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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  Disappointed. - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By RK - March 29 - 9:09 am

  The car is nice to look at. The MPG was a lie. The radio has malfunctioned at 80,000 miles. The timing chasing was replaced at around 20,000 miles and now at 83,000 miles the problem seems to happening once more. The tensioner went bad and it looks like it is agaIn. I change the oil every 5,000 miles and drive mostly freeway or highway miles. It has two pending recalls and the smog system had a computer reset early on. Other than that the car has been pretty nice. It does what it was designed for well. It is not a performance car. The brakes are superb. They are much bigger than need to be. And are very well finctioning.

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  Awesome Car - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By Mike - March 29 - 6:36 am

  Purchased this car for commuting to work and have not been disappointed. Handles great, comfortable ride, unbelievable interior room. Best of all, great value, the list of features that come with the car is amazing. Completely satisfied. Look out Honda and Toyota...here comes Hyundai!!!

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  Taking A Chance With An Unknown - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By draper - March 29 - 2:23 am

  Seeking some wheels with some upscale features I purchased an XG-350L, hoping for the best. My expectations have been exceeded -- I love the car. My chief complaint is that the mileage is only fair. On a 300 mile trip the BEST I have achieved is 31.7 mpg. Around town it is about 20 mpg. This is, however, a snappy, responsive car. Since I have as yet limited mileage on the car, only time will tell if my good luck will continue. I urge any or all to give it a good test drive.

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  3 mph Fender Bender - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By CamsTransAm - March 29 - 2:19 am

  Anyone considering an Elantra should know this! I considered getting an Elantra because of all the airbags/safety. I ended up keeping my car, and glad I did. In January it snowed and I made it to my destination safe (wrecks everywhere) when I hit black ice turning into a parking lot and an Elantra was sitting there. I hit the Elantra going 3 mph and dinged the door HORRIBLY. NO damage to my car!!! she needed two new doors and a new hinge, this is a huge safety concern and should be taken into account. I’ve seen other reviews with gov’t crash tests where the airbags did not deploy in time and did more damage than if they hadn’t gone off at all. My wisdom, choose wisely, do ALOT of research.

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  Hyundai Elantra More Car, Less Money - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By JimOhio79 - March 28 - 2:21 pm

  This is alot of car for the money. Ive found it to be both reliable AND economic. It could use a evamp of the exterior styling but is solid step-up from basic transportation. It has outlasted and outperformed my Grand Am, Cavalier, and Neon. Check it out, youll be surprised what this little car has going for it.

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  Hyundai Elantras are the best! - 2016 Hyundai Elantra
  By Deanna Caldwell - March 28 - 1:19 pm

  This is my second Hyundai Elantra purchase. My first one was a 2010 and it still runs like a champ! Need another car so went back to Hyundai. I couldnt be happier with my choice.

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  140,000 miles later - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By alt - March 28 - 10:31 am

  We bought the Elantra with 11,000 miles on it as a used car after being used by a rental company. We have put 140,000 miles on it and it is still working well. The engine still has plenty of pep, it still will reach 80 mpn without a sweat (RPMs about 2600), the engine still purs, and the ride is as good if not better when we first bought it. It has been a very good car for us. The only complaint I have about the car is the need to change the transmission fluid out once every 30,000 miles and having to use the "Hyundai" fluid. Outside of that one concern, this car has given us 4 1/2 years of great service.

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  2nd Elantra - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By RJ - March 28 - 10:13 am

  This is the second elantra I purchased. I liked my 1999 elantra but wanted features to help in the snow. This model has ABS brakes and traction control. I have seen a huge difference in handling over the 99 elantra. I also enjoy the other standard features in this little car. The most impressive part of this car is the gas mileage. I crossed NY and went into the hills of Vermont, AC and cruise. This car gave me over 40 miles per gallon. Absolutely fantastic!!

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  Sante fe - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By mikey - March 28 - 6:06 am

  Our Sante Fe rides great. So good, that sometimes I look down at the speedometer and Im shocked at how fast Im going! It has such a smooth and comfortable ride. Honestly, I bought it mainly for the warranty but now Id buy another one in a minute!

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  great value and great mpg - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By young46 - March 28 - 5:44 am

  i am getting about 500 miles from a full tank of gas(18gal) and averaging 28-29mpg. i commute in NYC and always caught in heavy traffic. if i am on the highway without traffic i am getting 35 to 40 mpg. i dont understand some ppl here getting 23 at best. i already put 35,000 and so far so good.