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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  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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  Not such a good car - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By colin_88 - April 15 - 7:08 pm

  This wasnt my car, it was my moms and I hated driving it. Parts would wear out constantly. At about 80k miles driving to work, the timing belt snapped and destroyed some critical engine parts. The engine had to be torn apart and rebuilt, along with a new water pump costing almost $1200. Later on that year, the water pump had to be replaced again, the CV joints had to be replaced, new alternator, and new spark plugs all before 90K miles. Once it passes 100K miles, we got all sorts of weird noises such as a shrieking engine that is the worst when driving in the rain. The ride was very uncomfortable with almost no padding in the seats.

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  Meh - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By joetshmoe - April 5 - 11:46 pm

  Personally, I think my boxers are nothing more than a piece of fabric between my body and my zipper. Try telling that to someone that just spent $50 on underwear. If you have a similar attitude towards your car, as a piece of metal between the road and your bum, this will satisfy you. The car has plenty of power for a 4 cyl sedan, more than the 0-60 time leads you to believe, because the transmission is so slushy that you can spin the front wheels at will thanks to a 2000-rpm spread between cruise and go. Textbook slushbox. The steering and directional stability are horrible. The interior fabric still smells like cigs in very hot sun over a year after ONE cigarette was smoked in it.

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  FAIL CAR and Dealerships - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By bamagurl251 - January 12 - 8:38 pm

  This is the email I just finished writing Hyundai about their Accent and a dealership I am working with! My step-father Dale purchased an 2008, Nordic White, Hyundai Accent from Palmers Airport Hyundai as a gift for me back in late August early September 2008. I was in an accident in November 2008 where the seat belt snapped out of the safety position, the front end was shoved into the rear cradle suspension, all because the car failed to brake going 10 miles per hour and instead of hitting on coming traffic I swerved still hitting the brakes that did not work into an small median out in front of my place of business. My arm was shoved through the windshield as the air bag deployed late, and was sliced by the seat belt across my chest. I had the car repaired, and because it was new they would not total the car. After several thousand miles of travel to and from Florida on business, I began having transmission problems, the dealership replaced the transmission, and then the alternator went out and was replaced again. Following that 2008-2009 winter, the transmission went out again in the summer, I had the car taken into a different dealership (EASTERN SHORE HYUNDAI) in which the car was not purchased the first time for the the first transmission. Starting in 2008 problems began with the dealership (Palmers Airport Hyundai). I am writing this because not only did I have an issue with your Road side assistance that I have addressed in a previous E-mail, I have had several issues with the car and the dealership in which the car was purchased from. In 2009 when my transmission and alternator was replaced by the dealership, I lost my job because the dealership would not grant me a rental vehicle. In 2009 I also had issues with the radiator that was not damaged in the above stated crash and the dealership was to replace it. Instead the dealership replaced the hoses on the radiator as it was leaking profusely on to the ground. Again in 2010 following another problem with the car the ignition and belt I had another transmission failure and was replaced for a third time. This time it was taken to Palmers for the second time for a transmission from this dealership. When I received the car, my gas had been ran out, there was a food receipt that did not belong to me or anyone that I knew, and the AC unit had been re-wired to that when you turned it on hot was cold and cold was hot. Thinking that perhaps the car had no anti-freeze I placed some in the car, low and behold, it was not the anti-freeze, it was the doings of the mechanics at the shop at Palmers Airport Hyundai. Following the crisscrossed AC unit and transmission issue being taken up with Palmers Airport Hyundai, I began having brake troubles, even with new brakes where when I went over bumps my car would not stop I had to STAND in my drivers seat and put full weight on the breaks to make the car stop. I took the car into Palmers and they reported back to me that nothing was wrong with the car. Again the gas in my car was on FULL when it was taken in and when returned to me the GAS was below 3/4 of a tank. Fine, I took the car to FIRESTONE and had brakes and tires replaced and still the car was not grasping the full effect of STOP. At this point I noticed that I did not any longer need to push the release button on my Emergency break that it just all of the sudden comes up. I let it go seeing as how Palmers kept informing me nothing was wrong with the car. Also in 2010 there was an cylinder miss fire and the car was not firing on all cylinders only three, and a gasket had busted off in the vehicle that took Palmers nearly 4 weeks to repair, when they informed me it would take a week and they would be able to fix it within the week and release the car to me. Low and behold I waited nearly 4 weeks for my car to be returned to me. Between that time my mother and I both called for check-ups on the car, and nobody could give us a straight answer. 2011 - My step Father signed the car over to me in November and the car was taken back into Palmers due to a leak and the hoses where repaired and the car was returned to me fine no problems. Following this last visit to Palmers Airport Hyundai where the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT was on and there was a fluid leak in the vehicle coming from SOMEWHERE that I nor 2 other family members could find out where, TODAY the car was returned to me again with an There is no problems with the car. That was a total Lie. When I started the car in the parking lot of Palmers Airport Hyundai it began to rattle like a tin can full of marbles. I know this is not normal for my car at all!!!! I started my car down the road heading towards home, and I kept hearing this high pitched noise and it sounded like my car had an JET ENGINE placed inside of the driving compartment. This is not and NEVER was normal for my vehicle. Instead of Palmers FIXING my vehicle they have once again messed it up. The car was never ran which they stated they did, the gas tank was still on full just as I had left it. I was expecting like normal for the gas in my car to be GONE when I take it into Palmers. The car now sits in my driveway as we try to think of an alternative to the broken vehicle and I refuse to take it back into Palmers Airport Hyundai. I am very unsatisfied with the vehicle and I am very unsatisfied by the work that this DEALERSHIP has done. I have never in all my life ever seen so much failure in supposed certified technicians While the service providers are friendly, they continue to mess up my car. I would seriously like some compensation for this or some sort of alternative from you the company of Hyundai. Im really fed up. Im irritated with the car, I am irritated with the company that SOLD the car too me, and I am irritated with the problems I am having and the 118.00$ they want to charge me for junk they will just mess up again.

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  Not a Good Car - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By 06elantraowner - November 18 - 1:34 am

  I currently own an 06 Elantra, after owning an 02 Elantra, I am seriously disappointed. The gas mileage has gotten horrid. I dont even get 18 miles to the gallon anymore, and it has been to every required maintenance and then more. I have taken good care of it, but the reliability of the parts is terrible, and again it has become a horrific gas guzzler. I am at a loss, as is Hyundai, to why it cant get anything over 18 mpg. It is poorly built, the interior has begun to fall apart, switches and knobs have broken, and the cloth seats are coming apart. This car has been used as an in city car only, but is still just falling apart, and costing me an arm and a leg to continue to drive.

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  Power steering failure!!! - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By missmel89 - November 6 - 2:44 pm

  This car is NOT what I thought it was. I fell in love with it when I first got back in August. Then two days ago, while I was making a sharp turn, the wheel suddenly became extremely heavy and tight to turn as if there was no assist. I had to use all my strength and accelerate in order to make my turns safely! After 10 minutes the steering softened up again. However, yesterday as I was making a u-turn it happened once again! My car is currently at the dealer and I should be hearing from them tomorrow. I am hoping they find something wrong because this is NOT NORMAL OR SAFE! This is not the first complaint about the power steering either, meaning there must be more out there!

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  Misleading MPG Advertising - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By m_aaslam - October 21 - 4:54 pm

  Have a 2011 Elantra GLS for 6 months now. Very, Very, Verify, disappointed with MPG not even close to advertised 40 mpg. I drive 80% highway, the best I got was 30mpg @ about 70-75mph. In the city I get 18-19mpg. VERY disappointing about the misleading advertising. Will NOT recommend this to anyone.

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  Worst Car Ive Ever Owned! - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By whyohwhy1 - September 11 - 8:17 pm

  When accelerating, it lags A LOT when I punch it, it stands still and then goes. Very dangerous. afraid to let my son drive it. Very jerky. Between 20-40 mph, car lags Drivers seat upholstry keeps "puckering". Was given a hard time by dealership. Told me it was normal wear and tear. (Have seen several Hyundais from previous years with 100,000 miles on them & they dont have this "wear & tear" problem.) They finally repaired it, only to happen again a week later. Now theyre trying the old "wear & tear" line again. Very loud car. Feel every bump I go over. Outside noise is loud. Id turn up radio but radio fades, when I come to a stop. I could go on & on. Do not get this car!!

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  Not worth the money - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By beth35 - September 6 - 2:57 pm

  I have a 2007 Sonata and it isnt worth anything. I had to replace the breaks at 30,000 and the alarm would randomly go off so that was replaced. I replaced a censor b/c carbon was build up in the throttle body. The drive belt has been replaced. Both sun visors have been replaced. The gas tank needs to be replaced but will cost $1000 b/c it wont shut off automatically. The check engine light is on stating to replace the O2 censors. The driver seat squeaks and the middle compartment rattles but neither can be fixed, and the paint peals and chips really bad. Needless to say I am not impressed with Hyundais.

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  I Must Have The Only Lemon They Made or Do I ? - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By bitesback - July 24 - 12:41 pm

  The 2009 Genesis/4dr Sdn 4.6L V8 I have leased since 07/09 from Sheehy Nissan Hyundai is a true lemon! Even after submitting a lemon law complaint to to dealership and Hyundai Motor America for numerous electrical issues, replacement of the transmission, catalytic converter burn out, interior frnt. windshield condensation build up during the cold months, gear shift sticking on more one occasion, starter switch being replaced, steering column control switch failure, the rubber seal in the sun roof coming out, brake light failure, they still refuse to take this piece of junk back! I believe its a faulty parts problem as some of their car have had the same issues. Hyundai Assurance (Not)!!!