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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  Real Review, this is not a 10 CAR!! - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By CamaroCurt - November 11 - 10:00 am

  This is an OK car, nothing special especially in terms of the materials used. Car has many squeaks/rattles/buzzes that the dealer does not want to address. Car handles well and the 4 wheel discs work well. Seats are comfy and I fit, 65" 225lbs nicely. Build quality is only fair due to rattles and cheapness of interior materials, seats are already showing wear?? in 2 months... This concerns me. Car can be caught completely flat footed on hills where it WILL NOT downshift, the lead tech told me this was a KNOWN issue , he also said they were not as well made as the Sonata,

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  Unique, quick, and a overall good car - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By PUN15HR - November 10 - 11:56 am

  Ive now had my tiburon for 2 years, and I must say, overall Im very impressed. I have modified this thing past the point of unrecognizable and it takes to every mod like a pro. Car has had some issues, (that are known by every tiburon owner) clutch design is a p. O. S as well as the dual mass flywheel setup. Look into a conversion kit for best results. Window motors are known to go bad as well as a alignment issue and syncros (which I have replaced under warranty) overall good handling, great sound from the motor when modified, good acceleration and excellent style. Sure theres little kinks but they had to cheapen some parts to bring such a sports car at such a incredible price.. A+ to Hyundai

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  very satisfied - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By john smith - November 9 - 10:00 am

  Whats all this talk about not enough power?? Compared to most of the rest of the world we Americans are sooo spoiled. In most other places this vehicle would be considered very peppy. It is certainly adequate for me. Only complaint is not enough room for long legged drivers. Live long and prosper!

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  Engine vibration above 2500rpm - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By c0mmuter - November 7 - 8:14 am

  I bought the Elantra back in August 2009, 3600 miles currently. It has performed reliably, no major mechanical problems. Handles well, though the steering is a little stiff. For a small car, it rides well on a variety of surfaces. However, the engine vibration is excessive above 2500RPM in all gears. It is felt in the drivers feet. I took the car to the dealer ship and was assured that this is normal by the service department. I did not run it above 2500RPM during the test drive. The manual says that during the first 600 mile break in to run the engine between 2000-4000rpm. The vibration has reduced a little since August 2009.

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  Utilitarian Plus - 1998 Hyundai Elantra
  By SmallWagonDriver - November 6 - 10:52 pm

  Bought this in 99 w/30,000 and its still used daily in-town and on long trips. At 158,000 total miles it has suffered a couple problems, the worst a cracked exhaust manifold at 124,000. Clutches do wear out, and that was replaced at 152,000. Otherwise, its very solid and has been very reliable, however we do keep it well-maintained (the secret to car longevity). It has seen some pretty tough duty in the mountains and in hot, dry desert-like conditions and never left us stranded. Its never had any electrical problems, no leakage from underneath, does not use oil (weve always run synthetic), heater and AC still works great, and to top it off, a tree fell on it but it just pushed back!

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  sweet car - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By jordan - November 5 - 7:07 pm

  bought with only 49000km for $6000 including tax. it was worth every penny! fast little car, never had a problem, i drive the crap out of it and its still like new!

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  Tuscon just shy of Outlander - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By harry lawrence - November 5 - 3:33 am

  Priced to compete with the Highlander it cannot match safety and resale. Outlander best of both worlds with all safety features at price of base Tuscon

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  Bad Oil Pump - Very Poor Service! - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By nukem90 - November 4 - 11:59 pm

  Per the Hyundai dealer in Dalton, GA the reason for our oil pressure light on was a bad oil pump that scored the main bearings on the crankshaft. The process to get to replacing the engine was a 2 out of 10 on the service meter! Between the dealer, Hyundai USA, and the 3rd party warranty company, Fidelity, I am extremely disappointed. The ownership level by Hyundai was very poor. They passed the process of correcting the issue to Fidelity who was a 1 out 10 on the service level! It is disappointing that a car that I like with a significant quality issue was handled the way it was. This is my first and last Hyundai. Nissan, Toyota, Honda - here I come!

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  Bargain for the money - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By kiwikint - October 30 - 6:03 pm

  We were shopping for a car for under 10K with mileage under 70,000. What was available for that money? PT Cruisers, Ford Focus, Chevy Cavalier. The design, feel and features of this car beat those 3 times over. We only brought it home today but it rides very smooth, handles well and feels solid. That and all the other amenities to boot.

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  Been a good car - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By dncarac - October 29 - 1:25 pm

  I bought it about a year ago. Its been good since then. The gas mileage started low, but its between 31 and 32 now for about a 12 mile commute weekdays. Theres plenty of room inside and lots of places to put bottles of liquid (it gets hot and dry here). I find the car quiet, which is different from others - I have no explanation why, I just do. The automatic transmission shifts smoothly and the car holds the road well at speed (65-70 mph). Some people dont like the serpentine shift pattern, but it took me less than a week to get used to it.