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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  50000 miles and NO PROBLEMS - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By wshadow1@netzero.net - May 2 - 2:00 am

  I cant say enough about the quality and performance of this vehicle for the last 50000 miles ( and my sons Sante Fe for the last 60000 miles). Other than a minor recall for a possible rusting oxygen sensor, both vehicles have NOT had 1 problem. This vehicle is about the same size as a Lexus RX300 AND AT LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE. Yes, Hyundai have had a bad reputation over the years but this is changing rapidly---wait till the maintainance stats start coming in. Take a look--you will be surprised.

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  Pauls review - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Paul Mrozek - May 2 - 1:43 am

  The styling is stand out, very unique!I love the all wheel drive. Power is adequate, but, It could use a little more. I know a larger V-6 is available, but, Im not willing to get less mileage.

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  Hyundai replaced my Toyota - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Fran - May 1 - 9:03 pm

  Researched Toyota (former car an 08 Corolla LE), Honda Civic and Hyundai Elantra Se on the web and Consumer Reports. Bought the Elantra Se and am so in love with this car - something I could not say about my 08 Corolla. The latter was a nice car but nothing about it said luxury. (It was totaled by another driver this month) Am so glad I made the switch. Safety features were primary to me after the accident my Corolla was in that nearly killed 3 people. The 4 disc brakes plus Electronic Stability Control and side and curtain air bags sold me. I had wanted them on the Corolla but they were not available unless I went to another much more expensive model Toyota. Am blown away by this car!

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  5+ yrs and 100k miles and I want to buy it again! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Jim Furbush - April 30 - 8:08 pm

  I didnt set out to buy this car, or any car until I spotted this at the dealership and fell in love. Walking in with your mouth hanging open probably isnt the best negotiating strategy. This hadnt happened since spotting my 1978 Toyota Celica GT5 right after college! It isnt unusual for people to walk up and ask me about the car and compliment me - it happens every week. Happened just today in fact. Love driving this car and have had very few issues. Handles well and has all the power most mere mortals need. My only issues are minor - one annoying one, the media screen is for some reason unreadable when the dash lights are very dimmed. Not sure what people are complaining about with the seats being uncomfortable... Im 60 and drive routinely over an hour with zero discomfort. The only repairs were when the buttons on the doors malfunctioned and were promptly repaired under warranty by dealer. Also had a battery die and have to be replaced. Me, I wish I could just turn back the clock and start over with this very same car.

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  Who wants a Sonata that needs a new engine?? - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By Kathryn - April 30 - 2:28 am

  Our 2012 Sonata with regular maintenance records experienced a sudden catastrophic engine failure at 74,000 miles. No warning lights have ever come on in the car but it suddenly began to lose power and make a terrible noise. Since it was still under warranty, we had it towed to our dealer who told us that the engine had to be replaced and it was covered and the engine would be replaced within a few days. Subsequently, Hyundai changed their mind and chose not to honor their warranty stating "customer neglect". We provided all our service records showing oil changes basically every 4 months but they still said it was our fault. We have since found out that this is happening all over the country to cars with the 2.4 liter Theta II GDI engine. Edmonds should research this because this is a widespread problem. I would not buy another Hyundai because they do not honor their warranty.

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  07 Tiburon GS - 2007 Hyundai Tiburon
  By phoenix15 - April 30 - 2:07 am

  This car caught my attention at the time when they first came out. My was a dark navy blue color which is what caught my attention and the body style. Had it for over 7 years now with less than 60K mileage on it. After about 40k mileage I started to notice that the clutch is performing really bad like its not responding when shifting. So I did a little research and found out that the manufacture had put in a clutch delay thing inside the master cylinder to prevent clutch overheating if you drive aggressively. So I just remove that clutch delay thing and now its responding a little better without that lag.

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  My favorite mini-van - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Charles Brennaaun - April 30 - 1:21 am

  I have owned 5 different makes of mini-vans and the Entourage is the best so far. Well appointed,solid feel,good handling, ample power, super brakes, quiet, smooth riding vehicle. I am 64" tall and there is ample room for me. This is a well put together van.

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  driving with power is fun - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Edward Johnson - April 29 - 5:26 pm

  The driving experience of the Genises Coupe is fantastic.It hugs the road conners on a dime the paddle shifters on the steering wheel are a great thing the design and comfort are appreciated by me. Push button start entrance and exit never going in and out of my pocket.

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  Pleasantly Surprised - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Thomas Lindsey - April 29 - 2:43 pm

  I bought this vehicle in 2001 just a couple months after the release. Today, I have 89,000 miles on it and I have been pleased with its performance over the last 7 years. Ive been to the dealer for only a few minor problems, the last and biggest was the power steering pump which was covered under my extended warranty. Ive been pleased by the total package; AWD, comfort, reliability, performance, etc. I know this car doesnt do any one thing extremely well, but it does everything pretty darn well. Its well-rounded and solid. My only real complaint has been the paint. I feel like the color coat is about 1mm thick. Its fading, scratches MUCH too easily, and no clear coat of which to speak.

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  I love my Tib - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By cora_v - April 29 - 1:36 pm

  I bought my Tib brand new and yes the radio went within three months and yes the front wheel barrings keep going(left 2x right 3x), it goes through headlights like no tomorrow, has had 3 alts and those tires phew, can they make some decent tires for this car? And right now my timing belt and water pump just blew at 135,000 (replaced at 90,000). I still love this car. My husband wants me to get rid of it but its perfect. Handles great, good on gas, zip in and out of traffic, I have no trouble in ice and snow or rain. I would buy this car all over again. When the time comes to get another vehcile I will buy another Hyundai.