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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  Great car for the money. - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By kris66 - June 19 - 12:17 am

  I bought the 2013 model in August of 2012. If I drive normal speeds and on the interstate I will get around 39-45 mpgs. Around the city, 32-36. I have been to Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head the last two years and average around 42 mpgs on the trip. People need to understand mpgs matter when it comes to speed, weather, terrain and up keep of the car. I have a lead foot and I am happy with the mpg. People complaining about the rain and snow are dumb and probably just dont know how to drive. The electronic stability is great in this car. Handles above average in the snow.

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  After 21K Miles Update - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By jhunkins - June 2 - 10:13 am

  Been 18 months since I bought this car for commuting. Have seen a large number of negative reviews about this car so I thought that an effort to balance the scale was in order. Is it the greatest ever?...No, but it is rock solid and does what it is supposed to do. My observations at the 20K mile point: - Gas mileage = never been below 32mpg regardless of driving habit, season, hills, etc. On freeway, it easily surpasses 40mpg. - Electronics = Stock sound system better than average and much better than the crappy JBL system in my wifes Highlander limited. - Road noise/bumps = Yes, it is noisy and you feel every bump but it is an economy car. Have not seen the issues presented here.

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  2013 genesis 3.8L Sedan - Little things - 2013 Hyundai Genesis
  By choctawchuck - May 21 - 8:15 pm

  Just purchased the car, used, with 27K miles. Have driven about 1500 miles so far. Positives: I do like the looks and the way the Genesis drives - quiet and comfortable, plenty of power. Complaints: Interior pieces break off - AC vent direction knobs came loose and blew out Gas mileage takes a dive (avg 14) if you accelerate much. You have to be real careful with the acceleration to reach the 18 MPG city advertised low end I have not driven car long enough to judge the reliability, so gave it a 3 for now, especially since some little plastic interior pieces have broken already.

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  Has been a great car, bought used with 35k miles - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By ksh1981 - May 17 - 3:15 pm

  This car is a well-built machine. Solid, fun to drive, reliable, modest (well, very modest on gas), A/C and heat are great. I bought the car used from a dealership in 2011, with 35,000 miles. My jeep completely had died and I was desperate. But since then, (it is now May 2014).. no problems. None. Ive driven long-distance, I commute to work Mon-Fri, and also worked weekends carrying people and 100s of pounds of equipment up to 2 hours away. In all weather, the car did great. This past winter, the battery finally went. 2 degrees F will do that to a battery! Took the car to Sears Auto..new battery...back to normal! If you think you are "settling" for a Hyundai...think again. Test drive one.

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  Excellent value when new, even better as preowned - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By papacito - May 13 - 1:35 am

  I bought my 2002 Hyundai Sonata new, driving 100 miles from my home to the dealer who had the color and options I wanted. Overall, this car has been excellent. It now has 190,000 miles on it and I can honestly say the problems that I have had have been minimal. Those issues include a bad oxygen sensor, a power steering leak and the starter replaced, all of these things after 120,000 miles. I will admit that I have not been as maintenance conscious as I should have been, but despite that, she continues to run like a champ.

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  Great car, I have certain dislikes - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By rmasters2007 - May 5 - 9:59 am

  Car has only (or exactly) what I need and wanted, and no unnecessary gimmicks (which I would have to pay for and which can brake). The design is what caught my eye first. Plus the great gas mileage. Interior has plenty of space for hips and shoulders. Comfortable seats. Drives nice, very responsive, very comfortable (for a car this class and way built).

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  What is wrong with Hyundai? - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By estateplanner - April 9 - 7:21 pm

  I recently bought an Elantra. Suddenly I notice that the horn is incredibly weak. The turn signal sound is almost inaudible and the panic button alarm is only effective if youre 5 feet from the car. I complained to Hyundai and they have given me a real run-around stating nothing but my neighbor has a Limited Elantra and he told me that he knew about the sound problems. I like the car but I never would have bought it if I had known. I traded in a 2009 Camry which was perfect.

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  Ive had my 2012 Elantra for 2 weeks - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By davidh11 - April 8 - 2:02 pm

  Barely a month since I bought my 12 Elantra w/30K mi and so far so good. I hear all the complaints about gas mileage but so far I have no problem averaging combined 33 mpg. which is great for me considering my Pathfinder only got 16/21 mpg. I put on custom rims and a better quality tire which seems to have helped a bit w/ road noise. So far only complaint I really have is the ride is a bit stiff and theres no spare tire. I bought my Elantra for $14k out the door so for the design and features you cant really beat it for the price....Remeber, you cant expect a $14k car to drive like a Mercedes. You get what you pay for, folks. Ill follow up in a few months..

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  2013 elantra bad rear axle - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By rockkem - April 7 - 8:22 am

  they are replacing my rear axle for free. If I had rotated my tires like I should have I wouldnt have found out that my rear axle was bad. I had 1 rear tire with extremely odd wear, took it in and they found my axle was made very badly, had I rotated them like I should have, the wear would have been minimal and almost unnoticable on all 4 tires.

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  Pleasantry surprised! - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By rlfeen - April 2 - 2:50 pm

  Dont believe everything you read. If youre interested in a car, go drive it for yourself - you may just be surprised. I had a 2013 Elantra as a rental for a week and after the week I fell in love. The car is very quiet, VERY smooth (smooth ride and steering) and the overall quality is excellent. I was worried about it being "underpowered" as some reviews have stated however I find the power to be more than adequate (its no Porsche but it has great pick up). Yes the gas mileage isnt the best, but if thats not a huge deal for you, than this car is just fine. If you want good gas mileage, get a tiny car such as a Scion iQ or the even smaller Accent Hyundai offers.