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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  I bought my Elantra Limited a month ago - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By jeffdavis1 - April 16 - 12:57 pm

  This car makes me feel like Im driving a much more expensive car. I traded an 08 Nissan Sentra SL and this beats it hands down. The Sentra was quiet, this is more quiet. This car is loaded w/toys that are easy to use and dont look gaudy. The controls are very well put together - elegant. Winters in Michigan means lower fuel milage. My first drive from the dealer (90 miles) showed 35 miles per gallon. The first two fill-ups averaged 31 miles for mixed driving. Unless something happens, Im going to be very happy with this car.

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  Better than my 2007 Honda Civic - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By hyundai12 - April 15 - 9:08 pm

  This car lives up to all the claims made by the company that built it. Great fuel economy solid build. In case any of you are complaining about the engine or road noise, I strongly suggest that you take a 2006-2007 Honda Civic for a test drive. Those models have more noise from the engine and road noise from the cheap tires from the factory. Oh yeah didnt Honda try to downplay the roadnoise with a commercial that played a Holiday tune when you drove on that specially grooved road.

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  Uncomfortable seats - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By me34 - April 15 - 7:09 am

  There is very little lumbar support in this automobile. This makes it unpleasant for me to drive. An $18,000 mistake.

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  To Dust Revisited - 1998 Hyundai Elantra
  By to_dust - April 12 - 11:56 am

  I wrote a review of my elantra in 2005 (look at earlier reviews). It is now 2011 and I am still driving the car I bought 13 years ago. I now have 191,000 miles. To date I have replaced the timing belt, Break pads, and shocks. Otherwise the car is original. Including the original clutch. I am now on a quest to see how far it will go.

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  Best luxury car value - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By robcar1 - April 9 - 10:38 pm

  Looked at BMW, Mercedes, and Audi, then I drove the Hyundai Genesis. Found everything I wanted for $20,000 less in the Genesis! The Hyundai Genesis is truly amazing. For not much more than a fully loaded Accord or Camry, you get a luxurious car with the interior space of a BMW 7, the exterior size of a BMW 5, at less cost than a BMW 3. And you get a 17-speaker Lexicon sound system that is found on only one other car in the world: the Rolls Royce Phantom. The Hyundai Genesis is far and away your best luxury car value.

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  A big boring car for suburban American masses! - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By streetcarben - April 8 - 5:07 pm

  I bought this car in December after my 02 Mini was getting too expensive to maintain. I got sucked in by the 10 year warranty and the advertised fuel economy. An overall ok/good car. Not as fun to drive as my Mini. Harder to fit into small city parking spaces compared to my Mini. Fuel economy is not nearly good as what Hyundai advertises. The car is supposed to get 40 mpgs HWY. Hah! After 4 months, I average about 33/34 on the HWY. My Mini got 36 on the HWY. I live in Boston and had to go to a dealer 50 miles away to find an Elantra with a manual transmission! Transmission quality overall is pretty good. Based on my experience thus far with this car I would probably not buy another Hyundai.

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  This isnt Your Fathers Elantra - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By newhartford - April 6 - 11:44 am

  Fit and finish are excellent. The doors close with authority. The cabin is roomy except for headroom in the back seat. Even without the adjustable lumbar support the seats are comfortable. Interior materials are nice. The trunk is roomy as well. The car has adequate power but I dont find myself speeding with it. Always feels like you have to push it a little. The automatic tranny shifts up and down smoothly. The ride is firm not floaty. Dont have a problem with the steering drift that others mention.

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  Aging through the ages... - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By squirts - April 5 - 11:07 pm

  All, I bought my 02 Accent new. Since then, Ive racked up 115,000 on the odo with 80% highway driving of 75 miles/day Monday-Friday. To date, I really cant complain. Beyond normal wear items, Ive replaced both back wheel cylinders ($15 ea) and the (dreaded) flex pipe and pipe extension ($45) due to rust-through. The car still gets great gas mileage and doesnt burn oil. Ill need to work on the front end (I think some bushings are worn as there is a "clunk" over pot holes), but, knock wood, its holding up well.

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  Amazing car & incredible price - 2011 Hyundai Equus
  By phil109 - April 2 - 4:12 pm

  I was on my way to buy another S class Mercedes when I hear about the Equus. Try one signature then bought an Ultimate two days after. The car had all details and options you can find on a Mercedes or Bmw, but more convenient, more smooth and more useful, all for a better price. Driving this car is as easy as possible, my only concern will be braking distances who tend to be a little bit longer than on my previous car. I was stunned by the 5y/60.000 miles valet service/maintenance program, a big change from the $400 Mercedes oil change. My local Mercedes dealer have mostly arrogants sales people, I was treated in a better way when I bought the Equus.

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  Okay until the end - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By tuco11 - March 31 - 9:09 pm

  I brought the car in 2007 with 32,000. Besides needing to take it in after a couple of months because of a bad transmission range switch, it was good just needed normal maintenance. I sold it a couple of days of ago because at 1116,000 miles the transmission started to slip which a any transmission work would cost more than the car was worth. Overall considering the age of the car and the fact that it was in the rust belt, it was pretty good.