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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  Hyundai Used to be Awesome until 2010 - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Unlucky Lady - June 17 - 4:56 pm

  Ive owned 4 hyundais now. 1 2003 Accent, 1 2005 Elantra and 2 Sonatas (2010 and 2015). The first car was a lemon that I bought in Fall River, MA... Empire Hyundai... and I had to fight with the dealership hard because it needed the same repair over and over again. I got an elantra as a substitute and that car was fantastic. No complaints. in between 2005 and 2010 i owned many used and mostly new cars. I decided to get back into Hyundai again so I got a base model sonata in Virginia. I should have never traded it in, it was great. Bought a Cadillac which was great but i was hitting 100k and driving 140 miles a day, the repairs were adding up. Went back to Fall River thinking that the same money hungry jerks werent there, well they werent... just a new set of them were. Somehow, they managed to add an addition 5-10k to the loan, running me in circles because i was asking the same question "I dont see the trade in value for the car" to which they consistently answered me back saying, "we paid the loan off, its here" that wasnt my question. I called a lawyer and finally found that they added some charge that i would have NEVER agreed on if they had asked me if I wanted the service... some how they got away with it. They wanted me to go back to the dealership to talk about it, i said no, i didnt want to be taken advantage of for a third time in 1 month (i had gone back two days later and resigned paperwork for lesser service fees etc... stupid... i was stupid...). So im already sour because I hate this dealership but I love the car, its awesome, adaptive cruise control was worth it. The idea of driving 140 miles a day with ACC was like the highlight of my life. Up until a week ago. Im trying to get on the highway, i sped up (its on a slight hill) and the car starts to jolt. Ive seen this before, ive felt this before in my first hyundai, the accent. My heart drops. Here we go again. I press my foot down on the gas hoping it will just go away and stop jolting... no. 2 miles away from the next exit Im shaking like crazy and get to a stop light. Turn the engine off and turn it back on... now its shaking worse and not only that i can barely accelerate. Ok good now were going but were still shaking and jolting every which direction. I some how make it to work even though some idiot in front of me is stopping in places they shouldnt stop in the road (because why not, that WOULD happen). 2 hours later I tell myself im not going to let this sit im going to go to the dealership. I call and make an appointment. OK be right there. Get in the car, turn it on in hopes the shaking is still there but not there at the same time ... the check engine light comes. good grief. the nav display asks if i need help i said heck yes please. i get connected to hyundai assistance and within 3 minutes into the call, the car engine shuts off but the battery is still going so i can communicate to the guy. I get towed away for free. What a monday. I get to the dealership around 5:30 after waiting for 3 hours for a tow. Im tired, I havent eaten and I just want to eat, go home and pass out. I get to the dealership and they say to me oh, the last shuttle left for the day but you can always call an uber. What is wrong with you? I just bought this car July 7th, 2015 and it only has 25k and you want ME to pay for an uber? I dont even know where the hell I am. Im from southern MA not northwest of boston. He sends me to the waiting room. 20 minutes later, "has anyone replied back to pick you up?" i bite my tongue trying to be nice, "no, im not from here, everyone is about 2-3 hours away". "oh." yeah, oh. I walk out without anyone seeing me and go to chilis next door and vent. My friends come and pick me up and drop me off at home. I call the next day. "Can I have a rental" "Well we can hook you up with a 55 dollar a day rental from enterprise" "look, I didnt cause this issue, I didnt get into an accident, I did not ask my engine to jump around like a Mexican Jumping Bean in the chassis... I am NOT paying for a rental and I am NOT paying to use uber. I already have a daily expense for a car and its sittng in your garage. why would I want a second one...??" he said thats the best he can do. This started Monday, the call i just did happened tuesday. I didnt call Wednesday. I call yesterday asking for an update... well your cars engine is outside of the chassis, we asked for an overnight on the part we believe will fix the problem but the part is back ordered nationally." are you kidding me? he offers this rental again for 35 dollars I said i wasnt paying a dime. Not one single dime for a problem i didnt create. The only problem i created was involving myself with hyundai. ill never EVER buy another hyundai as long as I live. Never. Unfortunately before of the jerks I bought this car from added additional debt, Ill never get myself out of negative equity. ever. There is no ETA. Im disgusted.

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  Disapointed - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Chris - June 13 - 1:16 am

  Steers like a truck. Transmission shifts to many times, when not needed! Poor gas mileage. Large blind spot in rear side windows. Black fender molding chips easily and shows white.

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  disappointing exprience - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By kalmanzar - June 11 - 12:05 pm

  This is my 13th car, have had toyota, ford, honda, subaru, mazda, acura, bmw and now hyundai. Have 20k mi on the car, wrote a review when I first brought it and gave it overall a seven , thought overall it was solid, major complaints where harsh ride, lack of road feel. But liked style, value, power. Now a year and a half and 20k, i give the car around a three. Ride is still way to hard, have had a lot of mechanical issues, a lot of recalls, poor service, build quality is very bad. First one of all the cars ive owned that i could not recommend.

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  Dont purchase vehicle until they find a solution - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Tiffany101 - May 28 - 6:47 am

  I purchased this car last year and I wish I wouldve bought a different car. I started experiencing jerking issues a few days after I purchased the car. Not safe at all! The acceleration is poor as well. Also, my dashboard light changes when Im traveling at different speeds. I always keep the lights on the lowest setting and it randonmly changes without me touching it. I only have a little over 4k miles on this car. I rarely drive the car because I work from home now. However, I dont see this car lasting two years without having major mechanical issues. The transmission will be the first to go! Please, consider other options before purchasing this vehicle.

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  Warranty Issues - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By Honest J - May 17 - 2:00 am

  Please who ever may read this. Be extreamly Cautious to the Warranty in which Hyundai offeres. Beware that THEY chose whether to honnor the Warranty!!! I have less than 80,000 miles on my car and the engine blew. Ive have had to Hire a Attorney due to Hyundai refusing to Honoring the Power Train Warranty. I maintained my car and have all the reciepts. But that did not matter in regards to Corp. Hyundai when it came to honorring the Waranty I have read other complaints online. You might want to check out Hyundai before you even purchase one!!!

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  hyundai santa fail - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By marcelo1977 - May 13 - 12:12 pm

  i bought this car used and since day one had problems with, just to list some, alignment problems, socks and springs noisy, transfer case shot in the middle of the highway at 75 mph. 4wd does not work as god as gm cars. parts are costy like honda and toyota. if you like to work on fixing cars, buy an hyundai sant-a-fail.

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  Chronic Sensor Problems - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Melissa - May 6 - 8:13 pm

  Although a comfortable car, I have had chronic problems with the sensors since it reached about 13,000 miles. I currently only have 21,000 miles, and yet it has been in the shop three times this summer, and probably 8 times last summer. Every time they think they have found which sensor it is, a few weeks later the check engine light comes on after the car starts hesitating and what seems like misfiring. When you pay $26000 for a new car, you should be able to rely on it when you still have such low mileage.

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  hyundai - 1998 Hyundai Sonata
  By kk92 - May 1 - 2:00 am

  ok so i bought this car used from the credit union and 2 days later the power windows went out. the rotors need to be turned every 3 months whether the brakes are brand new or not. when the power windows mess up the locks mess up and so on. when you lock one door while its running the drivers side window goes down. it has been ok while driving on the highway but when you need a part you have to get them from the dealer like the power windows is dealer only and the transmission fluid is dealer only due to its being a hyundai

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  Sonata= let down - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By aporter1995 - April 23 - 12:39 pm

  Bought used with 35,000 miles about 2 years ago. Within the first year, the thermostat had to be replaced (not covered under warranty). Now, the power door lock does not work on the passengers side and the drivers side window picks and chooses when it wants to work. 05 Honda Accord w 160k still starts easier on colder mornings. This car grinds terribly and takes too long to turn over for a car this new! Nothing but cheap Korean plastic and metal that is like tin foil! Looks good but looks are deceiving! Painted trim on steering wheel is peeling as well. Will be trading for a new Honda Civic or Accord very soon! Wheel well also busted after hitting very small object. Too flimsy!

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  Cheap steering componet/ build quality - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By mookie14 - April 16 - 2:00 am

  I really hate driving this car 1st off the steering its controlled by a electronic steering pump not the traditional pump with fluid and the car just moves all over the road and i do not like it at all.