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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  Good Car - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Frank Muscarella - September 7 - 10:46 pm

  Very easy to drive,park and maintain. Nice big hatchback. like it so much I am going to purchase a 2007 2door hatchback.

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  Glad I Waited !!! - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Ed Jackson - September 7 - 5:44 pm

  I wanted a car with better gas mileage to replace my old 2003 Sonata. However, I also wanted a car with some creature comforts and not just a plain small econo-box. I started looking about a year ago and checked out all the 2015 compact cars. They were okay, but they all lacked the look I liked or the interior was wrong for me. I read the previews about some of the new models and since they sounded promising, I held off buying any of the older cars. Finally the new 2016 Honda Civic and Chevy Cruze rolled out. They received good reviews and the Civic received raves in some places. The prices for the upscale models killed them for me though. I wanted something nice, but not one that would drain my wallet to get one. I finally decided to check out what Hyundai was offering. I had not realized the old Elantra had been completely replaced by a new 2017 model year design. When I came across that news, I was interested to say the least. Hyundai always offers great features, long warranty (I already knew that from before), and decent prices. So I checked out the early reviews and they were positive to very positive, putting the Elantra in the top tier of compact cars. I then saw that Hyundai had a bunch of rebates in effect so I jumped at the chance. I had the find one in the color and trim and I wanted - Mineral Beige in Limited trim - hard to find. But find one I did and took it out for a drive and said to myself, I glad I held out as this is the car I wanted. I bought it right then and there. Pros: Excellent looking car. I think it looks better than most competitors in the class. The 17inch alloys are nice and makes the car distinct. Very good gas mileage. Most of my driving is highway with some city mixed in and Im getting 39mpg combined. Ride is composed, with good road feel. I would have preferred a little more give over bumps, but that is personal preference. You can corner going fairly fast and the tires grip well even though the car is not marketed to the performance crowd. Very little wind noise and engine noise. 147 horsepower is more than enough in this car. It passes on two lanes fast enough to hit 90mph before you know it. The leather seats are comfortable with really good side bolstering and with the power driver seat and tilt/telescoping steering wheel, it wheel gives me an excellent driving position. Excellent blind-side traffic detection and cross-traffic detection when backing up. These are must haves when buying a new car and Hyundais version works really well. Back seat room will be fine for most people and the seats are nice for the class. The AV Media and Radio system is nice. Upscale and works well with plenty of features for the Bluetooth and Wifi users. The standard limited trim has plenty of goodies for most people unless you really want rear heated seats and adaptive cruise control and other high end extras that you are willing to pay more for. Cons: Could have used more soft-touch materials on the door. The plain plastic around the power window buttons detracts from the experience in the limited trim. The trunk is a little small, but this is a compact car after all. The tires are noisy to my ears and intrude into the cabin. I wish Hyundai would have done a little better here. No remote start on the control fob. You have to use the Bluelink cellphone system and pay for the previlage to start remotely. You do get other features if you pay the Bluelink fee. To get the Homelink system with programmable garage door opener you have to add the extra technology package. The package includes other major goodies that some people will want. You can add the Homelink rearview mirror later on as an accessory, but I wish that had been part of the standard limited trim. Overall this is a five star car. Hyundai has really elevated the Elantra in class for 2017. If you dont need the a Sonata size vehicle, you will want to take the Elantra for a test drive and see for youself. Treat yourself to the Limited and you will not be dissappointed for years to come in my opinion.

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  very happy - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By caper - September 7 - 4:20 pm

  Originally we wanted an X3, but found dollars for value way out of whack. We then test drove a Rav4, Escape, Murano, Compass, Equinox and finally on a why not premise the Hyundai. It was miles ahead in quality look/feel, and features. I seriously dont see how pro reviewers can favor a Toyota which felt like a tin can, and bounced all over the place to this. Warranty/Finance rates and simply pleasure of driving sets this apart. If you havent drove one try it out youll be pleasantly surprised. We were so much we bought is 7 days later. Keep up the good work Hyundai...you may have made a customer for life.

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  Would never Buy again - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By hyundaihater - September 7 - 1:48 pm

  Mom gave me this car and what a lemon.though it lasted me through college,cost me tons of money for repairing. Timing belt broke at 53000 miles out of nowhere, had to get a new engine at this time, luckily under warranty after showing massive proof of oil change records.had to get new breaks every year and a couple months later would squeal like a pig the minute i stepped on breaks. Terrible rotors or terrible work by mechanics ill never know. Check engine light comes on intermittently. Luckily, i will never deal with this again as im now a college grad wholl be able to avoid a hyundai now and forever. Am very grateful to have had a car that got me from point a to b. So thanks.

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  Tiberon - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Pat - September 7 - 12:53 pm

  I drive mostly on the highway a good high speed car,rides and handles well

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  Hyandai Elantra - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By draggonfly76 - September 7 - 8:17 am

  The biggest problem I had with the car is the handling is slow, turns are wide, and curves you have to take slowly, mostly below the speed limit. Also the care dents very easily if you put your hand on the hood of the car and press down the metal will bend with your hand. You can have all the safety airbags in the world, but the car is made out of tin. The plus side of this car is it is great on gas I wouldnt have to fill my tank for over 2 weeks at a time.

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  Should be Called Accident - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By ACCENTSUCKS - September 6 - 10:14 am

  Oooh the pain of owning an accent. Oil seems to magically disappear in this car. Standard transmission pops out of gear all the time. Master cylander replaced twice, brakes twice, oil constantly, rusting already cant wait to get rid of it. Warranty useless, product useless avoid this car like the plague that it is!

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  2010 genesis cpe-wait for 2011 - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By cindy - September 6 - 10:00 am

  I have had my car about three months. I had to take in shop for bluetooth microphone to be replaced. Now I have sputtering, dying, and one time the radio wouldnt even turn on. I love driving it. I maybe get 20 mpg in town. the handling is great, I customized mine and get lots of looks but notoriety is wearing off more with each problem.

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  Gutsy, Sharp, Eye Catcher - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Ray Ethier - September 6 - 10:00 am

  So far so good went from a Toy Camry always wanted a SUV AWD. Cant wait for snow. Choppy ride and not best gas mileage yet only 1200 miles. Comfortable and love the blue tooth. Eye catcher black in color, nice mags.

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  Another great Hyundai - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By D Fuller - September 6 - 10:00 am

  This is my 4th Hyundai, all great cars. The 09 has 45,000 miles now with absolutely no problems. The 4 cylinder engine has all the performance any normal driver could want. Gas mileage is excellent 44 mpg (imperial gallon) on highway trips. Very well equipped for such an inexpensive car. Move over Toyota!