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:

• 

  Blown away! - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By cammer - March 17 - 5:57 pm

  I cant wipe the smile off my face when i drive this car! It has sporty handling, a great view from the drivers seat, comfortable ergonomics and supportive seats. Did i mention it has a huge trunk and a comfortable heated back seat. The creature comforts are on par with luxury sedans costing 2.5x as much and what keeps that smile on my face is I am averaging 37 mpg. driving to Lake Tahoe from Reno. This car is a game changer in my opinion, every other car at 40 mpg felt like an econobox when I drove it.

• 

  A lot of car for the money, & FORTY mpg!!! - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By pud2 - March 16 - 8:19 pm

  Just got my 2011 Elantra limited, with Nav, blutooth,back-up camera, heated leather seats front and back...I love it! EXCELLENT vehicle, and my first 140 mile run on a hwy, got a little OVER 40mpg!(freeway). It is a beautiful car, everyone who sees it loves it... So far, I am VERY satisfied! Did I say the car is beautiful?!

• 

  Best buy yet - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By tlouda - March 16 - 12:16 pm

  Just hit 6,000 with the car. I took it on a road trip from Austin, TX to Flagstaff, AZ. The drive is mostly highway with 75 miles per hour speed limit, mostly flat grounds, not much traffic. I maintained a speed around 75-80 mph. The total trip avg. speed was 62 mph. I averaged 37.7 mpg. At one point in New Mexico I drove 150 miles at 42.5 mpg at 75 mph. I suspect I was driving downhill most of the time with wind in the back, because I was not able to duplicate that. I was able to achieve the best gas mileage after I did the first oil change at 3,750 miles. I made sure I put in a high quality engine oil and put a brand gasoline, medium grade, and the gas mileage around 37 to 38 was achieved.

• 

  First New Car, First New Hyundai and not the last - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By elig - March 15 - 7:51 pm

  I purchased the car new Oct 99. Drove 2 Cali & back to MN a couple of times at generally 80 plus speeds. Smooth ride good economy. Wish it had ABS. It was an option but I wanted a manual & at the time Hyundai figured manual was for eco & ABS was a luxury. I had to lock up one time and put a flat spot on all 4 tyres & left an imprint of the pad on the rotors. The tranny did go at 95k (thank god for 100k warnty) The pin that holds the gears together broke. Wheel bearing (wrty) I have 126k mile would have more but I ride motorcycle alot. I thought Hyundai was junk but the 100k wrty gave me faith. I have purchased a 08 Veracuz, & thinkn bout the new Elantra just cuz 15 mpg sucks & 30 would rule

• 

  airbags do not deploy - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By used2love - March 15 - 6:11 pm

  I took my Hyundai in for service to fix my airbag warning light 5 times. After the fifth time, I complained that I dont feel safe driving my car, and I dont want my wife driving it, when the airbags dont work. They agreed, and offered us a rental while they looked deeper into the problem. Turns out, the standard wiring for the airbags under the driver seat is defective and had to be replaced entirely. BUT, the airbags do NOT work in most 2007 Elantras. Google "2007 Elantra Airbag" for real horror stories about the airbags not deploying in serious (and fatal) accidents!! Do Not Buy 2007 Hyundai Elantra before reviewing this necessary information. This is Your life.

• 

  WONDERFUL CAR!!!!! - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By caraddiction1 - March 15 - 4:01 pm

  Have owned Volvo, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Mercedes and Infiniti over the years. This car is as good or better than any of them. Bought 3.8 with Premium package (no navi) for 31,343.00 (sticker at $36,500 including $1500 Hyundai incentive). For this price so much better than Maxima, LaCrosse, Taurus, C-Class, E-350. Drives as sommoth as my lexus but has more road feel. Driven over 2,000 miles and cannot say enough good..quiet, responsive, great handling. I am 63" and have headroom. BUY THIS CAR!!!

• 

  A great ride! - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By jpar - March 13 - 8:56 pm

  I picked up a black GLS with the camel interior and premium package yesterday and I have to say, Im very impressed. So far, Ive only put about 65 miles on it, almost all on city and country roads, and Ive averaged 33 mpg, pretty good without breaking the car in or doing any highway driving. Prior to buying this car, I checked out basically every compact on the market, including the Corolla, Mazda3, Civic, and Focus, but the Hyundai beat all of them out. The best part is the looks that people give me at stop lights - they just stare at my car because there isnt anything like it. Im looking forward to spending a long time driving it!

• 

  Great car (dependable) - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By mmeyering - March 13 - 1:11 pm

  I bought this car brand new and I am still driving it with 170K on it. Everything on it still works as it should. I have read that people thik it is bad in the snow, Well I think it has a lot to do with the tires I did a lot of research on tires and with the ones I bought the car goes GREAT in the snow. I always run 55 - 60 on the slippery roads with no trouble and I have gone through powder snow that was coming over the hood. It also handles good on dry roads as well I had it up to 120 mph and handles great. The only repairs I have made were wheel bearing and 1 fuel injector, other than that just the regular sch mat. I would buy another and do not baby it!!! It is a lot of fun to drive .

• 

  Pros outweigh cons, pleased with the car - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By pki1 - March 11 - 12:39 pm

  I bought the car with 53K miles on it. The first owner took good care of the vehicle, so I got a good deal. The car is inexpensive for its class, a thorough worthy purchase. Pros - Space, wide visibility angle, comfortable interiors, well tuned acceleration and braking for a 4 Cyl., good acceleration, stable at high speeds, low engine noise. Cons - Large turning radius, Insufficient differential acceleration causing deeper outward tilt on high speed turns, low power steering ratio, average road grip, visor spring quality, mildly hard suspension My recommendation backs Hyundai for a wonderful top-of-its-class vehicle at and affordable price... buy em while theyre still cheap!

• 

  Love it! - 2008 Hyundai Entourage
  By lynel27 - March 11 - 9:52 am

  We bought our Entourage June of 08 and we have 3 little ones including on with special needs that uses a wheelchair and walker...it has suited us all well. We love how comfy it is and the only thing we wish we had gotten now is the built in DVD player.