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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  cheep cheep - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By mr man - November 14 - 10:00 am

  Yes this is a car that you will pay well under 20,000 for. The ride is very stiff and if you have to spend any time in it for traveling or camuts, you will need to get out to strech you legs. All i realy can say is get a good acupunchest or ciropractor (youll need it anfter a few weeks of driving). Though it has a nice warrinty the factory mantaince can get a little pricy. The gas milage is great. I would never buy this car again and never recamend it to a friend or family member. It could be a good interductry car for the 20 somethings just starting out in the world.

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  Its still just a cheap car. - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Big Muggle - November 5 - 11:31 am

  This car has a few things going for it: leather interior, blue dash lights, fog lamps. It seems reasonably solidly built, and the engine is powerful enough for me. However, I think the essential cheapness of the car is evident in some of the mechanical and safety components. There have been 2 safety recalls, the catalytic converter had to be replaced (warranty) and the transmission had to be reprogrammed (warranty). The transmission is still clunky, the car vibrates under braking (cheap rotors), and also at highway speeds. The steering is totally numb (think 72 Olds), so the car is no fun to drive. Headlights awful. Windshield awful in rain. Hey, it was cheap. Next time, Mazda 3.

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  Major overlooked flaws from most reviews! - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By JP - November 1 - 11:12 pm

  Test drove the car and notice 3 major flaws that are absolute dealbreakers. First, youll notice that the atkinson cycle engine causes a very slight lag between your gas peddle input and the engine actually engaging. This is compounded because due to this lag, the transmission is not married well to the engine, as I got a few false upshifts and then immediate downshifts. The second flaw concerns the interior build quality and layout compared to the Toyota Corolla. Im 61 tall and noticed when i lean my right leg against the center console, it bows outward considerably compared to the corolla. It feels like the middle console and dash are not secured together well at all. I drove the corolla and pushed my leg hard against the console and it didnt budge. The third comparison to the corolla is that despite having greater cubic foot interior, I could not sit in the back behind my driving position in the elantra, and could quite easily in the corolla, so that speaks to how well the space is utilized. An ok car, but not when the civic and corolla are both in the same price bracket.

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  Many, Many issues - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dwmac - October 30 - 6:08 pm

  Where to begin? This SUV has been nothing but trouble since rolling it off the lot. Ive been in for warranty work 3 times in two months, with more scheduled next week. In fact, Ive driven more rentals and courtesy cars since owning this than the car itself. Issues I encountered: rear heater only blows cold air, the back window simply shattered had to have replaced (no lie), lumbar button mounted improperly, and only went one way, dash display intermittently cuts in and out, the bluetooth quality is atrocious, the trim paint in the interior will chip off if even breathed on too hard, It wouldnt even turn over twice, still more to list! Beware of this ride. Its riddled with defects

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  Plain - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By mike cook - October 20 - 2:00 am

  I have only had this car three months and already had to replace the fuel pump. two motors in the windows. It run ok. But other than that its just plain boring car That cd players should come with

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  Not bad after awhile.... - 1999 Hyundai Sonata
  By kb9mnm - October 19 - 2:00 am

  My wife and I bought the GLSv6 w/50+k on it. After 4 trips to get known problems fixed, all seems to be well. I now have put over 20k more miles on it, have not been a regular oil changer, but it seems to be going well. Front suspension seems to be getting softer, lots of "clunks" over bumps.Lots of body lean. Did have both rr whl bearings replaced after finding one that was very loose while taking a break during a road trip. That would have been very disasterous! Hyundai paid for everyting. No deductible required.

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  Good on gas, not too much else - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By jelmisc - October 7 - 2:00 am

  The dealership gave me an incorrect purchase agreement and it took me over a year to get the correct title and VIN.I have had extensive problems covered under warranty (broken seat frame,cracked manifold,etc).While they cover the work I am left carless and it often takes multiple visits to get the repairs done correctly.LCD panel on radio blew-not covered.Was part of a class action lawsuit due to "overstated horsepower" which is very noticeable when accelerating. Received terrible customer service at Rockland Auto Plaza (Nanuet, NY) and had it not been for the excellent service at Liberty Hyundai (Suffern, NY) I would have ditched the car long ago.We probably will never buy another Hyundai.

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  SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Frustrated "OWNER" - August 28 - 10:33 am

  Bought it on the 6th of June, returned it same day. Wheel shook out of hand. Sent to tire shop. Balanced tires. All were out. Steering wheel still vibrated. Dealer over the next 2 months tried, as directed by Hyundai; balancing 4 times; new tires; checking axle balance no problems. Hyundai rep said "...normal characteristic". Then Dealers mechanic found excessive play in HUB. Installed new hub(bearing assembly) passenger side. Shaking stopped for 10 days then began again, drives. Tried tightening bolt on hub and polishing rotor with no positive results. Now they are supposed to replace Drivers side hub. Filed a LEMON LAW Claim against Hyundai. Dealer has had vehicle for 45 days.

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  A good value but at what price? - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By CADixon999 - August 24 - 11:43 pm

  Overall, my 2009 Sonata GLS has been a dependable car for a very good price. I, like many others, have the dash/windshield creaking problem. This did not fully develop until around one year of ownership. The noise is present with every movement of the car (light acceleration, braking, undulation) not just over speed bumps or potholes. Call me OCD but it is so annoying, that I am about to dump the car at a loss. The dealer did try to fix the problem by re-seating the windshield but the noise is even worse after their "fix". If you can live with sub-par build quality and rattles, then the Sonata is a good deal. I am going back to a REAL foreign car like Honda or Toyota!

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  Not as good as it used to be - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Tom - August 19 - 12:17 pm

  I recently rented this car on a drive from Seattle to Reno when the airline stranded me. I generally have loved Hyundais and my daily driver is a 2013 Hyundai Accent that I love. I was disappointed in this car for two major reasons. #1 the road noise was unbearable and I couldnt even hear the radio over the amount of road noise. #2 was the night time visibility, the dash is not dim-able and was way too bright making it very difficult to see at night. Gas mileage and every other aspect of the cars was great, but these two were a deal breaker for me and I took it back to the rental agency and exchanged it for another vehicle the next day.