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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  Noisy on all but smoothest surfaces - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By itsme - November 27 - 8:23 am

  The Bad: The tires make a lot of noise, unless you are on very smooth surfaces. 198 hp engine, but feels like much less at lower speeds. The suspension does not feel refined--edmunds must have been testing the car on very smooth roads. But the car sure looks good.

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  Very disappointed with this car - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Stacey B - November 27 - 1:38 am

  Lets start with the good.... The style and the look of this car is very nice and eye pleasing. The features this car offers with the Limited and the ultimate package Is great. The two tone interior is appealing to all who see it and the seats are very comfortable. I love the heat/cooled seats in front and the heated seats in the back. The gas mileage has been good to, better than I expected. The only little thing is the Remote start through Blue Link... When starting it the heated seats dont come on, and the flashers continually flash until you get in car or it shuts off after the 10 mins. This is very annoying...I have had my neighbors call me saying something is wrong with your car, stores, work and restaurants ask who owns that vehicle with the flashing lights. This causes more attention to your vehicle when its running with no one In it. This can cause more ease for someone to find your empty car and try and steal it. Not smart on Blue Links part. This is a feature that cost you $200 a year because you have to pay for the Connected Care package to get the Remote Start, which both cost you $99 each per year. Now, I love the fact that you can lock your doors, start your car and so on via satellite, however the attention that the lights bring to your vehicle is not good and makes me not want to pay for this feature yearly. Again money taken away from Blue Link. Many people have been complaining about this for a long time and they wont change it. :( Now the bad..... I have 4000 miles on this car and already have had it in the shop 5 times! Ive had problems with the car shaking and vibrating over 55 miles per hour, tires never staying balanced, transmission hesitation and lag and absolutely NO kick down power. I still have problems daily but so tired of bringing it back weekly. No pickup and or kick down in "Eco" & "Normal" modes.... When at HWY speeds when you need to step on the gas for quick acceleration good luck with that as there is massive hesitation (RPMs jump up to 5/6 before the car even begins to start to move which is about a 5 second delay) and no speed pick up. Ive noticed that if I want a pick up I have to switch to the "Sport" mode. When you are in a quick decision moment you dont have time to think of switching it and this is Very dangerous. The jerking and lack of power when taking off from a stop is very frustrating. When slowing down to a stop sometimes the car seems like its going to die as the RPMs flutter and car Boggs down. I had it to dealer and the say its because the dual transmission is staying in second gear and thats normal. Well if thats the case then when Im at a stop light for a minute and I take off it stays in second and never shifts to 1st... Dos that sound normal to you? The vibration at higher speeds is horrible . Had tires rotated and balanced 2 times already and it till has not fixed the problem. Dealership doesnt seem to find t to be that big of a deal. When its your car and you drive it daily...you know when sometime has changed and or not running right. Since day 1 when putting car in reverse and then to drive, there is a clunking popping sound from the back of car after it hits about 20 mph. Had that looked at 3 times and they cant figure it out. Its odd because the car has to be shut off for at least 20 mins (each time you drive it) for this to happen.. The said the last time I brought it in, they had another new one on the lot and it did the same thing.... Well thats is not true, as I drove 2 other new ones and they do NOT do it. So not sue what they are talking about. Overall I regret buying this car, and the money I spent on it I should be excited to get it and drive it everyday, but sadly I am not. I was on the fence buying this car in the first place, but the one I test drove had no issues and the one they ordered for me was terrible after a few days of driving it. I have bought many many cars in my life and this has Ben far on the crap list along with the new Fusion I bought when they first came out! If I knew then what I know now, well lets say I wouldnt be writing this review.

• 

  Terrible ride - 2009 Hyundai Genesis
  By Don - November 15 - 9:53 am

  At first glance it looks like a lot for the money but on closer inspection the interior is cheaply constructed, you cannot transfer the phone book from your cell phone and the seats have no real lateral support. But all of this pales in the face of the terrible suspension. The ride is rough and jittery with a tendency towards porpoising on almost all surfaces, even those that appear to be smooth and or recently paved. I would test drive the heck out of a potential purchase and if you experience the slightest bit of what I have described, pass on it and look at something else. No other car that I have driven in recent years, of any price point, has these awful ride characteristics.

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  Not what I expected. - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By schwabie - November 10 - 10:00 am

  I have not even had my car a year and it is in the shop at least once every 2 months. I am very disappointed that I made my first big investment on my elantra!

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  In need of good customer appreciation!! - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By MichaelinDetroit - November 4 - 2:00 am

  Just because it is affordable doesnt mean the customer is always wrong! I have had a problem with it idling high, especially inbetween shifts, i have heard 3 different stories. I should have seen it when i test drove it, then i was told it was the throttle body which they fixed because the BBB was on their case, and then i was told i wouldnt have seen it when i tested because the computer changes the engine based on your driving. Which is a horrible idea that I have never heard of. Hyundai treated me like an idiot and they wanted no part in helping me. Also my fog light is not water tight and caused it to short out!

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  good for first car out of college - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By Erica - October 23 - 1:55 pm

  I bought this car when it was 2 years old. It had 30,000 miles on it. when I use standard leather cleaner on it the brown comes off the leather. The paint job could be better. It rusts easily. I have had a stop lamp switch replaced twice on it. Both sun visor have busted and needed to be replaced. at 116,000 miles the crank shaft busted into 2 parts and needed to be replaced. This car goes through tires very quickly. The way the tires sit on the car makes them wear down. Overall not the best car to buy. I think this company makes low quality cars. I will try to go with a Ford or Toyota next time.

• 

  Disappointed - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By jones1009 - October 22 - 10:56 pm

  Purchased the vehicle two months ago and have put on 10K miles. We are disappointed greatly in the advertised mpg, should avg 26, we currently get under 20 100% highway which is a decrease from mpg at 5K. We also recently test drove a 4 cyl Mazda 3 and found that it had more pick up and smoother transmission than the Tucson. For others comparing SUVs to this vehicle, you may prefer this to a larger SUV, but overall I am disappointed in the engine performance and handling. Does have some nice interior features and shorter length is good for parking in crowded lots. Based on other feedback and reviews, I believe there is an inconsistency in the manufacturing of this vehicle.

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  I like the car but am disappointed in the mileage - 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
  By bberszoner - October 14 - 2:34 pm

  I have had the car for a couple of weeks and and like lots of things, but a few negatives stand out: (1) the review of the car say the auto transmission is a little lackluster - that is true; (2) the stated mileage is 28/39, but Im getting 26 with a fair bit of highway driving, so I no longer believe its possible. What else isnt true?

• 

  transmission update - 2001 Hyundai XG300
  By m. wolf - September 10 - 7:36 am

  In my 6/6/05 review, I mentioned the transmission was shuddering sometimes when it shifted. After seeing some others that had the same problem, I took it to the dealer and asked about a possible faulty trans sensor. The dealership called me 4 hrs later and said I need a new transmission because it has a bad torque converter(?)! My car only has 32,000 miles on it, and I just bought it in 2/2005. But, the 5yr/60,000 mi warranty is still good until 3/06/2006 (and it did transfer), that was a close one! I still like the car but Im not quite as confident about it getting me where I need to go - safely.

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  squeaky noise - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By sammy13 - September 8 - 7:00 pm

  everytime i turn to the right or the left side my car makes a squeaky noise. Sometimes it can be really loud. The dealer cant find out whats wrong with it.