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 Value - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By whatitis101 - August 23 - 12:27 pm

  Just got a 2012 Elantra limited, and this is a great value. I am 6.5 and my wife 5.10 and we have plenty of room, and can also put 2 adults in the back. I looked at all the cars in this size and mileage range, and for the comfort and style we chose the Elantra. So far the only thing I dont care for is the road noise and I would like to see at least an 18 gal fuel tank in it. For what I paid, gas mileage, the great warranty, and good looks, its was a good buy. We keep cars until nothing is left, so lets see how it holds up after 15 years.

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  Almost Perfect - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By akaur - August 22 - 9:18 am

  Very impressed with this car. No other hatchbacks come close to the new Accent with regards to fuel economy and warranty. Responsive handling and enough pep that I feel confident entering the freeways. The interior is roomy and quiet, the A/C works great on even the lowest two settings, and thats saying a lot in Phoenix summer heat! I only averaged 34 MPG until I filled up at Chevron, then my MPG jumped to 36-37 mixed and 41 highway. Im not a schill for Chevron and dont work for them, but thats the only gas Ill use now.

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  i couldnt be more happy - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By andydemarcho - August 18 - 2:18 am

  Ive been driving my Hyundai Elantra 2005 with 80,000miles on it. still feels like new! great value for great car.

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  Hyundai is Big Time - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By kevperro2 - August 17 - 4:31 pm

  Ive owned three Hyundai cars to this point (this is my 3rd) and they just keep getting better. They used to be mainly a value play. At this point the Elantra is better than anything in its class in most ways. I dont have enough data on the fuel economy yet but Id expect worse in-town than my 2008 Accent due to the weight/rolling resistance. On the first tank Im in the low 30 (33mpg) with all short trips and around town. The Accent 5-spd gave me 32-33 under the same circumstances and Ive babied the Elantra due to it being new. On the highway Id expect the Elantra to do better due to low wind resistance and taller gearing. Ill update when I get more fuel economy data.

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  SUPRISE DISCOVERY - 2012 Hyundai Genesis
  By oofgosh - August 16 - 9:37 am

  What a find. We still cant beleive its a Hyundai. Read tons of reviews and we drove several different model cars. After buying Honda for more than 20 years, we found we needed a change.....a better one. We found it in Hyundai. The reviews were great. We purchased a Genesis at Glendora Hyundai. Great experience with the dealership. We love our new car. Thank you Glendora Hyundai and Thank you Hyundai for a beautiful car.

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  2012 Hyundai Accent GLS Automatic Experience - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By fssrk1 - August 13 - 6:42 pm

  I recently purchased a 2012 Hyundai Accent sedan with the premium package and automatic transmission. My last car was a 2003 Honda Civic DX sedan with automatic transmission. An extremely reliable car and averaged about 28-32 mpg in the city. Just a note certain color Accent are made in Pusan Korea such as the Clearwater blue color on my car. There should be no difference in quality but very minor difference on parts such as Hankook tires versus an American brand. The car rides smoothly in Eco mode but a little slow to accelerate. My gas mileage was 27 mpg on first refuel but there is a 600 mile engine wear in period. Overall happy with the car and bought it at invoice price $16,900.

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  Unbelievable Car - 2011 Hyundai Equus
  By tgxx - August 12 - 6:02 pm

  I smell a rat on these posts,...someone had the gall to rate this car in the 3 star range. This car is truly unbelievable! Let me set the scene,...I walk into the Hyundai show room looking to test drive a few Hyundai products, and out of the corner of my eye I see a gentleman relaxing quite comfortably in the back seat of this beautiful large sedan. Having test driven the Genesis a year ago (not enough headroom for me) I recall thinking, Hmm this is not a Genesis (too big) and begin to investigate this beautiful beast. Within the next 30 min. I completely forget about owning my former dream car (BMW 7 series). No other car on the mkt today surpasses the quality/luxury/value...Period!

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  Pretty good - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By fannibal - August 11 - 12:24 pm

  Bought the car because of the value, safety, and warranty. It has been good so far, but my mileage has bee low, hovering around 21mpg with mixed city and highway driving(my 4 cyl 1.8L manual 1998 corolla had 30mpg with similar commute). I have had the car for more than 3 years now, and had only 2 minor problems which were covered under warranty- drivers side visor came down and didnt go back up. fixed in 1 day. 2nd problem was a ESC controller which was broken- my "ESC off" light was constantly on. this was fixed in about 1 week. my dealer provided a free loaner during this time. I am overall very happy with my car. The problems the car did have were fixed under warranty.

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  a very nice car - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By steven39 - August 10 - 8:32 pm

  just purchased this 2012 elantra gls a few days ago and my initial impressions of the car thus far is wow!!!!!!!!!great exterior design and the interior looks something like a lexus with the 3 tone color combo of beige,silver,and black.

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  The best sedan I have ever owner - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By chinatown - August 9 - 8:21 pm

  I bought this car used, with 23,000 miles on it. We took a 1500 mile trip shortly there after. It averaged 28 mpg. I change the oil every 3000 miles along with other routine maintenance. etc. It now has 130,000 miles on it and recently experienced brake chattering. The pads have been changed several times, but never the rotors. Well as it turns out the rotors were as smooth as a babys a--. Yes, after 130,000 miles, all it needed was pads. Does it show its mileage, but of course. However, if you are considering this model, dont be concerned about advanced miles. This will be the best sedan you will ever buy. Nuff said.