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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  Would not buy again. Looks good-eats gas - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mario - April 24 - 12:10 pm

  Have driven the car 11,000 miles and gas mileage average is 19.9 MPG (for the 11K miles), sticker said 20 City, 30 Hwy. Rust spot by the sunroof, paint starting to peel around stone dings. Carpeting already worn by drivers left foot rest. It is reliable, the new 235 hp engine is fun to drive, except lagging acceleration in passing. Had to replace horn, it had gone dead. Dealer does not keep promises for service. Had to call Hyundai to schedule service by dealer, since service manager would not return calls. Other offerings offer greater value in this price range. Was looking at the AZERA, sharp looking car... but after this experience, will go somewhere else.

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  Part on order for four months - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Gordon Goodman - April 3 - 10:00 am

  I really liked this car until the center console started to drop down and obscure my vision. It turns out it is a defective design. Four months later, my part is still on back order. My dealer and Hyundai Motors are totally helpless. This only reminds me that while the car initially looked good and drove good, in the long run a consumer depends on the dealer and customer service. The dealers excuse is that they are selling so many Hyundais they cant keep up. The consumer affairs people are powerless.

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  Personal Findings - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By B. Molin - March 25 - 10:00 am

  The car has excellent pickup for a 6. The response is good. It is quiet and handles well.

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  stuck on the interstate with a messed up tuscon - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By deborah a hardy - March 23 - 8:34 am

  I purchased a 2016 Tucson in April . this was my all time favorite car, until last week. I drive on the interstate every day and often experience heavy traffic. this day was no exception. I was in stop and go traffic. it was about 90 degrees outside. I took my foot off of the brake and stepped on the accelerator and the car would not go. there were no indicator lights on. I put the car in park and retried and the car would not go. I was in a traffic jam so I put on flashers, called the Hyundai motor assistance and began the wait. the car continued to run not overheating no indicator lights. finally some concerned motorists came to my rescue and pushed me off of the highway, because by this time I was causing a traffic jam. while on the side of the road, the transmission overtemp alarm indicator came on. this was more than an hour after the problem began. I shut down the car. AAA came and he started my car and it was fine. I felt like an idiot. I figured that the dealership would say that I was making it up or that women dont know how to drive. I was on the highway stranded for 3hours and by the way the road side assistance never showed up. they called 5 hours later at my home to ask if I was safe. my car is still at the dealership. they do not have a fix and the service manager was very nice and honest. the big problem for me is that this car is not safe and Hyundai is in denial. Im going to the tv networks as this looks like it fits the criteria of a lemon.

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  Dont be fooled like me!! - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By vwlovanow - March 18 - 1:03 am

  Ive had my Tucson for over 2 years, I bought it with 13K miles on it, only 1 year old. Within the first 3 months of ownership, it had to go into the shop, as the 4WD was kicking into gear while shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. The dealership had for a day, and said they "fixed it", well not so much. Its been in the shop to fix the same issue 4 additional times. Whether its the dealership or the car, Im fed up! Also, this car has no power, NONE! Though I knew it was a 4 Cyl and therefore low power, this car is no power at all. Its embarrassing to drive this thing. This awful vehicle makes me miss my old Dodge Neon, and that to me is sad! My husband has a VW, and there is just no comparison!

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  Well then - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By Kris - March 12 - 5:12 am

  Warning to all those thinking about purchasing a Hyundai Sonata 2011, there have been a large number of recalls because once you hit 85,000 miles+ the engine will fail. I just had it happen to mine. They never sent me a recall report on anything except the break lights. They informed me they are not sure of how long it will take to repair it since theyre not making the engines fast enough. Thankfully, since it was a recall, the Hyundai dealer is paying for the repairs which can cost up to $6,000. They are amazing cars, but the engine failure was a huge disappointment.

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  Hyundai Tucson - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By CarFan1956 - February 23 - 7:36 am

  I bought the Tucson because of Hyundais warranty. I bought the 4-cylinder because I hoped it would save on gas. I was wrong...it gets HORRIBLE mileage. I get 16-19 MPG consistently...which is lousy and not what was advertised. It has 34000 on it now and is falling apart. I take very good care of my vehicles, but it doesnt seem to make a difference with this one. I would not buy a Hyundai again.

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  Great...As Long As You Dont Drive - 2010 Hyundai TUCSON
  By jvanrees - February 21 - 12:47 am

  Hyundai really packs a lot of features for the price, unfortunately they are not packed very well. I get a new rattle every day I drive this car. The dash, door panels, tailgate among other places I have yet to locate. The dealer is unhelpful in fixing all the creaks. In addition, the ride is very, very, firm. On the plus side, I find the seats comfortable and their is plenty of space for our three person family. I bought the Tucson to replace a 2001 VW Passat and sorely miss that car.

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  Wish Id waited... - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By kphillips8 - February 10 - 4:06 am

  Wish Id waited until they got all the bugs out of the new design. Got a 2011 limited w/ sunroof as soon as they came out. Bro-in-law got identical one next day after seeing mine. March 2011, sunroof defective and pass. floorboard soaked! Bro-in-law had same problem. Took them 2wks to fix before got mine back. Bro-in-law took his back 4x before leak stopped! Walked out Sunday and soaked again!(nothing left cracked open). Both of us have had issues with push button starter (he took his in was so bad). During hotter months, my kids burn up in the back with A/C on full blast! Appreciate the mpg but gosh-car is a year old with less than 14k miles on it!!! Anybody else having leak prob?

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  Not worth the Five stars I gave it in 2010 - 2010 Hyundai Veracruz
  By anniebanana2 - February 6 - 5:20 am

  Just read my 1st review of this car which was written shortly after my purchase. NOW: I will never buy a Hyundai again. So many problems and the "warranty" is a crock. The dashboard squeaks (nails on chalkboard squeak) during operation, took it to the local dealer 5 times to fix with no luck. I took it to a dealer 30 minutes away, and though they have reduced the sound, it still occurs when the fan is running cool air. The cruise control resume button only works intermittently. The techs asked me if I pushed the button properly. Seriously?? The dome light panel failed and was replaced. There is now a popping occurring in the front right tire. They say it all checks out fine. Surprise!