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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  Take It Off The Market - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Slinkygirl - November 4 - 1:53 am

  Take it off the market before someone gets hurt. It is a piece of junk and a saftey hazard. Hard to control and even harder at higher speeds. Hyundai does NOT stand behind their products. I have spent more time at the dealerhip than driving this junk.

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  Nice Car!! - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Krystee819 - November 3 - 10:00 am

  I love this car! Just very attractive. I just bought this car Sept.04 for under $20,000. I must say I was impressed. You get alot for your money. Has a very nice sound system. It seems a little "cramped" in the interior, but all the little "extras" you get with the car, just makes it all worthwhile. It seems very durable too. It may be "bulky" as some describe it, but I think that just makes it safer. It has a great warranty too. So, I am very pleased with my purchase.

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  A fine Automobile - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By The Edister - November 3 - 10:00 am

  Purchased auto in July and have put 7000 Kms without any problems. A beautiful riding car with plenty of get up and go. Interior displays somewhat difficult to see on bright sunny days.

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  SRS Issues Following OCS Recall Fix - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By donmou - November 2 - 10:38 pm

  The vehicle was serviced June 2013 for the following recalls: SRS PODS and Stop Lamp Switch Replacement. After the recalibration of the SRS PODS system, the Airbag (AIR) warning lamp in the dashboard remained on. The front seat belt tensioner was replaced free of charge, but 9 months later the AIR light came on again and the entire seat needs to be replaced at a cost of $2400 plus tax and labor. I never had any problems with the SRS system until after the recallibration of the SRS PODS system. Prior to this, the transmission and Hydraulic Brake Control Unit were replaced in 2009. The noise thought to be the transmission (prob. valves) went away around 50,000 miles.

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  Great bang for the buck - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By fbraz19 - November 2 - 1:02 am

  I have had this vehicle for over a month and around 2100 miles. Overall it is an exceptional vehicle for the money. I feel sorry for those that have the "pulling left" issue but I, fortunately, do not. I opted for a vehicle with the "standard package" which had some nice perks like the electric driver seat with lumbar support and the auto dimming mirror. The acceleration is very nice for a car of its size with a 4 cylinder engine. Would I buy it again? Yes no question, but I would probably opt for the 2.0L Turbo with Navigation because of the extra convenience of the nav and extra power on that engine. I think the reliability rating should be optional as I havent had the car very long.

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  Major overlooked flaws from most reviews! - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By JP - November 1 - 11:12 pm

  Test drove the car and notice 3 major flaws that are absolute dealbreakers. First, youll notice that the atkinson cycle engine causes a very slight lag between your gas peddle input and the engine actually engaging. This is compounded because due to this lag, the transmission is not married well to the engine, as I got a few false upshifts and then immediate downshifts. The second flaw concerns the interior build quality and layout compared to the Toyota Corolla. Im 61 tall and noticed when i lean my right leg against the center console, it bows outward considerably compared to the corolla. It feels like the middle console and dash are not secured together well at all. I drove the corolla and pushed my leg hard against the console and it didnt budge. The third comparison to the corolla is that despite having greater cubic foot interior, I could not sit in the back behind my driving position in the elantra, and could quite easily in the corolla, so that speaks to how well the space is utilized. An ok car, but not when the civic and corolla are both in the same price bracket.

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  excellent automobile - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By gerry vance - November 1 - 1:50 pm

  I cannot believe that this car does not get much better reviews. It handles beautifully, it looks very expensive, I love the lines and I have not had one complaint since I got it. My friend used to buy Cadillacs and Lincolns but now continues to buy Hyundai every 2 years, because he has said it is the best car he has ever had.

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  Value for money - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By Sundar - November 1 - 11:26 am

  Bought new and driving for almost 4 years - no breakdowns till date - running smooth. Poor mileage (19-20 mpg)- time to replace the stock tires (39,000 - guess not bad). Car used to pull towards right - aligned the wheels twice (almost everytime during the scheduled service) - they cant figure out why its pulling like that - now theyre saying it could be due to worn out tires - but the problem started after 20k miles.. I am going to put Michelin on it next week and balance the wheels once again - will see if the problem still persists. Otherwise a great car - my first car was a sonata which also did great for 5 years.. I hope Tuscon also does well in the coming years!

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  Awesome Sports Car - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By VT Tiburon - November 1 - 5:43 am

  I loved this car as soon as it came out because of its awesome styling. Its almost like an exotic Ferrari. I like every detail about this car inside and out. Nice twin mufflers, 17 inch Rims, Side Grills, the sports seats, etc. You will not regret it.

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  excellant valu for money - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By solarbear - November 1 - 2:00 am

  only problem Ive had was tires wore out after 24,000 miles,.