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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  Best car ever! - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By Dan Melody - October 9 - 12:40 am

  I bought this car in 2009. With the cash for clunkers rebate and other discounts it was 7,800 out the door. I changed the required items and maintenance at 100,000 . At 200,000 I replaced the water pump, thermostat , timing belt, hoses and spark plugs. Oh yes, brakes at 150,000 and three sets of tires. This was the most basic model, stick shift and roll up windows. Best car Ive ever owned!

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  Nagging Navigation - 2016 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bob Cason - October 8 - 12:06 pm

  Paid extra to have the navigation package. My phones Google Maps is faster at both looking up an address and recalculating when directions change. Voice recognition has trouble understanding commands in normal road conditions, even worse with a window down or the sun roof open...disappointing for the money spent!

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  3rd Hyundai/Kia product in 8 yrs with no regrets - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By 6Speed8 - October 8 - 8:13 am

  First off, its a Sport 2.0T Limited. No choice for that in the sub categories. Was in the auto repair business for 30 years. Owned German cars. Reliability became questionable as time went on. 2008 Sonata traded with 115,000 miles with nothing other than normal maintenance. Its still on the road with 240K+.Traded for a 2012 Kia Forte SX 5 door. 80,000 miles on it now. No issues. Never seen a check engine light other than at start up with either. Never not started for any reason other than a battery replacement. Never left stranded. Took delivery of a new 2015 Sonata Sport 2.0T Limited March 2016. Love it. Im 6ft 2, 200 lbs and have nerve damage in my legs from cancer/chemo. The most comfortable seats of any car Ive owned. Drove 400 miles in 6 hours last week and could have kept going. 75+ mph, 90+ degree temps with the a/c on the whole time and some construction delays, I still averaged nearly 28mpg on that trip - and the car only has 2500 miles on it so the engine is still tight. Android Auto is great. I can dictate a text with the roof open at 70 mph and it works great. If youre buying a car in this price range for 0-60 times and not how it performs under "normal" driving, then you just need to get a Subaru WRX STi lol. Do you drive with your foot to the floor all day, every day ? SHEESH lol. No matter how fast your car is, theres always one faster. Ride is taught just how I like it. Brakes are great. Steering is ok for electric steering but every time I drive the Forte, I miss that real mechanical connection. Thats my only gripe. Blind spot monitor, smart cruise control are great. I didnt rate reliability or dealer service. I took it in at 900 miles for an oil change. I maintain my cars MY way, which is usually better than the recommended service intervals. I bought it with the reliability of the current Kia and previous Sonata in mind and expect nothing less. THANKFULLY no CVT transmission. UPDATE 11/18/2016 - Going on 9 months and 9,000 miles. Downloaded the nav uodate with Apple CarPlay so can connect either phone now. Still feel the same way about this car and no regrets. My other half got a little new car envy lol, so we traded the 2012 Forte SX 5 door for a 2016 Forte5 EX loaded with Premium/Tech, and factory remote start. So now its 4 Hyundai / Kia products and loving them.

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  What a Shame (I love this car) - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kalroffb - October 8 - 3:36 am

  I have been to several dealerships in my area and have had some disturbing problems: Getting complete service on my oil changes (skimping on fluids or forgetting to check them) We had our car dented at dealer facility. Have had a couple elec. doodads replaced before 30K . The idle being rough when the car is warm and in gear. Rare instances it wants to die, but it starts right back up. This is progressive problem worked on 3x not fixed. Trans. has started leaking at 40K

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  Canadian SE trim (One below Limited trim) - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Murali - October 7 - 10:43 am

  I selected this trim, since it comes with AEB (autonomous emergency braking) with all the safety bells and whistles such as forward collision warning and braking. I like the lane keep assist, which takes loads of burden off my everyday commute (52 km one way to work), and 7.5 Litres/100 km makes this a perfect every day commuter car with all creature comforts (Canadian SE trim comes with heated front and rear leather seats and heated steering wheel) at reasonable value. I am not looking for a peppy drive as you can see, I dont drive for fun, I drive to work. In short, this is a marked down Volvo. Please read mpg to L/KM, Miles to KM currency is C$, used Niagara (Buffalo) postal code

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  V6 sonata - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pat O - October 7 - 10:00 am

  I have the V6 & PWR moonroof options.The car looks great and rides nice, the V6 gives it excellent speed and makes merging easy. The windshield defroster is a little slow but the AC is great. The fold down rear seats are a great addition. I would recomend the Auto. but I would stick with the 6 cyl.

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  Everything I expected - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By toysax - October 7 - 4:53 am

  I have 2500 miles on the car. No rattles, no squeaks. Smooth, quiet. No flaws. Friend just bought a new infinti. So she says. "my car has push button start" yep." my car has bluetooth" yep." my car has heated leather seats " yep ." my car has top safety ratings " yep. My car cost $45k. Nope!

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  Impressed every time I drive my Genesis! - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Miles - October 6 - 3:44 pm

  The Hyundai Genesis Sedan is a wonderful used car. In the past Ive owned big heavy V8, rear-wheel drive cars- but the Genesis is unbelievably refined. There is little to no cabin noise whatsoever, this is really noticeable on the highway. Nice quiet drive, smooth shifting transmission, and plenty of power for a luxury sedan. Its not a wolf in sheeps clothing like BMWs and Mercedes can be when optioned properly, but if youre looking for a luxury car like the Genesis, you probably dont concern yourself with such juvenile attributes. This car is a comfortable, quiet, smooth car that has been extremely reliable. My Genesis sedan now has 130,000 miles on it and it stills looks and feels like I just drove out of the showroom. If youre spending a lot of time on the road, youll want to spring for the optional Technology Package, Premium Package, and Premium Plus Package. This includes a wonderful navigation system with the same type of I-Drive out of BMW and Lexus, a seriously stellar sound system made by Lexicon- only found in Rolls Royce, and a slew of creature comforts like heated/cooled seats, perforated leather, etc.. If you dont feel the need to blend in with the wannabe BMW and Lexus drivers who finance ridiculously expensive cars that dont have half of the options, give the Genesis a try.

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  Not Happy with the 2009 Santa Fe. - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Keeley - October 6 - 3:11 pm

  I have been the owner of my 2009 Santa Fe all wheel drive 6 cylinder for approx. 3yrs and I bought it with 38,000 miles. I drive at least 85 miles per day. First: the 09 Santa Fe drives terrible on the highway. It vibrates terribly and upon bring to dealer they said it was possibly tires or rotation was needed. (I put brand new tires on the vehicle at 45K and at 53k & rotate every year) this never fixed the vibration or the poor handling. Dealership told me I guess thats how it drives and there is nothing they can do. Second: my 09 Santa Fe has a horrible sound system that you cant put up over 14 decibels without blowing a speaker. The volume goes well up to 50. All of the speakers have either blown or went out which I have replaced three times with factory speakers and again they are blown. I have a three year old in the car constant so its not like Im blaring rap music with the bass at 10+. Horribly annoying and expensive to fix and not covered. Third & most disturbing: my 09 Santa Fea gas gauge malfunctioned at 61,000 miles. After filling my gas tank to a range full line I noticed I drove the car to just above a half tank. After turning car back on the gas gauge needle was buried at empty and gas light on. Very nervous immieditely went to get gas. Only took 18$ to fill. Strange which means its not empty. Thought was a fluke. Drove to work used 1/4 of tank. Turns car back on after work. Read empty again. After filling the car yet again now using only 8$ I knew there was a issue. I brought to dealer they told me it is electrical. Fully serviced the vehicle through Hyundai. At the tune of $184.00. Two days later. Started again. After reading on forums this is a severe issue and souls have a recall. Its the tank sensor. Brought back to dealer. They told me to remove old sensors and put new ones it will cost roughly between 500-1000 dollars. It is not covered under warranty and there is no recall. So much for 100K bumper to bumper warranty. This is a severe issue that can cause death or harm. If you dont make sure to reset your miles and keep an eye on your mileage you can run out of gas. The car may even just shut down at high speeds. I would not advise anyone to buy this suv Im a former Jeep owner and as soon as I get the money to fix the gauge issue I will be selling ASAP and buying either a new jeep or Subaru. The gas mileage is terrible the car vibrates and you dont know if you have gas. Sounds like a death trap to me. Hyundai is putting people at risk with the above issue and should recall the vehicle to fix for free. DO NOT BUY!! Any Sante fa prior to 2011. They all have the same issue

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  Anon Review - 2006 Hyundai Elantra
  By anon08053 - October 5 - 6:30 pm

  This has been a wonderful car so far. Everything about it is great...it rides smooth, looks great and is very comfortable. Best car Ive had in years.