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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  The Start of Something Great - 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
  By Paul Kim - April 12 - 9:40 am

  I think its safe to say I found the car of my dreams, although there are a few things about the car that arent perfect. Lets start with the power of this car: its an absolute beast when you push it around. This is one massive V6 that even trumps the brand new Camaros and competes with cars that cost twice as much and it uses regular fuel to power it yet is smooth, comfortable and reasonably quiet when cruising on a freeway. The styling gets looks from everyone around it and many people who owns G37s and 335is are astonished at the flowing H logo that is attached to it. If you are looking for a sports car that doesnt skimp on features for less than $30k, do NOT count this car out.

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  Safety issue-car does not accelerate after stoppin - 2016 Hyundai TUCSON
  By effecticommaz - April 11 - 10:49 pm

  Brand new Hyundai Tucson purchased February 2016. Weather turned hot in June. Car would not accelerate at all after stopping at red lights. Foot on accelerator all the way to the floor. Tachometer reving but car not going. Happened numerous times. Car brought in June 29 and kept by dealer at manufacturers request. Finally contacted by corporate. They state it is a "software"issue in the dual clutch transmission and they now have a fix. Turbo engine has significant lag even for a Turbo. They are still selling 2016 Tucson 1.6 turbos and now 2017 although the fix has not yet been validated and is not ready to install. Those cars at the dealers still have the faulty transmissions and are not safe to drive. If stuck at a light, stop sign, making a left turn, or intersection you run the risk of being hit and having a catastrophic accident because your car esssentially is not in gear and cannot accelerate forward. You are a sitting duck!

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  Great Car Great Price Great Ride - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Patty Gee - April 11 - 5:20 pm

  It has a smooth ride and has great pick up with lots of room , front and back.

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  A great car!!! - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Rob - April 10 - 8:56 pm

  I just bought my 3-door Accent GT and only have 1000 miles on it. But I love it already. I opted for the automatic and Im glad I did. It shifts well and still has alot of pep. It would be nice to have a 2.0 with the added horsepower. But I bought the car for the MPG, warranty, and price. On all accounts Im not disapointed and I know Im going to trade it in for another Hundai.

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  Disappointing Accent - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By bumble_bee82486 - April 10 - 5:32 pm

  I lost all respect for Hyundai with the purchase of the Accent. Its cramped, choppy ride, and even refuses to start on too many occasions. The service at Hyudndai is almost as bad, they dont believe it does these things so wont attempt to fix them. I would buy a used car over a new Accent

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  Whats not to like? - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By herr_howard - April 9 - 10:22 pm

  All in all, Im 16 months and 16K miles in. This car makes me smile every time I drive it. Engine was a little coarse at first and transmission seemed a little balky at first (no biggies, though) but latest engine/transmission flash makes things smooth as buttah! My only regret is that I ddint get one w/Nav but there are some after market kits coming available now.

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  Great savings but its been troublesome - 2001 Hyundai Sonata
  By SgtGary - April 9 - 9:06 pm

  A beautiful and fun car with a pretty good design and the warranty - awesome. But Ive used the warranty way too many times. Its been in the shop no less than 10 times: replaced sensors 3 times, replaced dead battery twice, fixed airbag sensors twice, fixed window motors three times, and of course they found a multitude of problems during the 30K mileage tune-up. I like this car, but I wish it was more reliable!

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  Great car for a teenager! - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Michal - April 9 - 5:53 pm

  I have this car almost for a year and its perfect for me! Its the best car that you can get as a teenager ! Over the year car didnt broke once, only oil change and thats it ! Worth the price !

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  impressions after 4 months - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By bigmutt - April 9 - 12:54 pm

  No problems encountered so far the only negative thing for me personally is the reputation these Korean cars have.

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  Not good on gas - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By yhterodriguez - April 9 - 2:42 am

  The car is great . I rented an older Sonata and feel in love and decided to purchase my own. I live in NYC, which means if deals with heavy traffic. I average about 23mpg. I am really disappointed with that. Might as well get an SUV, with more space and use up the same amount of gas.