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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  Time to trade in - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By sweed2 - May 28 - 12:23 pm

  I bought the Elantra new in 08. The windshield wipers were never connected. I found this out on the highway in a torrential downpour with no breakdown lane. A couple of weeks later I got a flat took it to Pep Boys and they asked when I had patched the tire? I never did I thought it was new. Recall after recall. Cd player stopped functioning, window was slowly going down, and we kept having the problem. We just received the airbag recall notice. I decided to trade it for a Volvo S60 with the premium package. I totally broke even with everything! The mileage (very low), price, and a good trade-in value. Now I have a safe luxury car that is awesome!

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  A Pig with Lipstick - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By newburgh_jim - May 10 - 9:03 am

  I shopped around and the Sonata seemed to be the best value at the time. I was wrong, as they say "You get what you pay for". In the first week I noticed the ride just felt cheap and the tires squealed going around corners. I had to replace the back breaks at under 20k miles because the original set stuck or something and cooked the back rims and actualy browned the hub caps. Worse yet, I had to pay for this obvious manufacture defect. Poor fuel economy and with 44k miles as of 11 May, 2011 average fuel economy is 20.9! Tires were rotated but had to be replaced at around 22k miles. I do not abuse my vehicles and all maintenance was on time. Now the engine is ticking loudly.

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  Master Cylender - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By colorado18 - April 27 - 2:00 pm

  i was having trouble getting fluid to the brakes. I had it looked at by 2 people was told its the master cylender. Dealer ship ignored me the first time i took in in and said i should get my brakes replaced. I did what they said and the issue was still there. I had to tell them again that the master cylender is not pumping fluid to the brakes. They argued with me and i got so angry with them i will never buy another hyundai again. They do not deserve my money. After they looked at the car and come to find out the master cylender was broken like i said. The worst customer service ever and i dont recomment hyundai to anyone.

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  Rear brakes burned out - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By emlod - March 10 - 3:50 pm

  The rear brakes burned out at 18K and they made me pay for it. They said the slider corroded. I said I brought the car in for regular maintenance. Why should that happen? They blamed me for not requesting it. A call to corporate did no good, so I ended up paying. The tires wore out at 36K, Michelins and they were rotated. The steel wheels all rusted and I saw the same thing on other Hyundais. The care is practical but about as bland to drive as you can get. The interior looks cheap to me with a very plastic look. Dealer service where I bought it has been poor so I go to an independant garage. The transmission lugs at 40 MPH The car vibrates at 60-65. Dont use inflate a tire

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  LEMON LEMON LEMON - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By chris262 - February 7 - 8:47 pm

  Where to startÂ… I donÂ’t normally write to forums, however I feel obligated to warn people of this vehicle. LEMON LEMON LEMON I first owned a 2004 SonataÂ… amazing car, loved it, no problems whatsoever. So when we had our second child, I decided to invest (bad choice of words) in something larger. Test drove all the typical minivans, Dodge, Toyota, Honda but my bias of Hyundai led me to chose the Entourage. What a mistake. HereÂ’s a list of problems since IÂ’ve owned it: 1. Had to replace the DVD player within a couple weeks of purchase 2. Had to fix broken arm rest 3. Had to replace rotors twice and entire breaks once, not related to driving but defects 4. The key ignition had to be replaced, had to get towed for this one. Happened at a movie threatre, we had a baby sitter at home, had to get a rental for 4 days until it was fixedÂ… they didnÂ’t cover the rental. 5. There has been ongoing battery / wiring (unknown) issues. It is currently in the garage for a 3rd battery replacement. Approx every year the battery dies completely and wonÂ’t hold a charge anymore. Last years fix was a computer s/w upgradeÂ… yeah right. Today they are saying it is a module recall for the side doors that they think is the problemÂ… yeah rightÂ… and whatever happened to informing customers of recalls. I have a 2nd small car, 97 Toyota Tercel with 200,000 KM that I trust more than this vehicle. 6. I also have an ongoing headlight issue. When I break or when the gears shift, there is a noticeable dimming (1 or 2 sec) of the headlights. I think it is related to problem number 5. 7. Yes the powered side doors are great when or if they work. Someone told me when I first bought the van, having everything powered is just more to go wrongÂ… how true. I live in Canada, any amount of snow or frost the side doors are impossible to open. This vehicle was to be our long-term family car. I wish this info was available before I bought. Avoid this vehicle or suffer the consequences. LEMON LEMON LEMON

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  big mistake - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By laallen - December 30 - 6:12 pm

  Bought in 2005 with 40K miles. Clean and solid. Since then: new clutch, control arm failure (recall), brakes, 2 sets of tires, plugs and wires, O2 sensor and still needs catalytic converters, fuel vapor sensor and exhaust manifold. And still less than 100K miles. Body still solid and clean but cannot give it away since not inspectable. Now looking at the other H-car that really will last.

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  Terrible Car / Forgettable experience - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Sandy - December 2 - 2:00 am

  After almost decades of owning premium / luxury cars, I made the regrettable decision to buy a Hyundai. All my friends and family were skeptical. I have spent the past several months working with dealers and HMA Consumer Affairs to address the problems. Every time they tell me they DO NOT see the problems. Is anyone else having these problems? The whole experience has been extremely disappointing. 1. Rattling / grinding sound when driving at lower gears 2. Jerky transmission shifts 3. Squeaking / cranking sound from the rear seat when driving 4. Loud rumbling noise when starting the car 5. Vibrations while driving 6. Tires worn out at 25k miles 7. Cruise control does not work

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  Problems - 2009 Hyundai Accent
  By Patricia A. Ellis - November 18 - 2:00 am

  Elimination of the rear wiper and the addition of the rear spoiler make it impossible to see out the rear window when it is raining or snowing when you are driving. This is a significant safety issue. Why include XM Radio when OnStar would make more sense? The rear spoiler is noisy, particularly when the wind is blowing. Tire wear continues to be a problem. I have had difficulty with tire wear on all of the Hyundai vehicles I have owned. I have been disappointed in the gas mileage. I got better mileage with my Elantra. The small size of the gas tank is also a disappointment.

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  Its a not so good used car - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By bm662 - October 22 - 2:00 am

  Bought used had tune up and timing belt replaced. Still not much better? Had suspension checked 4 times replaced struts for safety. Still has thumping sounds no one can find reason! But told car is safe? The amount of money I paid for plus repairs I could have bought a new one live and learn. Dealer was supposed to be reliable. Not so in this case this vehicle should be called the Hyundai clunker.

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  Airbag - 2010 Hyundai Elantra
  By Diana - October 2 - 2:00 am

  On September 16 a drunk driver pulled out in front of me. My 2010 Elantra was totaled. Thank God the seat belt worked because not one airbag deployed. The car was totaled. Im still feeling the effects but at least Im alive.