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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  Great Car Great Price - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By kccoflbp - May 31 - 9:04 pm

  Bought used in 2008 with 26,000 miles for 5200 dollars. Still own it and love it today. Now has 126,000 miles and running strong. The only maintenance we have done is regular oil changes and timing belt change at 70,000 miles. Averaging 35 miles per gallon.

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  Real life 29/40 mpg is realistic! - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By himpg1 - May 26 - 4:59 pm

  After 2 months owning the 2013 Elantra Limited and 2600 miles driven, I have found the car will get the 29/40 mpg as listed unless there is strong head winds! Read the 2012 April Popular Mechanics magazine article that tests the Elantra on normal highways and city streets. They were able to easily exceed the 29/40 mpg. This car will do it! It takes a conservative driving style and a desire for good mpg instead of speed or performance. Still very impressed with our Elantra, and no complaints.

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  good car not great - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By jonate69 - May 25 - 12:31 am

  Did my research and picked a 2013 elantra, have 2 thousand miles on it aready ...and this is my review im only going to note the cons ...hope hyundai looks at these reviews to improve the car 1) car doesnt look like a econo-box but sounds like one when driving it, way to much road noise ...and makes me feel like i overpaid for this car. 2) engine is underpowered by at least 10 horsepower or needs more low end torque for quicker 0-60 times , struggling to have enough speed to merge safely onto highway. the accent has 138 hp, the elantra has 148 hp and the sonata has 198 hp ....need more power

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  Buyers Beware - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By erica82 - May 21 - 7:54 pm

  I recently purchased a 2013 Hyundai Elantra Limited. After a lot of research I decided this car was the best value for the money - and it is. However, within 2 weeks of owning this car I was in a minor fender bender and my strut was broken. Yes, minor accident = broken strut. Turns out Hyundai sold me a car they do not have replacement parts for. When this car is running, its great, but dealing with Hyundai to get replacement parts has been a nightmare. Its been three weeks and Hyundai has not been able to tell me when this part will become available. So for now, my brand new car is collecting dust at a garage waiting on Hyundai to pull a part from the production line.

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  Love it!....so far... - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By sinnerman2 - May 21 - 1:01 pm

  Bought the new 2013 limited with ALL the packages for 23,000 even. Love this car so far. the styling, the FEATURES!, the comfort, the ease of use, etc...All seems up to par so far except the best mileage I have gotten is an average of 28.6mpg with a mix of city and highway..and this is with the ECO mode on....I am trying to be paitent as others have told me that it takes a few hundred to couple thousand miles to start seeing the GOOD gas mileage it promises...I sure hope it gets there soon. Only got about 300 miles on it so far...But overall, this car is the bomb!! i recently test drove the 2011 Lexus IS 250 as I entended to "step up" my car...but this was even better than the lexus IS!!

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  Ideal Commuter Car for the Larger Guy - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By lleopold - May 21 - 12:56 pm

  I bought mine two weeks ago after conducting extensive research on commuter vehicles to relinquish my diesel pickup to pure recreational status (I tow a trailer). I commute 74 miles per day to and from work and had been using my wifes Mazda 6 for a number of months. Im a larger (250 lbs, 511") guy so I have a hard time getting into compact cars, so I really didnt enjoy commuting using my wifes car. I found that I could easily get into and out of this car! The form and fit were perfect for the commute and I believe this car would also be great for long-distance travel and bluetooth connection is perfect when Im on conference calls. Im seeing 36 mpg average and its increasing.

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  my 2013 elantra gls - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By steven39 - May 19 - 12:27 pm

  I was so impressed with this cars value that i traded in a 2012 elantra base model for a 2013 elantra with the prefered package that offers more standard features.my selling dealer whom i purchased my previous elantra from gave me a great deal that i couldnt refuse.this 2013 basically rides the same as my other elantra that i traded in however i have noticed that this 2013 elantra was built at the alabama plant and seems to be built a little better than the other elantra i had which was built at the ulsan plant.you can definitly tell the difference between the two.

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  Awesome Over All - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By ryan86 - May 18 - 5:01 pm

  I bought my 2012 Elantra Limited at the end of Sept 2011 last year. Over all its been a great car. I fell in love with the design as well as its gas mileage. The gas mileage in my opinion is not what they say it is. I wish it where better to be honest. But, yes there is a but.... Its not bad like most cars built with what options I have. Hyundai is the old Toyota. Just a well built nice looking car.

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  Gas mileage - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By gchildeb - May 16 - 5:56 pm

  This car does not live up to the 29/40 mpg it says it is ssuppose to get. The trip meter will consistently indicate mpg about 4 to 5 more than what you are really getting. You watch the trip meter and think great, I am getting 40 mpg. Then you fill up and find out you really only got 35 mpg. Dont get me wrong it is still good but should be easily correctable. Advertised mpg on the window sticker are verified by the government. Somebody is wrong. Aside from that the car is awesome. I quit riding Yamaha motorcycles because the speedometers were always off by about 4 miles per hour. This is not new technology.

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  Tire Problems Hyundai Accent SE 2009 - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By farahk - May 15 - 1:42 pm

  I have had my Hyundai Accent since 2009 August. I have been comepleting regular checkups at the dealership and the car has been performing well. I have driven for 5 years prior to buying this car. Other cars I have driven include the Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra and Kia Spectra. Obviously those are bigger sedans than the Accent. I have a clean driving record as well. One issue I have found is braking in poor weather conditions. Expecially when there is a layer of snow on the ground, the car tends to slip (compared to the other cars I have driven). The main conern I have had was the tires. I have had 3 bursted tires since I have bought this car. cont...