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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  2011 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By moodyj0 - September 4 - 9:01 pm

  I have owned Jaguars, Mercedes, and five BMWS. They are all good cars and fun to drive. I did the research on the Genesis and read all the reviews and was convinced this was the car to test drive and give it a try. I drove the car and was completely sold on the car in every way. I bought it and am more than satisfied with the performance, ride, quietness, comfort, roominess and quality. It is all that the other cars are and more and 25k less to buy.

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  Its OK!?!?!?! - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By altima2 - September 4 - 7:48 pm

  I purchased my elantra on 9-3-11. My first impression was the car looked sharp and the price was reasonable. I test drove the elantra and it it seemed ok especially with the high gas mileage. However, after driving it for a long drive, the seats are uncomfortable and there is a lot of road noise. The mpg is 35 which seems to be accurate. If I could do it again, I would not have purchased the elantra. If anyone is looking to buy mine let me know!

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  Great Value so far. - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By 96tahoe - September 4 - 6:12 am

  Overall the car is great. Im commenting on those people crying over not getting 40mpg. Umm...drive more hwy miles and your sure to get 40mpg or more. Your dash board says "Avg." That means the average gas mileage your getting. So if your getting less, your probably making too many trips from your house to mcdonalds. Get this car it looks great and so far the reliability is good.

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  Bluetooth doesnt work. MPG is not very good. - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By kgibson0 - September 2 - 10:44 pm

  I have the 2012 preferred package. Drove 5 hours to get one with the blue tooth on the steering wheel. It works less than 50% of the time. If I can get it to connect a make a call, the very next minute a call coming in wont go through the bluetooth. When I get out of the car, it wont disconnect and I cant answer my phone. Even if I am far away from the car, it wont disconnect. It wont work for days and then suddenly a call will come in on the bluetooth. I got it for safety and it turns out it is just the opposite. I had a 2008 Elantra that I sold. I always got 33 MPG mixed hwy and city and not much more on the highway. I usually drive fast. But this Elantra is much lower.

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  A great find - 2012 Hyundai Genesis
  By pension - September 2 - 3:17 pm

  Only have it three days. Great deal, traded 2009 MB E350. 28mpg on first long trip. Love buying regular vs premium. Connected Blackberry to bluetooth in 60 seconds, took days with MB. iPad cable/interface awesome, even names songs in medley! Lexicon better thsn Harmon Kardon. Acceleration is smooth and fast. Tight car great fit and finish.

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  Undercoating of the Chasis - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By revo2 - September 1 - 7:49 pm

  Just bought the 2012 GL Elantra and I really love this car. But unknown to a lot of people who shared their excellent reviews is what lurks underneath the car. I discovered recently that some part of the chassis behind the tires have coating and some dont have any as you can see the painted metal part. SISSLEY DEALERSHIP called it gravel and sand protection and to my surprise not an undercoating to protect the cars chassis. Hyundai headoffice already gave them the GO signal to have it done but they did not bec of the following reasons: 1. They checked the Elantras in their dealership and have the same thing 2. Undercoating might affect the ABS & brake lining Check your Elantras

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  FLIMSY DIRT MAGNET - 2010 Hyundai Accent
  By buggycrazy - August 29 - 10:27 pm

  Falling apart in 7,000 miles, side mirror cover bumped when shoveling snow, fell off, numerous dings in plastic bumper and interior, seats do not move or fold down enough, windshield cracked at 7,000, flat windows catch all kinds of crud constantly, too low of clearance, stupid shield interferes with oil change, semi sunk windshield catches all kinds of crud and is prone to having the drain holes freeze up then there is a lake in the window, with the wipers frozen into it. The rear tail light assembly is placed where it just begs to be hit - and so it has! Charger will not charge when key is off so is useless to charge my equipment, but it is safe to leave it out on the street with the keys in it and unlocked-no one will steal it! I bought this thing to save money, and that was a mistake, since it is too fragile for normal use I will not fix anything anymore and will have to save money by not washing it, all that dirt camouflages all the other stuff that is breaking up and falling apart.

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  yay i bought a car... - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By carchris07 - August 27 - 11:37 pm

  Got my Sonota because of consumer reviews saying how much they all loved there car. Not the case with me. Took it off the lot and cerpintene belt immediatley started squiling, something not right with ignition(car hesitates),speakers started ratelling and check engine light came on. Repaired the cerpentine belt twice only for the d*mn thing to start squeling again. Decided to deal with it till driving to work one morning and com sensor went (took hyundai 3 days to figure out). 29 day mark of ownership, had the car taken to the dealership. oh ya, was very comfortable to drive, an only 60,000 miles.

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  Best car for any age! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By mylefttoe808 - August 27 - 1:08 pm

  I left my Lexus is250 to my mom when i moved and she got me an azera. At first it was a bit of a downer. However this car is a much better fit now that im a father. Great family car and preformance is awesome. I understand the complaint about ride comfort. Get different tires. Thats all. Sumitomo HTR Z III are cheap and amazing tires. you can get them for under 500 bucks for all 4. The Azera is my favorite car overall.

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  4 Year Review - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By ccbloome61 - August 23 - 7:25 pm

  My 2007 Sonata has just turned 4 years old in July of 2011. When it was new I did have a wheel balance problem which was fixed by the dealer at no charge. The battery started leaking acid this summer and I replaced it. Still on the original Michellins and have done no other repairs as of yet. Still looks like new and drives like new. I have 40,000 miles on it now. Really have enjoyed it. Powder White Pearl and I had the windows tinted.