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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  Good price for a good car - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By CaffeineTripp - January 14 - 11:07 pm

  Purchased the Hyundai Elantra GLS in 2014 with 80,000 miles. This is a commuter car no doubt about that, and will remain a commuter car. Driven highway miles 75% of the time. Vehicle was in excellent condition when purchased, needed rear right strut to be replaced. Goodyear Assurance tires are quality and low noise coupled with the Elantra. Consistently get 36+ MPG mixed driving without being on the throttle. Throttle response is lacking due to drive-by-wire rather than cable. Steering is tight and consistent, but no feedback and feels dead at slow speeds. Comfort in front and back is good for shorter distances and road trips 2 hours or more. Steering wheel controls are set up nicely and ECU is good at predicting driving with Cruise Control on. Factory CD player/media player controls arent the best in how theyre set up, but is fixed by installing an aftermarket unit. Available kit on this model is good; safety all around, flawless A/C, 6 speaker sound system, and cruise. However, for a 2012 it would be nice for some minor additions of factory steering wheel controls/power and memory seats, foglights to top off exterior. Engine is noisy with lifter ticking, but common in the 1.8L Nu engine series. Possible to decrease lifter noise with revised lifters/more oil pressure? Transmission gearing is spot on for lower horsepower/torque power bands and excellent for 70 MPH interstate cruising. Shifting is chunky with the 6 speed, but direct. Shifter itself feels too light to navigate the gear box. Minimal maintenance has been required overall. Suspension is tight, however, the 2012 also suffers from the Salt Belt States front coil spring recall (which is still unavailable for the 2012 and 2013 models); both front coil springs have snapped within a month of each other slightly damaging sidewalls of tires. OEM coil springs are nonexistent through dealers in the US. Canada sourced coil springs may be available. Exterior styling is very nice and akin to Japanese cars (well done Hyundai exterior design team). Interior styling is nice as well and has a fluid-like look. Soft angles and a cockpit for front seats with plenty of room in the rear for adults. Interiors plastics do not feel chincy. Dash and center console are designed well, hiding clips to retain dash pieces rather than having screw holes everywhere giving the interior a one-piece design. Everything feels solid inside (revise the shifters to have more weight though!) Overall, the MD/UD 5th Generation Elantras are a welcome design change for the manufacturer. Quality has increased dramatically over all of the vehicles. Like many asian manufacturers though, road salt is nearly unheard of and needs to be addressed for safety before selling.

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  Never thought Id own a Hyundai - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Barttstar - January 14 - 5:52 pm

  Just purchased yesterday. I was set on purchasing the Odyssey. Wife and I couldnt believe the features along with the price of the Entourage. Safety rating top notch. Figured we would at least test drive. I was amazed at the power. Wife likes the extras that came standard. With the amazing warranty we figured to take a shot. Love the look, feel, features, safety, and price. I am looking forward to posting here once we get about 2k miles on it.

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  Good Vehicle for the Money - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By FRANKRS - January 14 - 2:00 am

  I never thought I would ever buy a Hyundai. I had never owned anything but a Ford (and one inherited Chevy). But, I couldnt pass up the price and warranty on this vehicle. Overall, we are extremely pleased with this vehicle. The ride is remarkable for an SUV. The interior is absolutely beautiful compared to other SUVs in this size range. Weve only had one minor problem after 11,000 miles (an oxygen sensor). I recommend it to anyone. (My good friend has always owned Toyotas and Hondas. However, he liked our Santa Fe so much, he purchased one.) I do recommend the 3.5 liter engine, though. The 2.7 liter is a little weak.

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  Luxury sedan for less ! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By paris - January 13 - 11:51 pm

  Azera is fun to drive very powerfull Engine - 3.8L v6, ...spacious ....very nicely and neatly designed Interior ....

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  The best there is in small cars. - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By elantra sedan - January 13 - 9:07 am

  Since I purchased this vehicle, all Ive had to do was to service this vehicle for normal maintenance. I just recently replaced the radiator at 142,000 miles. Other than that, its just been tires, brakes, tuneups, etc. The car has nice pickup for its size engine and on of the coldest a/c units Ive ever experienced. Last June, someone in front of me kicked up some 4x8 pieces of wood on the highway. The car took it like a champ, and although had extensive front end damage, I was easily able to pull over on the shoulder of the road, even though the car obviously had to drive over the debris. The hood took most of the impact, was repaired, and Im back on the road at over 145,000 miles.

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  Good Transportation - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Spike - January 12 - 2:36 pm

  This is a nice ride. It is fairly quiet, and feels sounds solid. It has a good quality feel to it. The cloth seats are comfortable, supportive and heated. Sun roof opens with one touch. Nice storage in the back. Rear passengers are comfortable. The get up and go is a little slow with the 2.7 L, but I didnt get it as a sports car. Living in Alaska I needed something that could give me good traction and keep me moving in a lot of snow and ice. The stock tires seem good and I dont need dedicated winter tires. The mpg is about what I would expect with a awd small v-6. I get about 20 in town in the summer and 17 in the winter with little highway driving. It fills my need wonderfully!

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  Korean Landcruiser - 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Great Value - January 12 - 10:00 am

  We were down to the wire between the RAVA and the Santa Fe. I have been a longterm Toyota customer, but the featurers, warranty and the price of the Santa Fe far out weighted my customer loyalty to Toyota. This car has the same ( except outside temp. display and V8 engine ) featurers as my 99 Landcruiser at less than half the price. Very solid ride and no rattles. Hope it holds up through the warranty like my Toyotas have.

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  Quality check needed - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By kona - January 12 - 10:00 am

  In less than a year a console latch has broken, one heated seat does not work, and a lettering fell off the outside of the vehicle. Warranty, has though, covered it.

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  Stylish affordable new car - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Jerry007 - January 12 - 10:00 am

  When I was looking for a new car to replace my very first car I thought about buying another used car but one time I looked though the weekly paper and I saw a new Accent for $6999 advertised I was surprised. I heard the 2000 to present models were 20 times better then the old models I never thought about buying Hyundai due to poor quility of eariler models.But when I test drove it the build quility and ride was soild and quite then the Accent I drove in 1997.I relly liked the two door style better then the four door. The two door has a more attractive front grile and tail lights.Gas milege is great im getting about 30 mpg.

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  2006 LX - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pedro - January 12 - 6:30 am

  Was looking to trade in a a 2000 Accord with manual transmission for a 2006 model. Have always driven a manual but wife (Elantra driver) suggested 2006 Sonata. Well done wife. We got the LX with the extras and Ive been very impressed so far. No major flaws. Very comfortable (Im 62" and 230lb) and plenty of space for 4 adults (the inlaws). We drove the 2006 Accord V6 and the Camry V6 and simply thought the Sonata was better. Enough said.