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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  Rent one first - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By josh97056 - August 2 - 4:16 pm

  I dont like my new Sonata Limited Platinum - What a huge mistake! The main problem I have with the car is the outrageously over-sensative electronic throttle. After 3 weeks of driving it I have a horrible ache in my foot because Im always holding it in a wierd position up off the throttle. Im unable to rest my foot on the throttle at all, there is no swivel arm action either, the gas pedal is just a hunk of plastic. The vehicle is also VERY slow to upshift on full acceleration. Ive had to adjust my driving to allow for a second or two before the car actually takes off, however when it finally does decide to go it really gets up and goes! it is fast and safe, I will give it that.

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  My Hyundai - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dave305 - July 31 - 2:00 am

  Has horrible resale value afyet only 3 years old. Service department is horrible also and VERY expensive for maintenance at my service department. Would not buy another Hyundai again.

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  Trial and error car - 2010 Hyundai Sonata
  By greeneyedraven - July 31 - 1:46 am

  This is the first foreign car we have purchased. We chose it based on statistics and very affordable price. We have owned it over 2 years and while a good car, not overly impressed. Still giving it time to see what happens. I have yet to get the gas mileage reviews quote. I average 22-26 mpg.

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  The price is right - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By tandbwms - July 30 - 2:00 am

  This my second Accent. Ive also owned a 96 model which I got rid of in favor of a Mitsubishi Eclipse. The Eclipse was turned back in at lease end and instead of paying high loan payments, I decided to go for price and pick up another Accent. All in all, its an OK car. It isnt going to WOW you in anything that it does. One day each week and one day each month youll like the car a little more than others. The day of the week is the gas station stop. Ive been getting a steady 34 mpg while kind of beating on the little thing. The day of the month is, of course, loan payment day. The rest of the time, eh, its OK.

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  Lemon - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By HyundaiLemon - July 26 - 2:00 am

  I have had this car into the dealer 30 times and 50 some days for 5 problems. The Service stinks.

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  Quality of leather seat is poor. - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Taylor - July 25 - 9:41 am

  Bought a 2015 Sonata Sports in July 2015. The drivers seat leather color is coming off. Its turned grey and looks worn. I have contacted Hyundais consumer department and the dealership about the problem. They say its worn out from getting in and out of the vehicle. This is poor quality!!! They say they cant correct the problem. Why do I have a warranty if the problem cant be corrected? I have had leather seats in other cars I owned and his has never occurred. One car I had for 10 years and this never happened. A vehicles leather seats should not begin to deteriate within a year. Its disappointing that Hyundai doesnt stand behind their products. This is the first and last Hyundai I will purchase.

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  Hyundai - shame on you - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By mbb7 - July 13 - 2:27 am

  I purchased the Hyundai because they touted their long warranty. I have attempted to have a vent knob repaired, which is covered "under warranty". The car has been to the dealer 3 times (a total of 18 hours) and I have spent over 3 hours on the phone to try and convince HyundaiUSA to fulfill their warranty. Each time I bring it to the dealer, they conveniently find another item that needs to be repaired, that is not covered by warranty. The dealer insists that it will take them, "the majority of the day", to repair and "I must leave it with them". I obtained a part to repair it myself. It took 4 minutes and 25 seconds. HyundaiUSA shame on you for condoning these unscrupulous actions.

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  dangerous car - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By stefanie norton - July 6 - 2:00 am

  I liked my Sonata until it spontaneously caught fire for no reason!! The car was not even running, it was off!! I hope they find the problem and recall these cars. We were bringing it in for problems all the time. The warranty doesnt cover fire damage!! Dont get a Sonata, they catch on fire for no reasone!!

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  Love turns to Loathing - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By JRichmond - July 2 - 5:13 am

  Got a year-end closeout deal on the 2007 Veracruz Limited. From the first few days I had sporadic issues with keyless entry not working, memory set seat and steering wheel position not resetting or sometimes not responding at all. Radio presets often jump back to 1st preset-no matter where in the 6 station order you are, power windows and ignition refused to move on 2 occasions. The kicker is the feeling that the power-train slips and one time refused to engage after I came to a stop at a red light. Everything begins working once I restart the car.

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  faulty engine - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By faulty one - June 20 - 11:40 am

  I like the car and it is good for road trips. lots of room and standard features. Thats a plus. I had the engine replaced at 13,000 miles and thats after not doing anything about it because the dealer kept telling me there was nothing wrong, but the car was shaking a lot. Now I have 22,000 miles and its doing the same thing.