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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  Wave of Problems at 4 Year Mark - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By newcarshoppe2 - August 18 - 5:00 pm

  Problems started mounting right after 60,000 mile warranty mark. First problems with rattling in front end and sway bars, then problems with electrical failure. Not satisfied that paying thousands of dollars in repair costs for relatively new car. Reading reviews, have found that many issues start right after warranty ends on Hyundais. Wont be buying Hyundai again.

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  got a mechanic???? - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By JennFarrug - August 17 - 2:00 am

  Keep taking it in for transmission problems, will shift hard into gear and out of gear, now accelerator sticking. Dealer cant find problem till it shows up on their computer. Hasnt shown up yet, but still major problems. They ever hear of driving it or looking under the hood? How about a old fashioned mechanic who actually looks for the problem instead of relying on a computer to tell them whats wrong?

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  average SUV for the money - 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By geologist26 - August 15 - 7:43 pm

  2012 sante fe GLS AWD V6. the vehicle is just average on everything. it does nothing really "great." hyundai needs to try a little harder on build quality, exterior and interior design. doors and suspension feel tinny. engine is just ok. its not fun to drive BUT, for the money it is a decent small suv.

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  Needs some consumer input - 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jan - August 7 - 9:53 am

  Life with this car after purchase revealed some annoying features. So would you like to leave the sunroof open while you run in the house or store quick? Nope cant do it...you cannot turn the car off and lock it if the sunroof is open. Need to quickly close the trunk because of driving snow or rain? Nope you cant do it...you need to wait for the automatic gate to do it slowly while you wait. Did you put something in the cubby below the radio and then park the car? Good luck getting it out if its a bulky item because the shifter will be in the way. Do you plan to sit in the front passenger seat occasionally when youre not driving? The seat adjustment controls are nothing like the driver seat, and as a matter of fact, youll sit a few inches lower on the passenger side. Ever drop something between the driver seat and the center console? Youll never get it out without going in from the back seat underneath the seat because its so narrow you cant even fit your fingertips in between there. Good luck vacuuming the carpet in these spaces because there are plenty of narrow spaces where things can fall but no ability to vacuum. This car handles well and drives well and has a nice warranty but if youre looking for the basic comforts of a busy lifestyle with kids look somewhere else. Hyundai needs to ask consumers where they can improve for future model redesigns.

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  Just...Blah - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Nickw23 - August 5 - 2:00 am

  I bought my 02 Hyundai Elantra GT new and currently have 27K miles on the car. This car should get better mileage for such a small 4 cylinder. I get about 26 MPG with my 5speed. My biggest issue with this car is the brakes. They are honestly unsafe and I dont trust them at all. I already had to have my brakes redone at 15,000 miles. Conveinetly past the 12,000 mile warranty(it is a DECEPTIVE warranty btw). Im currently looking to purchase a Jeep Wrangler, Ive had it with this cars brakes and subpar performance in the snow for a vehicle with FWD and traction control. The Michelins on the car are bottom of the barrel garbage. Resale is a joke.

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  Clutch Failure - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Kim Weise - August 1 - 8:16 pm

  Clutch Failure at 30,000! Not covered by original or extended warranty Cost $1055 only owned the car for 7 months Looks are very deceiving if you own one get rid of it before it costs you!

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  Steering Wheel Squeak - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Jim - July 14 - 4:20 pm

  Car is reliable. Main concern is a annoying squeak in the steering wheel whenever I turn the wheel. Dealer says its the clockspring and a problem in all XG350s that wont go away...even with a new clockspring. In other words, there is nothing the dealership can do. I wonder if other owners have same problem. CD player also died shortly after warranty expired.

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  Last Sonata for me - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By leahcim - July 12 - 6:26 pm

  The car is decent on smooth roads but is no fun to drive on city streets that are not smooth as a table top. Too much suspension noise. When going over road patches and other road irregularities, the rear wheels/suspension make a noise that sounds like something is loose and the body is bouncing off the struts. Very embarrassing to have friends in the car with all this noise. All the dealer will say is that the stiff suspension is the cause. I say Nonsense. Also the radio on the AM dial has much static. Also the speakers are very poor sounding.

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  You get what you pay for - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By Spend More - July 7 - 2:00 am

  Ive had this car for 3 years and had to replace the brakes and roters twice already. Ive never had a car go through brakes this fast. I just found out that have have to replace the harmonic balancer.(not cheap and no longer under warrenty). I have had other work done on it while it was under warrenty. It seems like an awful lot is going wrong with this car for its age. I have to replace the flex pipe as well. I guess you get what you pay for. In the future I will spend more initially to have a fewer problems and hassles later.

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  Not What I thought it would be - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By lilbit - June 27 - 7:50 pm

  Purchased new in 2004 wasnt bad for the first three years, then the engine went, now the air bag light is on it gives itself gas and the engine cuts out while driving down the road,I think a car should run better then this, I take care of my care and feel that these are big problems. Also the bulbs for the headlights dont seem to last long.