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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  buyer beware! - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By nomorehyundai - October 31 - 2:00 am

  the car is almost 3 years old... it has been in the shop atleast 5 times in the last year..the dash lights go off and on... the dealer can not find the problem. the alternator has been replaced once and currently being replaced again. you have to go to the dealer for parts , airfilter, timing belt, transmission fluid. it is sad that you can not go to a local parts store to get simple items as i just listed. the clearcoat is coming off of the front bumper. i have checked into lemon law and unable to pursue due to age and mileage...currently 60,000.

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  Satisfied with my Elantra - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jessa - October 17 - 2:00 am

  My elantra has been dependable and comfortable. I made the purchase because of the warranty. There have been several trips to the shop to repair sensors, the same ones most of the time. It has been a few months now and it seems to be taken care of. The pop open lid for the gas tank sticks a lot. Overall its a good car for the money.

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  Still adapting - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Miko - October 11 - 9:08 am

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  A good car at first - 1998 Hyundai Accent
  By pebbles - October 9 - 2:00 am

  A good car at first, but then started to have major problems after 3 1/2 years of having it. The transmission went out. Right now I am looking to get a more reliable vehicle. My advice to whoever buys this car is to buy the new ones that is "1999 and up with the warranty of 100,000 miles for 10 years, whichever comes first. Do not buy this car that does not have that warranty because you will be in the same sort of situation I am currently in.

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  Horrible road noise - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Sr. Mo - October 1 - 3:56 pm

  I live in P.R. I purchased Tucson 2010, first of all the cars in pr are more costly than the rest of USA, the dealers bought the BASIC models and put some alloy wheels then charged like the premium model but with out the bells and whistles like bluetooth or steering wheel audio control. In pr the BASIC model Tucson cost 23,195 just automatic transmission and 17" alloy wheels just that. However I bought the car for the fuel economy and space, but the car has the worst road noise I ever heard in a car. The test drive the noise didnt show up. I never in my life will buy a Hyundai car. Period.

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  Dissapointed! - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SF2007 - September 27 - 2:53 am

  I bought the car new in November 2007. Having high hopes this would be the last car I would have to buy for a long time. I had the car in for the 15,000 mile maintenance in July 2009 and mentioned it had started making a roaring noise, more prevalent at lower speeds. I was told it was tire noise and the tires were feathering. I have had the tires rotated at the specified times why would they feather? If they are feathering at 15,000 miles somethings wrong! I have not been able to get any results from Hyundai as to the real problem. The car is also downshifting hard at 30 miles when coming to a stop. I dont think Ill be buying any make, model or type of Hyundai again.

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  So far, not good - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By cvanduyn - September 25 - 2:00 am

  Some problems with this car have appeared in the first 7000 miles. First, the sticker states MPG as 22/28. I drive using the cruise control on highways, and never travel more than 3 or 4 miles above the posted speed limit. My MPG has been 16 city, 21 highway. Second, there are no window gutters on the doors. Get in your car in the morning when the car is covered in dew, roll down the windows and watch the water drip onto your leather seats. Third and most important, after 3500 miles the engine developed a very loud valve rattle. It now sounds like a 6 year old car. Unfortunately, "it sounds like crap" is not covered under the warranty.

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  Good car for the price. - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Tnhbla - September 20 - 2:00 am

  I actually did not choose this car. Even though I paid for it, my parents pretty much decided that this was the car that I was getting. Ive had the car for a month now and I have had no problems with it. All in all, a great car for the price and warranty.

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  Ricks Review - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By Rick0225 - September 19 - 10:00 am

  Pros: A lot of thought went into designing this car. The amount of equipment included for the price is an exceptional value Cons: Within two months the service was required for the following problems: Clutch switch. License plate light Cruise control unit Also the service manager informed me two days ago that there was a safety recall for this model. It involves the positioning of a particular clamp which may puncture the fuel tank in a serious collision.

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  Disappointed - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By emlod - September 19 - 8:18 am

  I should have driven the actual car I bought before completing the deal. The steering has no road feel to it. Steering is dead. It tends to pull to the left. It is hard to keep the car straight in the lane. The car tends to wander. The turbo makes funny noises when I start the car. It has lots of HP but it doesnt feel like it until near the top of the shift point. I did not get anywhere near the milage claimed. I got about 26 mpg hwy and 19 city. Interior materials are ok but does feel like a cheap car that it is.