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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  Bit of a dissapointment - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By forbor - September 29 - 7:41 pm

  Heres my story, all true. Love the way the car looks, & performs, but thats where it all falls apart. After about 2 weeks the drivers seat bagan to rock, & squeak, after many trips to the dealer for repairs, it now only rocks. The seat mount plastic cover no longer stays on. Stereo cuts out intermittently over bumps, this problem seemed to correct itself. More steering wheel mounted radio controls wouldve been nice (no tune button). Appx 50k mi. the timing chain tensioner hung up, & valve inbeds into piston, nice! Recall for this ended in 06. Paint thin, & flakes off. Seems like hyundai has a bit to learn about making cars, last one ill buy I think.

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  Truly Awesome - 2012 Hyundai Genesis
  By lwelch1973 - September 29 - 11:54 am

  I previously owned a Mazda RX-8, so I cant really compare these two vehicles, since they are from two different categories. However, after pricing other brands: Audi, Acura, VW, BMW, Infiniti, and Nissan, there were no other vehicles at this price point that offered the style, performance, safety, and technology. To get what comes standard with the Genesis 4.6, I would have had to add several option packages, putting the price of the vehicle at or above $50K. Also, check out everything about a car and research before I buy it. I really went through this car looking for where they used the cheap parts to save money. I couldnt find anything. Very well done Hyundai.

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  FOUND MY CAR - 2012 Hyundai Genesis
  By microboss - September 28 - 6:48 pm

  I traded a Lincoln Town Car 2003, that I owned for 8 years - and I wanted a more stylish car, with the same comfort and ride as my Lincoln Town Car. The 2012 Genesis Sedan comes as close as I could get for the money I wanted to spend. More surprising though is the technology, the get up and go of the v8 is awesome. I love the body design of the car. My grandson loves the car. The interior is smooth, sharp, and the exterior is distinctive. I love the Genesis Wings - to be sure, I am a happy camper. Got my Genesis from San Tan Hyundai, Gilbert Arizona - great buying experience and I got a great deal.

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  solid at 325,000 km - 1993 Hyundai Elantra
  By johnny_bravo - September 24 - 10:33 pm

  I got one of these in 2004 with 275k km on it, automatic transmission. It had one owner prior to me, treated with care. I took this car and drove it from Toronto Ontario to Kelowna British Columbia and back (9000km round trip) - I drove at 120 km p/h the whole way, in the mountains, if there was space before an uphill section I would floor the pedal and put it into 2nd on the uphill passing lanes just to keep it at 80km p/h. I could smell the oil burning, but the car never, ever overheated or broke down. Also drove Toronto to New York 10 times in a year and did not go easy on the car, but it was fine. Other than that it was used for commuting. throttle went and I let it die. GREAT CAR

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  Amazing Car! - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By mlrollin91 - September 24 - 11:55 am

  I absolutely love this car. Gas mileage is amazing on this vehicle. Only car that I have had that comes even close to the EPA rating. The only gripe I have is that when purchasing the Limited Premium Package, the so called 360Watt sound system is not even close to 360Watt. Maybe 200 at most. Replacing speakers and putting in a subwoofer for the lows and the car is perfect. Recommend to everyone.

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  2012 Hyundai Accent: Small Price Big Value - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By talipa2012 - September 21 - 1:47 pm

  I recently was able to purchase a 2012 Hyundai Accent GLS Sedan with the premium package. I have almost put the first 1000 miles on it and overall I am extremely impressed. The Accent is a great combination of fuel economy, driver enjoyment, and build quality that is made even sweeter by falling thousands of dollars below the $20,000 mark. Driving the Accent is a great experience as a daily driver, offering excellent comfort and with 138 horsepower a great amount of confidence in all situations. Compared to the competition the Hyundai Accent has a price that many consumers can live with while getting the magic 40 mpg mark. Id make this choice again given the option.

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  Another Bad Car Decision - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By whblack - September 19 - 11:36 pm

  We traded in our 2006 CR-V because we really didnt need an SUV and were looking for a reliable car with excellent gas mileage. Getting the Elantra was a mistake. After reading the reviews on the Elantra, we thought we were getting a better car. We looked at the Corolla, Civic, and Hybrids. We decided to go with the Elantra because it was not a hybrid, offered really good gas mileage, and promised reliability. The Elantras mileage is not as advertised. After 4 months and over 3000 miles, we are averaging about 23-25 mpg (around 31-34 on the hwy). I dont believe the mpg read-out on the car and dont know what the ECO mode means (on most of the time). Were worried about quality now.

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  Dont buy for gas mileage - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By unclogum - September 17 - 1:13 pm

  I bought it for mileage. The days when manufactures lied to you are suppose to be over. At 3,000 miles power steering went out. Repair time 5 days. While on board computer says 38 MPG the real gas mileage is 31-34 mpg. Six thousand of car now and just did Oregon to Wy. trip taking northern route there and southern back. Cruise control, real gas, nothing got me above 35 mpg. I dont like being lied to so I will not buy another.

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  Horrible Navigation System - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By stellasmom - September 17 - 11:18 am

  Ive been driving my 2011 Elantra now for 9 months. I have a major complaint about the navigation system. It does not follow major highways and fastest routes. It takes you down every country road and very strange routes. Hyundai needs to update the system to better software now. Ive tried using the alternate route option, but that just makes things worse. Also, everytime the car is stopped and I press the gas, both in reverse and forward, the rearend is making a pinging sound. Im not sure what it is yet, it could be the brakes or something in the rearend. One additional problem that I am having is vibration of the engine w/ AC on. The steer wheel vibrates and something under drivers seat.

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  BE AWARE!!! - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By deniserodrigue - September 16 - 8:59 am

  While driving in a 25 mph school zone, my steering wheel locked making it impossible to control my car on a curvy road after having just made a right turn, as I begun to pick up speed, my steering wheel remained in the position placed in order to follow the curve, locking immediately after. My initial reaction was to try unlocking the steering, but it didnt budge I hit about 3 concrete median blocks, before drifting into an uneven field of grass luckily, there was a sewage manhole jolting out from the ground managing to slow down my car before I was able to pull the emergency break. If this wouldve occurred in high traffic, there couldve been several casualties, including my own.