soon as I can. And remember Hyundai may have the best warranty and that may be because they need the best warranty because this vehicle is awful to drive.

• 

  Jerky Trans - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By jarucker - February 28 - 2:48 pm

  It is hazardous to drive this car. There are several issues occurring. The transmission is jerky, hesitates and some times the vehicle comes to a complete stop and will not move, after shuddering and pulling forward. The car does not even have 5000 miles on it. The interior lights flicker on and off. The A/C acts as if it is about to go out. There are times when it seems as if the AC is not even on. The carpet is super thin. I noticed this because a piece is missing and it is a very thin layer that seems to sit on a piece of cardboard. It is too scary to drive it. You have no clue when the car is going to "decide" to come to a complete stop. It always seem to happen when you are on the interstate or when traffic is heavy. It is as if you are risking your life each and every time you drive the car. The Bluelink - car assurance - that comes with the vehicle is not trustworthy. You are "supposed" to get a report when something is not functioning as it should. However each and every time that I have had a problem, Bluelink has not detected this problem. The dealership also cannot get the vehicle to replicate any of the problems so they dont consider there to be any problems. In the mean time you still have to pay for a car this is really worthless.

• 

  Dont Ever Buy A Hyundai - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By whatwarranty? - January 10 - 10:00 am

  After 9 mos. the car was falling apart. From the exterior paint peeling, to one window that can no longer operate and another that the cable broke and it fell into the door. My brother owns a Sonata also. The engine blew at 50000 miles. Hyundai and the dealership both refused to honor their "fabulous" warranty for ridiculous reasons. Over $2,000 later out of pocket expenses, he has to go to court to get reimbursed, maybe... A bicycle can get onto the highway faster! NEVER BUY A HYUNDAI

• 

  Hyundai still makes bad cars - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By tigertina - December 18 - 2:45 pm

  The steering column started squeaking at 160,000kms. Never had that problem ever before with any other car. This problem is not covered in the warranty, and have learned other drivers have faced this problem. The car is too light and need to put in bricks to stabilize it on the road else it drifts. Didnt matter how many times it was checked over, its like the centre of gravity is off on this car. The car has too many blind spots. This car has had more problems with it then my 1997 fort escort with 345,000kms on it.

• 

  Loved it until it became unsafe to drive - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By E. Faucher - September 27 - 9:07 am

  Leased the vehicle end of May 2016 - fell in love with the style, comfort, features... On July 25, 2016, took vehicle in for hood latch recall with 1332 miles on the vehicle. While at the dealership service center, they performed a software update. This update created the instrument panel too illegible - the instrument cluster was defected. The part was ordered and it was to take 30 days to be delivered. Fortunately, it took 10 days. Picked up the vehicle on 8/4/16 after work, drove less then 1 mile came to a stop light once it turned green the vehicle would not drive. Being in the center lane of the highway with flashers on, on coming vehicles just missed slamming into the rear. Finally got it back to the dealership, they have indicated it is the dual clutch issue. This is very unsafe vehicle to drive since you would not know when it would just stop shifting and driving. Have registered a complaint with Hyundai Motors as the service department does not know when the vehicle will be repaired. Thank the Lord no one was killed this time! Now I feel this car is unsafe to own. I have a case started with Hyundai Motor Corp. Will see if they stand by their warranties and safety policy!

• 

  Warranty? What good is it? - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Burline King - June 21 - 1:37 pm

  I purchased the car in August 2015. A/C did not work properly but technician could find nothing wrong with it. After winter had NO a/c. Car was in shop for 11 days; they couldnt fix it so finally installed a new system. So far so good. Carried it in for oil change June 23, 2016. They managed to blow the cluster panel so Im still driving (7/11/16) a used car not comparable to mine. It has now been in shop for 18 days for this repair and they have no idea when it will be ready. Im paying a new car payment driving pretty much a wreck. Cant give it a better rating since it has been in repair 30 days so far out of the less than 11 months Ive had it. Its bad points outweigh what I thought would be a great reliable selection. I contacted manufacturer and have received no response at all from hqtrs. Im devastated! Worst auto experience Ive ever had!

• 

  Worse car Ive ever owned - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tim G - March 22 - 4:39 pm

  So many problems I hope I can remember them all.At 33k miles I started having problems with the vehicle shutting off when trying to accelerate from a complete stop.Not a great problem to have when turning in front of oncoming traffic.After many days Hyundai finally found a pin loose under the dash and also a bad catalytic converter.At 45k the fuel level sensor went bad causing a inaccurate fuel gauge.At 49k a new stalling problem started.When slowing down all the engine and all electrical would shutdown forcing me to drift to the side of road and attempt to restart.That was the last straw in my Hyundai nightmare.I promptly traded the lemon in and couldnt be happier having something reliable now.Will never purchase a Hyundai ever again or suggest buying one to a friend or family member.

• 

  Hate This Vehicle - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Robin - March 22 - 3:33 am

  Purchased this vehicle new off the truck. Thought I was getting a good deal for the money, but have had nothing but problems with this vehicle. Had to put new tires on at 18,000 miles, along with new rear brakes. Hyundai would NOT even speak to us about it. "Wear Items". Now at 25000 miles it has been in the shop 4 times for throttle sensor issues. Actually had the dealer I purchased the vehicle from deem the car UNSAFE to drive out of their repair shop at 18,000 miles. RIDICULOUS. Never owned such a undependable vehicle. Will NEVER purchase another Hyundai. Currently getting ready to contact an attorney in regards to this terrible vehicle. SAVE YOUR MONEY!

• 

  Do not buy this car - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By jflo - January 19 - 2:00 am

  I had the care for about 5 months. I put 8000 hazardous miles on it. Rattles, squeeks, terrible acceleration...just a sucky car! Finally the throttle wore out last month leaving me stranded on the side of the road! Roadside assist took 3 hours to arrive! I couldnt believe it! In only 5 months this car had gone from brand new best buy to a clunker! So I got rid of the hunk o junk! Hyundai was not surprised at all of my complaints, and said that many people have the same difficulty