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:

• 

  Great car! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By ofwgkta54 - March 29 - 2:01 pm

  This was my first car that I got for my 15th birthday. It is a great car. I see lots of reviews mentioning the harshness of bumps. Honestly, I dont see the problem. It rides so smoothly. The interior is amazing. Very classy steering wheel, plus very comfortable on the hands. Its got a list of very cool features. The steering wheel leans back when the car is turned off as if to get out of the drivers way. Heated seats, electrically powered seat adjusting, sun roof, etc. There is even a mile counter counting down to an empty gas tank. Speaking of gas, this must be the only feature less than excellent. The gas mileage could be slightly better. All in all, its a really great car!

• 

  Car Failure with only 8 miles - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By ten29811 - March 27 - 11:21 pm

  I was very excited to drive off in my new Elantra 2012 with only 8 miles on the engine. The joy went away as an engine light went on the day after purchase. Took the car back to the dealer only to have them say all is good. The engine ran rough and would almost stall at times. The car has been at the dealer for over a week and I was told that they dont know what the problem is and the engineer from Hyundia will need to determine the problem. Needless to say I am not pleased with my first Elantra. To think I decided not to buy another Toyota due to all the great reviews.

• 

  1000 miles and love it - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By ferg48 - March 27 - 12:46 pm

  I compared all the cars in this class before deciding on the Elantra, including the Corolla, Civic, Mazda 3. The Elantra offered so much more for the money! While I wouldnt call it sporty by any means, it has a great ride and is responsive enough for me. I read a lot of people complaining about the "poor gas mileage" and cant figure that out. I am averaging about 32mpg with mainly city driving. On one 100mile highway trip, we got 39.2 mpg. Nothing to complain about!! Not sure how these people drive, but I am definitely not a "granny" behind the wheel. I am pleased so far

• 

  Love this car, only one beef - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By thehippie777 - March 26 - 4:33 pm

  I love everything about this car! The only beef I have is that I havent come all that close to getting 40mpg. This car blows all others similar models of different brands out of the water. Number one reason was, of course, the price! Well designed and easy to handle. Even the man in my life likes it.

• 

  Great Car - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By iraqwarvet - March 25 - 12:06 pm

  I bought my Elantra with 82,000 miles on it. It is still very solid, no rattles and drives great. And, the gas mileage! Oh so sweet! You could not ask for a better car!

• 

  A great car - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By garth4 - March 25 - 1:56 am

  I have had a 4 cylinder 2002 Sonata since new in 2002. It is as good looking a car as is any on the road, it has been absolutely reliable. I have had no costs associated with repairs to the car. I am 70 years of age, and hope to drive this car for another ten years. It has just over 60,000k.

• 

  Loved and now hate this car - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By smm7 - March 24 - 1:32 pm

  I bought this car in 2007 when it had 120,000 miles on it. It now has 190,000 miles, and Im still driving it. There are good and bad things Ive encountered. Good things- I love small cars, easy to drive, gets around very well in snow storms surprisingly, and it has never had engine or tranny issues. Bad things- Ive pumped tons of money in this car to keep it going. From the radiator to the belts and everything in between. And the paint is horrible. Its looks like crap and all peeled off on the hood, top, and trunk. It looks horrible now. Its still getting me places, and after 5 years, this is the longest Ive had the same car, but I cant wait to get rid of it.

• 

  No Regrets at 5200 miles - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By chitown35 - March 17 - 12:01 am

  Fun to drive, actually accelerates well esp. in manual mode Hyundai gets a lot out of a tiny engine. Excellent gas mileage in Eco mode Im getting 37-38 mpg right now on mostly highways w/ mild traffic. Looks great, recommended maintenance is cheap even at the dealership. Also, much better in the snow with some good traction control features than my previous compact car with no abs even. And theres a lot of room in the car very spacious.

• 

  A few problems but OK overall - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By danloudfoot - March 14 - 8:50 pm

  As many others stated both of my visors broke. This is a safety hazard and its sad they have not recalled this. I fixed the problem with two cheap strong metal clips that I clipped to the hand/grips. I had an oil leak that was not cheap to fix. My TPMS light is on and its $200. to fix that sensor...I dont know what good it does because I can still see when tire pressure is low so its going to stay on. It has a huge trunk. Its smooth on the highway and the gas is good on highway but sucks it up in the city. I bought it with 30k it now has 103k and has been a good car with minor issues.

• 

  Very Happy With It! - 2010 Hyundai Accent
  By zfair89 - March 14 - 2:53 pm

  The sticker on the car said 14400, but they are very motivated to sell cars at Hyundai. After the trade-in of my crappy Grand AM and some rebates the car was under $10000. And it is loaded! everything except for cruise control. bought it in June of 2010 and have put close to 30k on it. great value. fun to drive. great on gas. recommend to commuters and college kids.