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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  Traded a Clunker - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By JAC - August 16 - 11:37 pm

  Just got the vehicle yesterday and put almost 200 miles on it the first day. Traded in a piece of trash and got $4500 from Cash for Clunkers and $1500 Factory Incentive. Sticker price was $16,184 (Dealer added $299 for tint) and I paid $9,060 (plus tax, title & license). For $9,000 you cant beat it. Its not fast off the line, but once you get going, it goes great. It was almost hard to keep it at 75 on the freeway as it drove effortlessly at 80 and 85. A 6 foot driver and 2 6 foot passengers in the back all had enough room, although the seats are not as soft and comfortable as a more expensive model. You cant go wrong with this car if you can pick it up cheap.

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  Good Value - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Joe - August 15 - 9:36 pm

  All the amenities of a Lexus or Caddie at the price of an Impala. A lot of options but not refined. At times when just starting the car surges when just touching the gas pedal and other times you can floor it and go 15 mph. Both go away in about 20 seconds but bothersome. Other than that very pleased with the car. Smooth tranny and good steering feel. Id buy another Hyundai with no hesitation.

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  Cheap price = cheap stuff - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By Gab - August 15 - 3:45 pm

  I bought my Sonata in 2006 at 38K. Since then, Ive only had problems. I fixed most of them myself, but someone who cant would have spent a lot on those repairs. Im only at 90K now and I changed the transmission, the alternator, spark plugs and spark plug wires (all of them 2 times), both windows motors, 2 suspension, suspension bushings, catalyser (it was under warranty, its a 2500$ part), changed 3 wheel bearings, changed the battery, alternator strap, the wholes gas and break pipes under car, gas filter, and a lot more. I just received a letter (were in middle 2009 now) from Hyundai. It is a re-call for the subframe, it has to be replaced because it is dangerous. Manufacture problems.

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  LX doing just fine, thank you - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Dan from Chicago - August 13 - 8:40 am

  We purchased our LX at Thanksgiving last November and have taken it on a couple of cross-country trips already. We really like the heated seats and mirrors here in Chicagoland, and our fuel economy has been in the 21-22 mpg range commuting, and 23-24 on the highway going cross country. Build quality is very good, and having electronic stability control is a great plus.Love the 6 airbags. Id like if it had a little more horsepower, but it accelerates okay, and runs happy and pretty quiet at highway speeds. I recommend this vehicle to those that want alot of "extras", but dont want to pay alot to have them. We chose this vehicle over Rav4, CRV, and Escape. 10yr/100000 mile warranty too!

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  2007 Azera - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By Chuck Leonard - August 10 - 3:53 pm

  This was the the first truly new car we every purchased. We really like the cars exterior green color and light beige leather interior. The car performs very will and we get about 26.5 MPG on the highway The biggest problem I have with the and maybe I should say the tires that came on it, is road noise. at 17,000 miles the dealer Car City St Joseph MO replaced one the tires but that really did not solve the problem. Now at 30,800 miles the dealer is saying the tires are cupped. Telling me its my fault for not rotating then every 7,500 miles.

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  Decent little car - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By decent car - August 10 - 3:17 am

  I purchased my Elantra new in Nov of 05. I needed a new car after the electrical system in my 99 Jetta stopped working(very pricey repair) I have had absolutely 0 problems with this car. I have performed routine maintenance on the car, oil changes etc. New tires at 60,000 miles. I have been impressed with the peppy engine and love the gas mileage, I average 36 to 38mpg highway. I commute a lot to work and school. I do not like the fact the engine revs at higher rpms when shifting gears with the 5 speed manual transmission. Sheetmetal dents easily and paint has worn off the hubcaps. Interior has held up nicely, had to install new radio and upgraded the speakers. Wish I had the sunroof

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  SUSPENSION is the PROBLEM - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By kidulan - August 10 - 2:08 am

  I just got my car on Aug 6th 2009 (Manufactured date: July 7th 2009). In general, I love this car lots. Only thing that ruins this car is its suspension. It is fun to drive but it is NOT COMFORTABLE with its crappy suspension design. The 7-speaker system is good. And trunk, glove box and handrest box are big but no partition at all. There is no way to organize the items, quite a mess. Many people starred the car while driving. And it brings some talks with friends and strangers while parking. Water came into trunk when open. Please and Please fix the suspension in all effort for the pioneer (who bought the first year Genesis) as the compensation.

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  VERY DISAPPOINTED - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Mrs Barrett - August 8 - 4:19 pm

  I bought this car in 06 with only 15k miles on it so it was like brand new. I bought it because of the reputation of reliability, quality and gas mileage. But right at 50,000 miles in the middle of a road trip, my radiator suddenly cracked without warning and all of my coolant leaked out on the spot and my engine overheated. It all happened within 60 seconds at a stop light. I ended up stranded for 4 full days. Finally the dealership discovered the cracked radiator. No one can explain why that happened. I have kept impeccable care of the car. In fact I checked my coolant levels etc before I left on the trip. All was fine. It cost me over $1000 and now I am nervous to go on a trip!

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  workhorse - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By musiclawyer - August 8 - 2:00 am

  I like this car very much. Mine is loaded with all the bells and whistles, all for only a bit over 23K. The ride is very good , even in the mountainous, curvy terrain on which I drive, inspiring confidence with a commanding view of the road. On the big open straightaways and for freeway driving, its fast, responsive, excellent.

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  Disappointed... - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Laura - August 7 - 7:59 pm

  I bought my 2007 Entourage in Spring of 2007. Automatic sliding doors have not worked properly since I bought it. Every time I bring it in for service I am told that nothing is wrong with the doors. Only other problem is the gas mileage averages about 17 MPG - not what I had expected. I want to get rid of it so bad - but the value has dropped so much - i cant get rid of it!!!