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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  This car is junk! - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By ssx_girl - January 24 - 3:17 pm

  We bought this car BRAND NEW with 8 miles on it. I liked the look of the outside, and my brother had bought a 99 Accent & had no problems with it. This car has been NOTHING but one problem after another. We have had the speedometer break once a year, and it has been totally replaced once. It broke again yesterday, and we have to have it fixed again this week. The transmission was replaced before the car was 4 years old, and now that it is almost 5 years old it is going in again for problems! I WOULD and WILL *never* purchase another Hyundai as long as I live. Im lucky I paid an extra $1500 for the extended warranty beyond their 100,000 mile deal they have. It has saved our pocket books!

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  An excellent car - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By RCFLYER - January 24 - 6:50 am

  We wanted to downsize from a Ford Escape, without giving up too much room, and the Elantra touring has turned out to be an excellent choice. Looks like they took all of the good features of all the other look alikes on the market and put into this model. Its got just enough more room in it than the competition to be noticeable, and comes standard with all the features we wanted. So far were getting about 30 mpg in mixed driving. We bought a Mazda 3 5dr last year and between the two, the Mazdas a little more fun to drive - better handling and power, but the Hyundai is more comfortable on a long trip.

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  I enjoy my car and recommend it! - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By CCNY Graduate - January 24 - 2:00 am

  Features, such as leather seats, power win/dr, sunroof and a/c, make this car fun to drive. Other features, like rear seats that fold down flat, heated side mirrors, rear defogger, front and side airbags, cruise control and child- locks, make this car responsible and mature. I have not had to use the toll free roadside assistance number for any malfunctions. The bad. The Elantras fuel mileage is really: city 25mpg, highway 30mpg. Im used to a Toyota Tercel @ 35 mpg and 44mpg. Even with 140 horse power, Elantras engine doesnt accelerate quickly. Drive fast it does, accelerating could be better.

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  Great value and Great Vehicle - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By Jackson4 - January 24 - 2:00 am

  We did entensive research on four vehicles and this one out shined all of them overall. It by far was the best value and has been a pleasure to own. I would recommend it to anyone.

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  Best Decision for the price - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Hasik - January 24 - 1:18 am

  This was my best choice of 2004. I drove a Volvo940 Turbo before. That car was a money and gas eater. Also very noisy to drive. Before buying this Hyundai, I considered the Accord but went with theHyundai for the price and options. My wife and I, we are very satisfied so far. Everything about the car including dealer service is awesome. Especially those functions such as auto diminishing room mirror, heated mirror, smart climate control, and manual shift make me feel like riding luxury car.

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  Poor gas mileage - 2011 Hyundai TUCSON
  By hotrod5 - January 24 - 1:07 am

  I considered this vehicle initially because it was rated with 27/32 mpg. Not even close. I now notice it is rated 20/27 mpg. Were they not being truthful? I love the car, how it drives, and the styling, but I will not ever get over this mileage issue--especially since gas prices have gotten so high. I agree with other reviewers that the rear window needs a water squirter and that egress causes dirt on your leg due to the wide sill plate. The center console does not have a shallow tray so I went to the kitchen store and bought a small baking pan to hold my little stuff. Weird, huh?

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  Falling apart, but still only costs $10 to fill up - 2005 Hyundai Accent
  By Karen june - January 23 - 12:49 am

  I bought this car just under a year ago, and since Ive had it theres always been something wrong with it. Tranny slips, all interior lights are out, a/c went out, and burns oil. Just always something wrong. If it wasnt for the gas mileage I would give it away. Paid a good price, but wasnt told how much was wrong with it. Driving it was a lot of fun before the tranny really started to slip. And a/c blew snowflakes before it went out. I hate stock radios so I have my own radio and 6x9s in it.

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  So far so good - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rtown1 - January 22 - 1:49 pm

  This is my first Hyundai. After driving Fords for 30 years, this is definitely something different. The car has 10,000 miles on it, with 2,000 in the last week. It was driven both on interstates and in the mountains and the performance was good in both locations. The mileage could be better, averaged 27 on the road and 24 in town. The interior is comfortable and well thought out. With snow in the mountains the heated seats were a welcome addition. Overall a great car for two people with room for two more.

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  LV Tucson - 2006 Hyundai TUCSON
  By 06 tucson gls - January 22 - 10:46 am

  I have had my tucson for a year now and have just over 14000 miles, and have had no problems once so ever, runs flawlessly. I Have noticed that my gas mileage has improved once hitting the 10000 mile mark, now getting a constant 20 mpg in city and 25-26 on hwy. I have made several moderate length trips to family in another state and felt comfortable the whole way, has no trouble keeping up with traffic 80-90 mph. Have had no problems keeping the a/c going with the extreme heat of 100+, I am very pleased with this car. Can fit in rear seat with front seats all the way back.

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  Not bad - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By the cs car - January 22 - 10:24 am

  We bought our Elantra in August. Not a lot of problems, just a few "rattles". Weve had problems with the paint job. Dealership told us we let bird "poop" sit too long. Not true, we had 4 hurricanes--nothing stayed on too long! We finally got the Hyundai representative to agree it was "paint failure" and it is in the shop being repainted (warranty item). We cant see spending a ton of money on a car. The Hyundais are not bad for the price. Had an Accent that went 90K - couldve gone longer but we sold it.