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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  very reliable - 1997 Hyundai Accent
  By slowlane - July 25 - 2:00 am

  My 97 GS has been ultra reliable. With 80K I can get 38 MPG on the highway with an autonatic! This car feels as though it can easily go another 5 yrs. Other than oil and filter changes, tires, and front brakes...just pads, there has been no additional costs. I could easily afford a $350 car note but cant justify it when my paid off little car wont give me a reason. This car has baan as reliable as any Toyota I have owned. I just wish for 30 more HP!

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  Stupid emissions! - 1996 Hyundai Elantra
  By warriorpoet78 - July 19 - 2:00 am

  Elantra 4 door with 86 K bought it used, have had nothing but problems ever since. Ther pathetic engine is clean but makes it hard to accelerate at a stop sign. And those wonderful emissions controls that make the engine run like a deisel and not to mention the awesome(note sarcasm) blinking check engine light. Interior nice, though, reliable transportation, gas mileage lower that what specs say, 20-25 city, 25 highway max!

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  Last hyundia I"ll ever buy - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By torres123 - July 10 - 10:00 am

  So I got this new when it first hit the market back in April. I wanted to wait a while until I left a review. Im so happy I did! So about two months ago the light in the instrument show a key keep lighting up. So I replaced the batteries in the remotes. Before I replaced the batteries the car wouldnt start at times. I thought maybe its because of the battery. Little did I know it was a bigger problem. So the car been in the shop twice. They replaced the the starter remote and keys. So I went to pick it up, and within two days in wouldnt start again! So I called consumer affairs to report my problem. It took 10 days to get back to me. Can somebody say lemon!

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  NOT SO GREAT AFTER ALL !!! - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MAZZ - July 10 - 9:43 am

  Dont be fooled by the 10 warranty!!!! It b-- s---...... Dealers say " I cant duplicate the problem... Are you kidding me, I am in the car with the tech and he cant feel the vibration, noise, and twisting of the steering...I was floored. The ride is rough...And steering is light....I have 68k miles, and I am disappointed.... I need new tires after 40k miles (have firestones) now (not cheap tires). I have had nothing but issues - front suspension...

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  If you can spend the money...upgrade - 1998 Hyundai Elantra
  By Warren Burton - June 14 - 2:00 am

  The car is 4 years old with 70K miles and wont pass smog by a large margin...this is a warning to you all. Of course the "great" new Hyundai warranty does not cover emissions at this point. The car accelerates so badly you almost get killed every time you have to merge on to the freeway. Using the airconditioning cuts what little power you have in half. Stay away from Romero Motors in Ontario California as they are a bunch of crooks and do not back up the products they sell.

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  Good all around - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By DISA27 - June 13 - 2:33 am

  Havent experienced any of the previous stated problems. Probably because I perform regular maintenance and treat it like an AWD V6 SUV, not Formula 1. I dont beat on it too much, occasional off-road fishing trips performs awesome in the mud (minus the 9 in of ground clearance. Decent gas mileage 20-24 with mixed driving and K&N flat filter.

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  Beware the lemon - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Dustin Ezell - June 2 - 6:53 pm

  Lightly driven and well-maintained, this car has been in the shop for major mechanical problems four times. At around 4000 miles, the entire CAM had to be replaced. The car was then returned to the shop only a few dayas later because of a major oil leak caused by a faulty gasket. This car has been a nightmare! The wrecker that picked it up on its first trip to the shop that he has picked up many XG350s. Looks like Hyundai threw up an airball when they made this one! Stay away!!!

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  Revised: No Longer completely satisfied! - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By tedrik - May 29 - 10:00 am

  This is an update from my review from 05/09/10. I absolutely loved everything about this car (past tense). I have been experiencing transmission problems which seems to be worsening. I am experiencing rough- "clunking" and abrupt shifting from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd gear. Also at first start after overnight I hear a metal clanging from underneath towards the back/underside of the vehicle right after the first "clunk". Hyundai has "no fix". They have been reflashing the tcms, ecms, installing "new transmissions" with the same problems! Hyundai needs to step-up and remedy this problem. Purportedly it was defective transmissions from 1st production runs.

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  2013 Genesis waste gate Rattle!!! - 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By orvpickett - May 29 - 8:24 am

  My 2013 2.0T premium has a horrible rattle coming from the turbo waste. Hyundai refuses to fix mine or anyone elses saying its normal. Trust me when you hear the loose washers on a bolt sound coming from our cars you wouldnt like it either. Its awful! Wouldnt recommend this car to anyone since Hyundai refuses to fix them. It cost way to much money to own a car you are embarrassed to start around people.

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  quality control needed - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By michael Hollander - May 28 - 12:06 pm

  My new Hyundai has 4500 miles and has been in the shop five times. It is in the shop now (three days so far). It looks good, drives well, has horrible gas mileage (averages 15 m.p.g.).I have owned Ford Explorers, Jeep Grand Cherokees, two Acura MDX, and now this. There is a unfixable squeak on both front doors when your elbows tough them .