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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  Hot in Arizona - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By John - June 26 - 6:13 pm

  Brought it used in 2004. Former owner didnt take good care of it. Local Hyundai dealer fixed all problems with no hassles. Great car so far after putting on 11,000 miles. Love how it drives.

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  so far so good - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By kjb - June 26 - 5:23 pm

  We just purchased the car, we upgraded from a 4cyl. vehicle and we are still adjusting to the additional fuel costs, but not bad. We love everything about the car, I would appreciate a better arm rest in the front and the cd player when switching to another disc doesnt always start on track one. I was slightly concerned about my image if caught driving a Hyundai, but now after 3 weeks I think it is the smartest buy I ever made and know it is going to be a big seller, The only other car that compared in comfort and a smooth ride was the Lexus rx, I drove them all! The Tucson is a great ride.

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  love my santa fe - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rhinesstonegal - June 26 - 3:43 pm

  This is my 3rd Hyundai and my favorite so far. I had a Sonata and a GLS 350. I have had 3 Volvos, 3 BMWs and a Porsche Boxster and frankly for the money, its an excellent car. I have all the options in high end cars. I saw someone complain about their service but I have had wonderful service. Twice they have fixed things for free that would not have been covered under warranty. As long as all goes well with this car, I will probably buy another.

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  The Small Car of the Future - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Don - June 26 - 8:51 am

  Originally I was looking at A Toyota Prius, because of the mileage. However they were out of my price range. I started looking at the Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Carrolla, and Nissan Sentra (No KIAs, dont like their styling). Other Brand cars left out due to mileage ratings.. After looking, and driving these cars, I settled on A 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited for its styling, mileage ratings, smooth ride, and good interior setup. The car has a leather interior which is very comfortable. The setup of the interior is very nice, with all the controls within easy reach. The second day we had the car, we headed out on a small trip (265 miles round trip). The ride was smooth, except my wife said the front passenger seat had too much vibration to it (I will have this looked at by the Dealership). I felt very comfortable during the ride to and from our destination. The mileage was great. I averaged 44.5 MPG going to our destination, and then with driving around the Wildlife refuge (start and stop many times), we ended up for the whole trip with a combined mileage average of 42.3 MPG. I have repeated these numbers time after time going to and from work (30 miles each way. I travel about 24 miles on the freeway, and 6 miles in city. They had a great price, and the dealership was willing to come down substantially on the price. I found this very good, since their main concentration was selling their prior years stock of 2016’s. The experience with the salesman was great (His name is Woody – Streetsboro, Ohio). I would definitely buy a car from him again. I will end this by saying I look forward to getting in this car and driving to work every day.

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  2005 Hyundai Tucson Owner - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By rgc - June 26 - 3:46 am

  Have driven the vehicle over 6,000 miles since purchase. No problems of any type have been observed. Good acceleration, traction and handling characteristics. Fuel economy, approximately 20 MPG average, is within the lower portion of the published range.

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  DONT BUY HYUNDAI :( - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By BJ Vasquez - June 25 - 11:30 pm

  Ive had it in 3 time on my electric lock, it makes a screeching noise and until THEY hear it they wont fix it. You have a warrant on it but they will not fix it. Plus the transmission is slipping when you are at a stop sign it acts like it cant get up to go and you have to push the gas pedal really hard so you want get hit. Then one morning at home I was backing out of my drive way and put it in drive and it would not go, it took like 5 minutes before it would move I took it to Bob Howard in OKC and they keep all day and said cant get it to do it. So bring it back and leave it a few days, I am scare to drive it. I feel like because Iam a older woman and a widow they are not listen to me. So dont buy at Bob Howard in OKC.The transmission is terrible it shifts like it was a old stick car, it has something called a double clutch that cannot be fixed, They reset it back to the factory settings, and said that all they can do. THe door locks still has the screeching noise, they put on new locks but it still does it. So when I pick it up they said they could do no more. Plus when I bought it he let on that I could get cheaper interest if I took this $1400.00 play that protects the inside and out, which by the way consists of 5 bottles of stuff for you to use on it. When I try to cancel it they make it clear it cannot be cancel. So rip off as usual, so that adds on to the cost which you will never see. So my question is can they be sued and is anyone suing them and getting anywhere. I truely afraid to drive this car. How about some help. BJ

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  Keeps on Going - 1996 Hyundai Elantra
  By theJackal99 - June 25 - 6:34 pm

  I have over 180,000 on my 1996 Elantra and it just keeps on going. Ive never had to do any major work on it. The paint and exhaust system on the car, however, could use some improvements. Very easy to scratch. The interior could be improved. But again, mechinacally it is awsome.

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  XL 300 - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By lawrence5182 - June 25 - 10:00 am

  HAVE HAD CAR FOR 20,000 MILES WITH NO PROBLEMS. NONE OF THS SUPPOSED NEGATIVES PURPORTED BY EDMUNDS IN THEIR REVIEWS. PREVIOUS THREE CARS WERE CAMRYS. FIRST TWO WERE GREAT-LAST IS A DOG. GLAD I CHOSE THE HYUNDAI OVER ANOTHER CAMRY!!

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  Great car at a great price - 2002 Hyundai XG350
  By Not easy - June 25 - 10:00 am

  I saw this car on the road and said thats the one for me. Exterior style is excelent except for the tail lights, a little more sport is needed. Interior is everything I could want in location, ergonomics, and style. Lots of pep in the engine. When test driving the day I purchased it, I requested that 3 average size people take the ride. We put on the AC to burden the engine and drove off. NO PROBLEM! The car performed like a champ. True European quality at an affordable price. Make your deal on the last day of the month, in the afternoon and take a car in stock. MSRP with extras was $27,777. I paid $22,000.

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  Sonata - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Paddy - June 25 - 10:00 am

  I only have 1000 miles but I love it. I have the V6 and power moon roof options.The car handles great and I get a lot of compliments on the looks.