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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  The 146mph Sonata - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By mrebate - August 6 - 2:20 pm

  No, I havent hit 146 but owners of this model may want to Google the title of my review. A rental was clocked doing that speed. However, I was going about 70 mph last month and unexpectedly came up on a large chunk of a truck tire in the middle of my lane. The Sonata handled like a Nascar vehicle. It reminded me of the first time I drove a Mercedes back in 1970. So far so good with this 6 year old vehicle, but it only has 29,000 miles. Depreciation is a factor with these cars, so you may want to look for a cream puff that is 1 or 2 yrs old if looking for a newer model.

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  Excellent City and Family Car! - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By driver_lori - August 6 - 2:10 pm

  I purchased my 2003 Accent with 4 miles on it for $11,500. Perfect city car - fits into small spots and not very likely to be vandalized. Then I lived in an area with steep hills and never got stuck, even with ice and snow. The car complained about making it up the hills but always did. Definiltey not a lot of power but does the trick. Fast forward 7 years and my husband and I now use the car with our twins rear-facing. We can fit the double stroller in the truck with room to spare and a single stroller in back. Theres enough leg room. I have to laugh at people who think they need an SUV....the Accent is perfectly adequate! No major repairs and Im at almost 140K miles!!

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  Very Noisy! - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By gjg1 - August 3 - 2:36 pm

  This is my first and most likely my last Hyundai. My 2013 Elantra is the nosiest car I have ever owned hands down. The sound generated by the 17" wheels and low profile tires is extreme. Hyundai, put some sound absorbing material in and please, include a spare tire. "Just call our 24 hour road service" does not make up for sitting on the side of the road for 2 hours waiting for the tow to come.

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  Farewell, old friend - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By avhelp - August 2 - 11:56 pm

  Someone once told me machines dont have a soul. I disagree. My Hyundai took me to work and happy places, safely and always got me home. We logged 131K miles together, and it just got to the point where it got tired. Life had been perfect except for a battery at 100K. Now, at 131K, We needed new struts,shocks, breaks, timing belt, water pump, CV joints, tires and headlight glass. With all that mileage, how much longer could we go on before something big broke? I took the repair money and bought its cute cousin, the SOUL. I know the Kia and Hyundai family are as one, so I am looking forward to more far off trips to enjoy. Thank you, Blue Hyundai, for taking me to and from safely.

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  First Hyundai, very pleased - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By thebagel42 - August 1 - 7:07 am

  I dont usually write reviews, but after seeing all the reviews reporting poor gas mileage I felt like I had to say something. Ive got about 10K miles on my 2012 elantra. Just about a month ago I drove from Cleveland to Ann Arbor (~180 miles) and I averaged 41 mpg. Thats with speeds between 65-75 mph. When I first got the car I could get 29-30 in a city. However, Ive recently found it more fun to drive this stick shift car in a less-than-optimal way. I now average about 26-27 in the city but get to enjoy the car a little more. So getting at or above the estimated mpg is very possible. In addition, there is plenty of room in the interior of the car.

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  Fun Commuter - 2010 Hyundai Accent
  By alessing - July 22 - 12:46 pm

  Ive owned every car imaginable, F-150s, Hummer H2s, Ford Explorers, Audis, etc. I currently own 2 Mercedes Benz and theyre great cars, just not on gas. My first Accent was a company car w/ 87k miles. It was a comfortable car, great on gas, fun to drive, but severely under-powered. The auto transmission is sloppy and makes some hard shifts and cruise control isnt available. Beyond that I needed a commuter I could drive around and my son needed something too. This was perfect. My son can drive to school and work and I can go run errands. Despite the flaws, I love this car!

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  The undisputed champion in the compact car segment - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By ca_lawyer1 - July 22 - 1:08 am

  After test driving every other 2012/2013 compact car and doing months of researching (lawyers love researching) I ended up purchasing a 2013 Elantra GLS with the preferred package and 8 miles on the odometer for $20,600.00 (out the door). My miles per gallon with the econ button off and the a/c on are always in the high 30s. The cabin is quieter and the base sound system is better than the Civic, Corolla, Cruze, Focus and Mazda 3. The truck is huge (for lack of a better word). The truck is bigger than my wives 2008 Acura TL 4 door. The steering is so light one turn turn the steering wheel using one finger. Engine power is on par with every other compact car in this class.

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  I so love my little car! - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By jannes - July 16 - 6:37 pm

  I bought my car used in 2007 w/ 25K miles on it after owning an Excel, its older sister. There was one major issue it had immediately after purchase (speed sensors went out - totally covered by warranty). Heard its good to change timing belt before 100K so had a full $500 tune-up done then and have never had an issue in the now 5 years Ive had it & only done routine oil changes otherwise. I have maintained 35 mpg consistently in town and 40 mpg highway. Plush? Frills? Sporty power? No - but if youre ok with feeling the road under you and enjoy great gas mileage & the joys of a hatchback, an Accent rules! Con: poor visiblity out the back window due to its bubble butt as I call it.

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  Very reliable - 1998 Hyundai Elantra
  By supgamer - July 16 - 5:26 am

  I bought this Elantra with 76,000 mi. , now I have 172,000 mi. on it. I dont know if the first owner did all the fixing, but this car has been very reliable to me. I use this car for long distance deliveries (courier), therefore, most of the mileage have been highway. Besides regular maintenance (tires, fluids, brakes, tune up, etc), I had to change the crank shaft position sensor, slave cilinder, clutch, the AC fun that was out of balance and making noise, drivers inside door handle (switched with the same side back door, fits perfectly), did change the timming belt and water and thats it. My only complaint are the air vents that are very delicate (all broken). Love this car!!!

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  I love this car!! - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By maxipkat - July 15 - 2:43 am

  I bought this car as a service loaner back in 2008, and it has given me no mechanical issues whatsoever. I now have 91K miles and it still runs great. I gave the build quality a little lower because the paint does chip pretty easy and the sun visors have broken, however I really love this car!