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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  Warranty Goes - BEWARE - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By RJ Seevers - August 21 - 12:32 am

  Purchased new the same year as our Honda Civic. Have put 74k miles in 5- years on Sonata, double that mileage on the Civic. Sonata feels & drive like the older care. Warranty is over on both. Civic runs like top. But, Sonata always has Engine Warning lights on. Handles & seat belts are breaking, also fixed prior under warranty. Costs building like crazy on Sonata. ESC has issues, dangerous loss of power occurs often. Was repaired both in and out of warranty. Both of us wish we would have gone with a Honda Accord instead. Sonata is cheaper. I got what I paid for.

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  Expensive to maintain - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By Nichols - August 19 - 12:08 pm

  Caliber stuck at 9,000 miles whole new break job on rear, then front pads fell apart at 15,000 not covered. front interior handles cut passenger had replaced prior to recall. flush trans fluid expensive due to special fluid. alternator went out at 60 thousand, very expensive to replace, labor cost will kill you. Timing belt goes out around 60 thousand. Be prepared for tune up. Have your check book ready if you by a used 2003, youll need it for repair cost. Paint flakes off exterior door handles.

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  Value? - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By lucyd - August 11 - 7:55 pm

  Bought this car new last year. Performance and ride so poor we wanted to trade it off after one long miserable year. Car rides rough and loud, poor mileage and issues with the locks and electrical problems. Value is less than 1/2 what we paid after one year. We have taken excellent care and maintenance. I would NOT recommend this product to anyone. I have made contact with the dealership but little response to issues. "if the car engine light is not on its ok". I dont think so. Value, there is NOT any in this car.

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  1 year 100,000 mile warranty - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By GERALD PARRY - July 20 - 5:54 pm

  I bought a 2008 Hyundai elantra a couple years ago. I thought the car was great at first and paid an extra couple grand for the 10 year warranty and even spent the extra for lo jack and sealant to protect my cars finish for 5 years. That right there doesnt say much for Hyundai interior or exterior if they are only giving a 5 year warranty. They would not cover suntan lotion eating through my paint because it was on my bumper. My transmission fluid turned brown after just 13k. Thats normal they said. My battery has a dead cell after just 17k (26 months) this was not covered even though it is not a wear and rear item. Who ever heard of a 1 year warranty on a batter especially for a new car?

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  Unimpressive, uncomfortable, unkeepable - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Cindy - July 5 - 2:04 pm

  Bought this Hyundai when gas prices were very high and reviews sounded good.Best mileage we got was 31 mpg for highway and around 27 mpg overall. The water leaks into trunk upon opening it after rain, the hood pops open by itself and the leg room in back is minimal and overall the seats are cheap and uncomfortable. I couldnt even sit in them after I had a back problem and had to use our 2000 Honda Accord instead. Trading this in for a 2007 Accord, which is a bigger car that gets the same mileage, has nicer upholstery and will get me somewhere without hurting my back and providing my back seat passengers with lots of leg room.

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  Will never buy again - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By amanda - June 28 - 10:56 pm

  I bought this car in 2007 it has already left me stranded twice. I have had the sensor that runs the whole car replaced twice within the first 12 months the car interior pint started to peel and bubble Hyundai also wanted to make me pay part of the tow when my car quit working on me in the middle of the highway.

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  Id look at a Sonata - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By 2007SonataLover - June 5 - 12:43 am

  I own a Sonata. Mine went in to the shop for a recall and I got a 2008 Azera with 20k miles on the odo. It rattles like crazy and you hear the back end. The transmission is terrible and doesnt shift right. There is cheap plastic and door handles are plastic. My Sonata is so much nicer and roomier. I dont understand. Was looking forward to driving this car. Like Hyundai, but I would look at a Sonata. Mine has twice the miles and no rattles. Oh, turned the radio up so I couldnt hear the rattles and the Infinity radio is pretty bad too. This one pulls to the right, maybe its been wrecked since its a loaner car?

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  2009 Carpet dont fit cut to short - 2009 Hyundai Elantra
  By Carpet dont fit - May 22 - 4:04 pm

  Carpet does not fit replaced 2 wks after new still dont fit & took back had them reorder another & still dont fit. Waiting for someone higher up to see what more can be done. Pretty bad their own parts dont fit their cars. Checked neighbors 2009 as well & same problem. The carpet is supposed to be tucked up under the console & stay under it. Engine replaced at 7,000 miles. Never got good gas mileage & still dont. Tires are horrible & car has poor traction - horrible in snow & rain. Have another Hyundai as well & love that one & fuel is better than advert. This one though leaves much to be desired & now I dont trust it. Had some rattle issues as well.

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  Sunroof on 2008 Sonata - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Mark - April 9 - 8:26 am

  Purchased my 2008 Sonata GLS new in March, 2008. Since Day 1 there has been a rattle in the slider of the sunroof. Dealership 1 had car for one week in July,2008 to fix problem.... still rattled. Took it back, was ignored! Took vehicle to Dealership 2 and they got permission to re-do the sunroof this past January. They found clips were missing in sunroof. Problem still exists! Am now awaiting the same Dist. Mgr. who saw car in June of 2008. After taking car to three dealers like Hyundai asked, I am fed up with all the time spent taking car to dealers. Poor communications between dealerships and Hyundai. Will not recommend Hyundai ever to anyone!

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  Not so into this car - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By zygereyez - March 4 - 9:08 pm

  I have had this car for a year now. When I bought this car it had 50 miles on it. I dont really like it much though. To me its noisy when I drive. The alignment screwed up a few months after owning it. The dealership gave me crap when I took it in for the warranty to get my car fixed. My door handle on the outside of the car sticks and makes the door stay open. It sucks in the snow. The beak system sucks. I lightly touch them in the snow. I dont feel safe with the breaking system. It takes me 3 times to get it in reverse cuz it sticks. Theres a few more things wrong with it and it only has close to 28k miles on it.