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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  Rides too rough. - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Big Bear - September 4 - 9:08 pm

  I bought my pre-owned 3.8 from a man who is known to be less than frugal who really "unloaded" this beauty upon me. It is a gorgeous car, but after I drove it 850 miles it reminds me of the gorgeous, brainy woman who cant boil water. Only the BMW 318i that I just sold rode worse. The suspension system is horrible. When the tires are cold you can feel every tar strip in the highway. The guys who designed the suspension should not be allowed to graduate fro high school this year. The steering is also numb and it becomes very tiring to be driving with the intent to find a good centerline feel and have that suspension fighting me. There is too much road noise being transmitted into the car.

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  2003 hundai sonata - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By David Liu - September 4 - 10:00 am

  this vehicle rides well and is well built. It come standard with a lot of features that you pay extra for in a US or Japanese car

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  Good and Bad - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By rocky03 - September 4 - 10:00 am

  The Hyundai rides nice and has pretty good power. We have had issues with a connector to the fuel tank, and with a sensor that caused the car to sound out of gear at certain speeds, and with a low idle. The car looks nice and for under 13K is still a pretty good deal, especially with the warranty.

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  Dons opinion - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By donald - September 3 - 11:23 am

  The vehicle has poor suspension in the rear and the seats are not comfortable. The seats should have more padding and the interior is too plain.

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  Love it but it hates me - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Chelsea - September 2 - 10:00 am

  I love almost everything about this car but it seems to hate my guts. Bought it with about 90,000 miles on it and after about 6 months the problems started happening. New Clutch, New Timingbelt, was modified with a coldair intake before my purchase and had no cover so it would suck up water when it rained and the check engine light would pop on, front gas pipe leak, front and back oil valve seepage, cover on the moonroof broke, rear window washer broke, driver side window broke, etc. Basically it needs massive repairs every 1-2 months. Not sure if its just a lemon or not because I constantly have different mechanics telling me what great shape its in and how clean the engine is.

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  Looks Great! Drives So So - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ed S - September 2 - 10:00 am

  I have my Sonata for 6 months now and still find the styling inside and out to be a real eye-catcher. However, driving the car is a completely different experience. I have complained to the dealer twice in 3000 miles about the poor shifting and jerky acceleration during normal driving. The transmission slips and jerks on most upshifts. The road noise and handling can certainly use improvement. Too much tire noise and car tends to wander. It does, however, get excellent gas mileage both around town (28 mpg) and on the highway (36.5 mpg)

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  Utility, not performance - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By doug_pardee - September 1 - 11:35 pm

  The Elantra GT is NOT an enthusiasts car. Its an extremely practical car that provides commuters a quiet and comfortable ride in a relatively upscale cabin, with flexibility for carrying passengers and cargo, or for taking road trips. And with excellent mileage if driven conservatively. Gas mileage: by many accounts, the Elantra GT is unusually sensitive to how its driven. At 60 mph with cruise control on, I get maybe 42 mpg. Mileage drops off sharply with additional speed, or with cruise control off. After a cold start, maybe 15 mpg for the first mile. When slowing, I take my foot completely off the gas to activate Deceleration Fuel CutOff. Ive gotten right at 30 mpg on every tankful.

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  Great Car - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By luisruvi - September 1 - 10:07 pm

  Very solid car, and all problems since Ive owned it have been taken care of free of charge. They were only minor. Sagging mirror, but likely due to a cd case hanging on it. Dead battery. Seat issue. I even got a free rental for two of the fixes. I have been really happy so far with the car. Very spacey and quiet. And even though it is cheaper than most other cars, looks more expensive in some areas compared to others I have looked at.

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  Nice Car, Bad MPG - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Chen - August 31 - 1:17 pm

  A very good car. I got it as a used one with 35,000 miles. Its comfort but very, very poor mpg in city. ~ 200-250 miles/tank (14.5 gallon). Omg, where is the gas going? but good mpg in highway, ~ 30 mpg.

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  Extended warranty rap - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By dedempsy - August 29 - 7:25 am

  The car has 40k on it. The car has run flawless, but the gas mileage is only about 27, 28 on the highway. My 2002 accord would get 32mpg. Early on I was displeased with the dealer oil changes. The oil always looked dark gray after changes. I do it myself now, and it looks fine. My wife took the car in for a brake switch recall. She gets the normal hard sell on the dealer maintenance. Hyundais have very expensive 40k checks. $298-$598. The rear brakes are totally worn out at 40k. They said that was very good. I have never replaced rear pads with less than 80k. Tires needed replacing at 35k. I will not by another Hyundai. Cost to own is too expensive. I will stick with my Hondas.