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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  2001 Hyundai Tiburon - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By EXtremeRacerS - May 22 - 10:00 am

  I bought the car for 13,563.19 Brand new in 2001 It has cd leather fully loaded. The car rattles a little but i expected it. I race the car in SCCA SOLOII H Stock the car does well and will do better with mods. The bottom line is this at the time there was no other car that offered its performence for the price. By the way did i mention that the car weighs only 63lbs more than the Integra type r. And with all the races ive attended with 22,000 miles I put on it I still have not replaced the brake pads.

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  Love This Car - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By David - May 22 - 8:02 am

  Great car for your dollars! Not only does it look good but it is fun and easy to drive. Has most everything youll need and the automatic transmission is a nice change from having to shift in traffic. Corners easily, good performance all the way around. Plenty of room front and back. Controls easy to reach and operate. I cannot find anything that I dont like about this vehicle! I compared two other vehicles in the same class and in the end the Accent won out. The GS 2 door hatch back with the auto trans/ac package is a great buy. Compare it and youll see! Had a very minor issue with a rattle, and the dealer took care of it quickly.

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  Safety first - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By JASmith - May 22 - 6:13 am

  Bought it for the safety features, especially ESC. Limited was the first one to the dealership, so I bought it. Love the luxury features. Did not get 3rd row seats, did not want them. Extra storage is important. Gas mileage is not great yet, hope it will improve with miles run.

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  everything is great except mpg - 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By joemoose - May 21 - 8:10 pm

  engine is very quiet...cabin is also extremely quiet...handles great...windows and doors close nice and tight...plenty of leg room and 2nd row seat backs recline for added comfort...sound system more than adequate...so far my only complaint is city mpg, about 11 mpg,I can only hope this improves with initial break in period...I haven;t been on a road trip yet to see an overall average

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  Turned It In - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By jenks - May 19 - 10:17 pm

  Ive never owned a car before that needed so many visits to the shop for things that shouldnt be going wrong. Ive had to replace the tires and rims at least 3 times because the rims arent sturdy enough to handle New England pot holes. Its been for parts falling out of the dashboard numerous times, the dashboard itself has been replaced, the recall on the passenger seat airbag, cracking in leather (dashboard again), issue with key ignition sticking when you start it. I think this car was built during a non pay week, just before a scheduled vacation!! Now the Santa fe we bought at the same time... the exact opposite, it has so far been a joy to own!

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  Love this car! - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Mel - May 19 - 1:19 pm

  I bought this car used in 2005 with only 13000 miles on it. Now in 2009 with over 100K miles it still drives almost like new! I had to replace the brakes once... but thats it. I live in New England and this car has made it up hills in a foot of snow that Ive seen honda CRVs struggling in. This car was an awesome investment and I am most definitely going to be getting another elantra when I get a new car and Im secretly jealous of whoever gets my old used one!

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  It would be exceptional other than one thing - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Jeffrey Koch - May 17 - 8:44 pm

  Overall its a great CUV. Performs brilliantly in the snow which is why I got it. The one gripe which is a big gripe and you can see it peppered through the other reviews, is that the tranmission, the dual clutch is jerky and confused and feels like the clutch is slipping in very low speeds (1-10 mph). I had a VW dual clutch before this car, and from my understanding former VW engineers built this car which was a big selling point, but the VW dual clutch doesnt have this issue and its incredibly awkward in slow moving traffic. It would have been a 10 out of 10 if they just got this right, and I think a proper software revision would fix it. Hope to god they do.

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  New Tucson - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By docdearth2@aol.com - May 16 - 9:55 am

  I drove a bunch of different SUVs in this price category. My impressions: Honda CRV - Nice car but under powered. Would have bought this if it came in a 6 cyl. or turbo. Mazda MX-5 Also nice but rather austere and plain. Ford Escape - Very nice styling, good power, busy instrumentation and a bit too close and crowded in the front seat. Hundai Santa Fe - unimpressed, also under-powered based on the non turbo version I drove. Hundai Tucson Ltd 1.6 with turbo engine....Goldie Locks - everything felt just right. Nice styling, nice ride. Very impressed with the 1.6 turbo engine and the vehicles acceleration. Turbos sometimes take a little getting used to. Instrumentation is clear and not cluttered. Sporty feel with very good brakes. Cabin feels larger than the competitors. Lots of technology bells and whistles. This year 2016 is a new re-design. I have the vehicle a short time, so I cant attest to its reliability. However, Hundai offers one of the best vehicle warantees in the business. So far, I have been very pleased with the vehicle.

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  Owned one for 9 years without problems - 2000 Hyundai Accent
  By vaskar - May 15 - 11:10 am

  I bought new.This is my third car.I am inlove with it till now. If you make the services on the time,it will never leave you on the road. Until now,the counter says: 172000 klm and it goes on. I havent until now any serious problems. I have change a set of clutch disc at 110000 klm and four shock absorbers at 100000 klm. But in my opinion, this is normal for a car that keep mooving. I take care my car, so it takes care of me. I know that I have an ordinary car but now Im sure that this is a really good car. Its a great value for money.

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  Not bad - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By spysgrandson - May 12 - 7:42 pm

  I bought the base model 5 speed with AC and have generally been pleased with the car. I suggest buying an automatic because the trans is covered under the 10 yr 10000 mile warranty-- the clutch is not. Mileage in town 24- 27 and 31-33 on highway. I highly recommend grabbing a new one as opposed to a used one with low miles-- the 2009s have a rebate and you also get the 10 year warranty--with used you only get 5. Also, used are hard to find and factoring in the rebate, you dont save that much in purchase price. (My family has owned 8 Hyundais, new and pre-owned)