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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  Waited a year to be Disappointed - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By turniptop - August 7 - 11:04 am

  I traded my 2002 GLS (that I purchased new and absolutely loved) for this new 7 passenger model. Although the interior and exterior are great there are a fewl things Im not sure i can live with. 1. The gas petal is mounted from the bottom not the top as in a normal car and I have yet to find a comfortable position. I think it will be impossible not to use the cruise control on a long trip. 2. Steering is terrible and floats all over the road (doesnt matter what mode). Just doesnt feel tight. 3. The drivers seat adjustment does not allow the bottom of the seat to be raised in the back. 4. The passenger seat cannot be raised and it feels like you are sitting in a hole.

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  88,000 miles - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By T Slape - August 6 - 10:10 pm

  I drive it a lot. Both visors failed after warranty, Hyundai wouldnt replace them. Something is rattling in the rear end, not sure what, but I think it needs shocks/struts. Windshield washer just failed. Otherwise the car is great and I would buy another. The trailer hitch kit that said "bolts on in under 30 minutes..." did!

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  Everything I Thought It Would Be, But... - 2012 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By southerngent63 - August 6 - 9:14 pm

  Let me begin by saying that this is one of my favorite cars. Ive owned 14 over 30+ years so I have a good personal database. It is lightning fast, especially in "manual mode". Theres the slightest lag at launch in full automatic but if youre racing youre going to be using the paddle shifters anyway. (I dont race, but I do love one particular freeway on ramp.) It might not be a work of art, per se, but the design lets you know up front that this is a fun car. The interior is about as comfortable as you might imagine a sport-tuned suspension would allow, which is to say not overly. Everything is well laid-out, easy to use and unobtrusive. Overall, I love it. But keep reading...

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  New Hyundai owner - 2005 Hyundai Sonata
  By Steve - August 6 - 6:17 pm

  I just bought this car and Im already very impressed with all aspects of it. The price of a comparable Toyota or Nissan runs $2500 to $3500 more, yet the quality appears to be equal to them, You cant beat that. Jaguar styling hues (cool) ,solid feeling on the road, handles and rides great, plentiful amounts of torque and horsepower, yet drives like a more expensive luxury coupe. The engineering, over all quality and body fitment appear to be very high. I know of several Hyundai owners who all have had very positive experiences with their Hyundai vehicles.

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  High hopes now back to BMW - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Mike W - August 3 - 3:40 pm

  Nothing but praise for the first few thousand miles then occasionally starting goes to about 400 RPM and runs rough. Had to shut down. Access steering would run halfway down and would have to manually reposition it. Rear air would intermittently go to full hot (so much the the center console and side of the drvr seat was hot to touch). Theses a tech order out on the heat but the dealer is not allowed to change the part unless they can duplicate the problem.Now the "new" Tau engine is knocking for the first few minutes after start indicating a possible internal lubrication problem (dealer not sure if problem). First start of the day get out and listen.

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  Very Poor Suspension - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By fdooleysr - August 1 - 11:05 pm

  The plain truth about the 2009 Genesis is that it has a horrible suspension and rides like an old truck. You can feel every bump in the road. I think you could run over a fishing worm and feel it. This severe defect is not immediately noticeable during a short test drive. The dealer states that this is designed into the car because it is a high performance automobile. It is fairly smooth on the interstate but it jitters and bounces over suburban streets. The ride is the most important element of a car and it fails my expectations. Im not alone in my review of the suspension. Read the Hyundai Genesis Web site for more. The car is a beautiful car in all other aspects it is fantastic.

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  Veracruz Ltd - 2008 Hyundai Veracruz
  By The_Ductor - August 1 - 1:46 am

  We looked at multiple vehicles - eg Mazda CX9, Ford Fusion. Overall this was the best buy by several thousand dollars given the specs. The model we chose was the AWD limited. There were few options as it already had most of them. The ride is comfortable and quiet although not exciting. Audio excellent. Fuel economy is not as good as advertised but is it ever? The exterior is stylish but the colour choices are limited. Most suprising was the internal colours which on this vehicle (Ltd) was limted to a saddle brown leather despite the dash etc being grey. Seats are comfortable,easy to move to allow exit and loading. Overall I am pleased. We have to wait for command start. Recomended.

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  suprised buyer - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By dustin - July 31 - 7:42 pm

  bought a elanta gls, auto. went from a Mustang GT. which was fully loaded. Overall, very suprised, was expecting a slow, sluggish car, nice handling and decently comfortable. Gas milage is outstanding, getting 37mpg without the car being broken in yet. Braking response is great, only complaints, high engine rpms at 70, almost 3k rpm on expressway, steering is heavy compared to every other vehicle I have drivin. Cant beat the warranty, and with cash for clunkers, final price $9800 for a car with an invoice price of 18K. Will write a new review when I have more miles on my car. Only have 200 at this time.

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  Maybe a Glitch? - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By John H - July 31 - 5:00 pm

  We bought the Elantra used with about 22,000 in the summer of 06 - it had previous been a rental car (Hertz?. The cars has performed flawlessly until it blew a head gasket at 68,340 miles. Since I was the second owner - the warranty expired at 60,000 miles. I asked Hyundai America to at least partially compensate me for the repair since I think it was a fluke and they just blew me off. Perhaps it was the last one off the assembly in on a Friday afternoon. The gas mileage has always been a bit lower than I expected - less than bothe the Corollas and Civics that I have owned. I am guardedly optimistic about the car since everyone else that has them say they are great.

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  Great first car. - 2011 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By mrgovenator - July 31 - 4:58 am

  This is a great first purchase. On the used market it hard to beat the value of these cars. You get so much for so little. You get a well laid out interior. Some material quality is questionable, such as the some cheap leather, but most the plastics are soft touch or have a rubber coating. And the exterior is gorgeous in my opinion. You get a great power plant under the hood, that gives other cars of this price a run for the money. Only real issue is the 6 speed transmission, it feels cheap and clunky. Can you live with it daily though? For me, yes. The total value out weighs this one problem. The seats hold you in place very well, and feel nice for the price point.