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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  Defective engine - 2012 Hyundai Equus
  By ted2332 - May 23 - 9:30 am

  At little over a year, performance and gas mileage began to deteriorate. Next, an engine knocking became increasingly loud.no check engine or oil pressure light warning. Dealer found oil 3 quarts low-- suspect that the engine had already been damaged..on investigation, this is a systemic problem which Hyundai Equus and Genesis with the same engine share. Hyundai does not appear ready to own up to the defective engine which occurred with the higher horse powered 2012. Major blow in their aspirations to compete as a luxury brand

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  Can NOT reccomend this car - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By veevolt - March 20 - 5:19 pm

  I hope a ton of people read Edmunds reviews and will not be lured in by Hynundais pleasing designs and high option content. I see there are others here that are dissapointed! I had TWO 2012 Elantras, the first one bought back due a intermitent "no start" problem that the dealership cound not fix. We had car #1 for about 3 months. Car #2 has suffered from several stall outs, this happens in the City, or on the Highway. My bluetooth has never worked right, cruise control worked when it wanted to, had a clunk in the front suspension from 8k miles, the engine developed a nasty ticking sound at idle, and of course the fuel mileage, Ive seen best 28 mpg while drafting a semi in Montana. avg is 25

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  Dont buy this car - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By lysandra25 - March 7 - 12:51 pm

  1. lied about mpg 2. 6,000 miles in my car started electronically malfunctioning, would get stuck in park/drive, would not turn off!!) 3. took it 4 times to the dealership over same issue....they claim its a loose wire from when it was built??? 4. this is a brand new car, not suppose to be happening. 5. spoke to hyundai and would not do anything to help out but offer a goodwill gesture? yeah thats what my warranty was for .... 6. car slips ALOT....highway and bumps, makes it feel very unsafe 7. not to mention no spare kit..you have to pay 400$ for the kit if you want it, unreal 8. moral of the story is i traded this crap in for a toyota 2013 corolla S and its BETTER.

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  Look in the trunk! - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By cjj71 - February 22 - 10:28 am

  I really was a fan of my 12 Elantra since I purchased. No, I have not been able to get close to the mileage stated on sticker but I dont put a lot of mile on my car and they are mostly city miles. I liked the "extras" heated seats, XM, blue-tooth. Price was good compared to other cars in same class.("Get what you pay for") NOW this is why I am not a fan anymore...I recently got a flat tire (in Feb. in very cold NH) luckily I was close to enough to make it to work before it went completely flat!) well upon opening the trunk to get the spare and jack I found NEITHER!!! There is a small air pump. I called my auto dealer to find out the Elantra does not come with a spare tire or a jack!!!

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  Beware The Dealerships!!! - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By justdude - February 17 - 8:04 pm

  I had owned a 2012 SE for one year and just traded it in for a a different manufacture vehicle. The problems were the mechanics made fun of the car saying it was akin to a GEO Metro. Didnt feel to good hearing that. Broke the glove box changing the cabin filter. Broke the new filter but installed it anyway. Left the engine a mess with dirty oil slopped around and dirty hand prints in the car. The next dealer I went to charged me for 5qt of oil, to give bulk oil pricing, and put in 5-30W instead of the spec-ed 5-20W. Hyundai corp suggested I do it myself after conplaing on a post service survey Welcome to two of the OC Hyundai dealerships.

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  I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER HYUNDAI! - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By mchunter - January 8 - 7:27 am

  We are very disappointed in this car. 17,000 miles in, the car developed a blown headgasket. Service manager said bolts were loose from the factory. Hyundai area rep. tried to blame this on us, saying we had let the car overheat, although the car had never got hot. Why would a new car overheat anyway? While being fixed, dealer found timing chain tensioner was loose also. Kept smelling antifreeze later and dealer found hoses with pinholes. 35,000 miles now and car is making a popping noise in the front end and our mileage has dropped from averaging 35mpg to 29mpg. We bought this car, because of mileage and Hyundai quality supposedly being better now, but it is the last one we will ever own!

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  terrible ride - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By mesa2 - October 26 - 12:46 am

  I just traded in my Toyota Corolla on this Elantra, what a mistake! This is like riding in a bumpy truck, not a fun car to go for a relaxing ride. We feel every single crack in the road. On the freeway, it is not as bad but in city driving it is so miserable, no one likes riding with us anywhere. Not as good of gas mileage as our Corolla either. We have buyers remorse. We would rather stay home than have to drive this around town

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  Audio Fails - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By hatelantra - August 23 - 3:17 am

  We drive 200 miles a day to commute. We have 62,xxx on our 2011 Elantra and the audio system has failed. Its not the fuse, we checked that. The dealer told us since we have so many miles on our car that it is no longer under warranty. He said it went out of warranty at 36,xxx. I dont care how many miles you have on a car, the audio system should not go out like this. We have owned the Accent, Tiburon, Sonata and have previously been happy Hyundai owners. This one has thoroughly spoiled my view on the Hyundai manufacturers for not standing behind their product. I read that a salesman on here who drives a lot had the same problem. Never buy this new Elantra!!!

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  do not waste your money - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By katybillie - August 16 - 4:07 pm

  although the car is great at first everything starts to go with in the first year. I got my accent right of the truck my problems started before I had even had my car for a year, I had gotten oil changes tire rotations and alignments every 3,000 miles first my front left tire went followed by my back right and now my front right. The car doesnt shift until 6,000 RPMs and is not fun to drive at all. I have been trying to find somewhere to trade this car in at but no one will even take it. Never again will I own a Hyundai I didnt want one to begin with

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  Never again - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By jancielubert - June 4 - 10:09 pm

  I have never gotten the 40 MPG touted by Hyundai. Best mileage is 33. Also the cloth seats are impossible to clean and Hyundai dealer wont try to clean the seat, they say it will cause a stain. When parking you cannot see the front end in relationship to the parking spot and the same with the rear. It is hard to get into the front seats without hitting your head. I am only 52". The car did not come with a spare that had to be purchased fo $300.00. They include a pump for flats but if you have a side puncture, it wont work. This is my second Hyundai and I am planning on selling it as soon as possible. Bluetooth is not compatible with all phones.