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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  Disappointed at mileage - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Darrell Colonius - July 6 - 5:46 pm

  Seems like a pretty solid car and handles very nice. But I do not like where the heater and air conditioner controls are located. You have to take your eyes off the road to adjust because they are located so low in the compartment. For the size, the gas mileage is terrible.

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  nice car with a couple of issues - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By 1yearlater - July 6 - 10:23 am

  I have owned this car for about a year now. Owned a Tucson prior and it was in the shop right away. I was given a Sonata as a loaner and loved it, so I ended up trading in the Tucson for a 2008 Sonata. I read these reviews and wanted to comment. This is a great car for the price, it absolutely is great in the snow, can not say the same for the Tucson. However, I do have to agree with another post. When you have the heat on the floor, it comes out through the upper vents, but I have found if you close them, it forces it more to the floor. Also, it has alot of rattles in it, but so does my husbands year old Toyota.

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  No longer a good used buy - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By Mike - July 6 - 2:50 am

  I bought this car with about 65,000 miles on it, and now have 110,000. If Id written this review before the 95K mark, it would have been a glowing review. However, since then just about everything has come apart-- the transmission (and Im not one to push a car and dont live in the city), the power window, horn, check engine light, oxygen sensor, wiring etc. This is one of those cars that falls apart at 100K, and youre unlikely to find one with lower miles these days. The Elantra was essentially redesigned the *next* year, so the newer models may well be worth looking at.

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  Best SUV for your dollar - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By boxman_okc - July 4 - 7:25 pm

  IMO this is the best SUV you can get for the money, especially if buying used. The cargo capacity is outstanding, including generous under-floor storage, the ride is very quiet, the mileage is surprisingly good (no worse than my previous Honda CR-V - a much smaller and noisier vehicle). With the Santa Fe you get the feeling of a refined, almost luxurious vehicle but with a bargain pricetag.

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  Couldnt believe I bought a NEW car! - 2016 Hyundai Equus
  By Bob E. - July 4 - 3:02 pm

  Im a long time Lexus used car guy who usually buys from eBay. Ive had incredible luck doing that and have kept my 1990 LS-400 for 403,000 miles and my 2002 LS-430 for 215,000 miles. I like to keep up with all maintenance through a good friend who has an auto repair shop so getting lots of miles out of a car is my standard practice. This time around, I just got an itch for a newer car and started looking for a used 2013 LS-460 which was the next one in my Lexus progression. I was really appalled when I drove one though because I realized Lexus had departed from their quiet elegance/nice ride with road feel to a blinged-up stone boat with no road feel at all and way too many needless gadgets/buttons. I then gave up on Lexus and started looking around for a Ford, Infinity, Lincoln or Buick equivalent of my idea of a really nice car. None of those really fit my vision so I thought Id see what Hyundai had to offer. I used the CarProUSA.com recommended dealer of Weisner Hyundai in Conroe, Texas and took a test drive in a Genesis. It was OK but not really far enough into the "luxury" concept that I was hoping for. Ron Clark, my sales guy, suggested I try the Equus to see if I liked it. I looked at the sticker price and thought there would be no way I would ever pay THAT much for a car, new or used. I really liked driving the Equus and thought I was finished since the price was so high but Ron was able to make me an unbelievable deal on the 2016 Equus and I just couldnt resist. Having the price I was going to pay for a used car and the wonderful, no-pressure honest sales approach by Ron made me happy with my purchase. Since I like to keep a car for hundreds of thousands of miles, I am concerned with the unknown of Hyundais longevity but their 10 year/100,000 mile drivetrain warranty says they are pretty confident about their car. That helps me feel more confident as well. I also got complete standard maintenance for 3 years and they even come to my house to pick up my car while leaving a loaner during service. That is pretty hard to beat for us mere mortals. I may be singing a different tune in 5 years but this experience was far beyond my expectations and Im betting the long term story will be as good. From what I understand, Equus, as a model, is being ended this year but essentially the same car will be the 2017 Genesis G90 as Hyundai breaks the upscaled Genesis brand out similar to the way Toyota did with Lexus in 1989. That doesnt bother me at all because I was given such an incredible deal on a really nice car. Heck, I was going to buy a used car with unknown longevity anyway so getting a new one with a long warranty sure works for me.

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  Elantra Limited w/XM - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By jay12345 - July 4 - 2:01 am

  Words cannot describe how HAPPY my wife and I are about purchasing this vehicle. We almost feel bad when we see people driving Sentras and Corollas. Its truly amazing- the amount of features you get for the price of this car.... Gears change smoothly, super quiet ride, peppy engine, we get 33 mpg, extremely comfortable high quality leather bucket seats, heated seats, booming sound system, tight construction, 16 inch alloys wheels, heated mirrors, steering wheel mounted controls, six airbags, ABS and EBD, near perfect in-cabin ergonomics, 100K warrantee, and the list goes on and on!! All this for under $18,500??? Try and beat that! This is by far the best deal in the class.

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  To Elantra and beyond....! - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By jamrom - July 4 - 2:00 am

  I previously owned a 1996 Subaru Legacy, which needless to say was great in the snow and rain, but was a mechanical disater. I always buy on quality based on previous mechanical history and OWNERS reviews. I have to say that after 2 months of reseach and a lot of comparing, I was very satified with my decision until I bought it... now Im extatic about my decision. Its not only practical, but sporty, attractive and built to last (not like a tank though). If its within your budget, opt for package 4, it includes the ABS/TCS sys, upgraded CD/speakers, and a few other nice options. You cannot get a better price with all the options in this car.

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  Nice car for the price - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By bsh1 - July 3 - 6:19 pm

  Have had the car for about three months now and I am very satisfied with my purchase. My family owns two huyndais and they have been good reliable cars so far. I thought the previous elantras were kind of ugly but this year the design is very appealing, which is why i went for it. For the money I think you get a great deal considering the safety options etc. My main complaint with this car is the speedometer. It is way off and it is a common thing if you read the forum here. Huyndai needs to take responsibility over this and get it fixed. 4-10% error cannot be ignored.I have yet to test my odometer-keeping my fingers crossed.

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  2006 Hyundai Tucson - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By calammer - July 3 - 12:26 pm

  I have only had this Tucson for a few months but I feel its one of the best values you can get in a SUV. It has more than enough power gets great mileage and good looks.

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  Snow no go! - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By ljb506 - July 3 - 11:53 am

  I purchased a used low miles 2011 Sonata last fall and loved it, awesome gas mileage, up to 40 hwy. inside great, outside great! Winter came late and I discovered it does not get around in snow at all! Ive never had to worry about getting around in snow and I live in a state that normally gets a lot of snow. Had trouble navigating in even 3 inches of snow! Car dealer said they are built light which is why mileage is so good. Got stuck 3 times in a 7 min. commute from work to home. Next day traded it in for an AWD Subaru - I didnt even hesitate to get rid of it. Dependability and reliability is tops on list for a vehicle!