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 disappointed!!! - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By Linda S. - March 21 - 2:31 pm

  In Feb. 2011 I bought my brand new Elantra. Had to have a dealer call me when one came in as they were selling like hot cakes and none of the dealers had one to even look at in San Diego. It was exciting to see such a beautifully designed car inside and out that would get 29/40 mpg. WOW! This would be only the 2nd "new" car Ive purchased and felt the mpg would make up a lot of the difference in the new car price. The car got 24 mpg! How disappointing. Took it to every Hyundai dealer in San Diego and no one could or would help me and gave me the run around telling me "the car needed a break in period that would finish about 7,500 miles. I called what I thought was the Hyundai Corp. and after two years realized I was calling a third party that is hired by Auto Manufacturers to take complaints, etc. Finally, I told them that Id heard them say "Im sorry" for the last time and would contact an attorney. Contacted a Lemon Law attorney and they couldnt help me as it wasnt an issue with a failing part on the car. To appease many disgruntled and lied to Elantra owners, Hyundai issued many gas cards that equaled a few cents per mile reimbursement for inflating the mpg the car would get. So, I had to go to the dealer, wait in the service dept. line to have someone check my milage, fill out a claim form and wait for the reimbursement card to arrive. Then, when I needed the card refilled had to go to the dealer again and have money added to the card. And very little money I might add. I liked everthing about my purchase except the mpg THAT WAS INFLATED BY 9 mpg and VERY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! I sold the car with 17,000 miles. It was covered under the warranty to replace the driver headlight where the plastic was peeling eling off. Dont think Ill ever buy another Korean car. It was a stressful, bad experience.

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  good - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By sciguy - March 21 - 10:00 am

  good car, great value

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  So far money well spent - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Greg - March 20 - 4:22 pm

  Waited to submit the review until I could actually review it properly. After one year of owning the car and driving back and forth to work all I can say is.. Im impressed. 5 speed allows me to grab some decent speed from a pretty small engine and the fit and finish of the vehicle still impresses me. I even took it camping last summer and managed to get all the equiment, three people and a dog in.... Wow... Love the hatchback.

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  Ode To My Tucson - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By PinkAC19 - March 20 - 4:13 am

  I purchased my vehicle 2 weeks ago, I love it very much. Its roomy, but not huge. It only takes up one parking space and i can reverse easily and see out all of the windows clearly. The controls are great I feel like i am sitting a BMW truck.

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  Love this Vehicle - 2009 Hyundai Sonata
  By WJones - March 19 - 10:33 pm

  Just completed an 800 mile trip. Very comfortable ride. Some tire noise. Would like to see little more suspension. Good fuel economy. Would like to see factory tinted windows be more darken.

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  Awesome small SUV - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Erin from Waterbury - March 19 - 10:06 pm

  I really love this vehicle. I have owned most different types of cars by many different manufacturers and I also had a small Hyundai when they first came out. This is by far the best one yet. I stay in the $20,000 and less category so this vehicle is compared to others in that group. I didnt realize how much I would brag about my car. I even test drove the larger Santa Fe, prior to committing to the Tucson. It had more cargo room, but less driver/passenger space. I am impressed with the styling and performance. I honestly can not say enough great things about this vehicle! The price is great, the performance is very good and you will love the safety rating!

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  Brakes and caliber maintance - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By gf - March 19 - 10:00 am

  I cant believe I have to have the Calibers /brakes cleaned and lubricated every 12,000 miles or the brakes "burn up and Lock up" this is what the dealers said and it did happen to a friend of mine! Why arent customers told this before we buy? reliability? poor

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  4 months driving and still happy - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By 4 months still happy - March 19 - 10:00 am

  I have had my 2011 Sonata for 4 months now. Previously I had a 2003 Infiniti G35 which I loved but was totaled in wreck.I never thought I would own a mid level car again but hey times change. Who wants to have a $600 plus car payment anymore? Thought I would miss the performance of my G35 but found the Sonata to be quite adequate. I live in Atlanta and use my tiptonic shifter to race from stop light to stop light. Got to have some fun! Overall still happy.

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  Driving and riding experience - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jean PAyne - March 19 - 10:00 am

  This 2011 Sonata Limited is my husbands car. Exterior is sporty and beautifully designed. Do like the turn signals on the side mirrors. However, very rough ride. It feels like I am in a tin can or a truck. Lot of road noise even after buying new Michelin tires the same day of purchase. Front windshield distortion. Passenger seat way too low. Passenger door sounds hollow and tinny, slight vibration, when pushed shut. Strong chemical smell in the car,gives me a headache."leather" seats low quality. Traded a good 2007 Camry, which was a well built car, for this. My 2008 Toyota Avalon is a far better car than this 2011 Sonata Limited. Would not recommend this car at all.

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  Real impressive for the price - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By John - March 19 - 4:24 am

  This car is all around a great buy so far, the Mpg is excellent I am averaging 34.5. On an all interstate drive I averaged over 38. The ride is pretty descent, road noise is average, radio sounds good, touch screen responds well, phone Bluetooth was easy and works great, instrument cluster has all the features you need then some and looks good. The interior is roomy, I am 63" 230 lbs and have plenty of room anywhere in the car. The trunk has plenty of space, the rear access seats are easy to open and close. Blu link feature works well, I schedule a service that the self monitoring system recommended. The only draw back I have is that I change my own oil and there is a cover blocking access to the oil plug and oil filter and no access door to them so you have to take out all the screws and remove the cover to access the plug and filter.