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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  22,000 miles of smooth, quiet trouble free driving - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By Yomps - October 25 - 5:10 pm

  Love this car. Smooth, quiet, tons of room, great gas mileage, not one problem with anything. Package with back up camera, XM, power drivers seat, automatic headlights and the homelink auto dimming mirror made the base model a great commuter and road trip car. With very little effort I can get 40+ mpg on the highway and for a car this size thats amazing. The only thing I dont like is the buzz of GDI engine when its cold and no spare tire included (I bought one with the jack for $200). $21,500 out the door with 0% financing made it the perfect new car.

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  Very reliable - 1995 Hyundai Elantra
  By Reliable - October 25 - 5:00 pm

  Never thought Id drive a Hyundai. Wife bought new before we married. Been the most reliable car Ive owned in 25 yrs, including Hondas, etc. Only major issue has been replacing the front wheel bearings 3 times (twice under warrenty). Has the usual list of TSBs issues on the transmission but it has not broken. Besides the hard shifting and occasional engine hesitations, been a great car.

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  Warranty Is Worthless - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By MrPitt - October 25 - 10:00 am

  I had a problem at 3200 miles resulting in excessive tire wear. The dealer refused to check the alignment. I took it to a local tire dealer who showed me feathering on all four tires. I payed for an alignment and called Hyundai USA the next day. Hyundai promised to reimburse me for the alignment. In the interim Michelin offered to replace all four tires for 30% of retail. Hyundai USA promised to investigate the tire wear. Two months later Hyundai refused to pay for the alignment or tires. Dont buy this car if you are counting on the warranty being a positive feature.

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  Best Bet for a get-a-bout - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By mrs613 - October 25 - 10:00 am

  This car is a champ! Quality is amazing for the price. Did fantastic in a drivers side t-bone crash...no injuries (except my anger of a 4 month old car being hit!) Gas mileage over 30mpg running the a/c. I have hauled bedroom furniture, an adult with a broken leg and been on serious shopping excursions...all seperate occassions, yet plenty of extra room.

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  ELANTRA GT - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By quietjohn1 - October 25 - 10:00 am

  Overall a neat car. my only complaint so far are the sweaty leather seats, would rather have cloth. As to horsepower, the specs say 140 HP. If this engine has 140HP, they must be Shetland ponies. My 1995 ford contour with a 2.0 litre 4 cyl. (122hp), and my 1995 ford probe with a 2.0 litre 4 cyl. (118hp)both have a lot more power than this one. The car does handle nicely and the hatchback is what I wanted. Just wish it really had 140HP.

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  Love the car. - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Bone head - October 25 - 10:00 am

  All I can say is its a great car and would tell anybody to buy one..Love the car.

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  Best car I have ever owned - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Love My Genesis - October 25 - 8:46 am

  I had followed this car ever since it was revealed in Detriot Show. The only thing I can say is this is the best car Ive ever owned. I was an advent Nissan car owner, but when I test drove the Genesis, I was sold. For what you get at the price, you cant beat it. A gentleman in a BMW 7- series stopped me in the parking lot to ask me what kind of car is that, I proudly said "The Genesis"

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  Great all around car - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By MontanaHyundai - October 25 - 1:33 am

  This car is great! Fun to drive, fast, sporty, and great on the gas. The only complaints I have are that the car does not have cruise control and the paint really stinks. We have a car port that the cats like to get up into the rafters on. When they jump out onto the car it scratches the paint so I have to figure out a way to keep them out of the car port or keep them from jumping on my car.

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  Sick of visiting the mechanic! - 2013 Hyundai TUCSON
  By michelle_3150 - October 24 - 5:26 pm

  I bought my Tucson in November 2013, a month after I had purchased it my problem started...I had not even reached my first oil change and my check engine light was on! I took it to the dealership I bought it from and they hooked it up to their fancy computer and diagnosed the check engine light had came on due to a cylinder misfire. They told me that they would have to do a computer update and that would fix the problem. Long story short I have been back to the dealership on average once a week for the same check engine light to be turned off. I have had a total of 4 computer updates, they have changed my spark plugs and coils two times and I still have the issue! Its been 9 month now!

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  An excellent car so far - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By parkerjnc - October 24 - 8:19 am

  Purchased this 2011 2.0t several months ago. It now has 50k miles. It is quiet and performs very well, being fun to drive while also getting 30+ mpg. The interior quality of materials are much better than expected for a car at this price point. Will have to see how it holds up over time, but so far very impressed.