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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  Fun Runaround - 1995 Hyundai Accent
  By renfnl - March 25 - 2:00 am

  This is a great car, especially in ways you would not think...like performance, very sure footed, and ample power. However a bit uncomfortable if you intend to leave town with it.

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  Fantastic Car - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By akabud - March 24 - 12:03 pm

  Before deciding on the Sonata, I test drove the Camry, Fusion, Acura TL and TSX and a Honda Accord. The Sonata won hands down in all categories. Better ride, quieter both in town and on the highway. I traded in my older Acura TL,which was an excellent car, for the Limited w/Nav. So far, Im averaging 27 mpg in mostly city driving. Im still getting used to the voice command feature since Ive never had that feature before. While my Acura TL was a great car to drive, the Sonata is fun, makes you want to drive it. Drop dead looks and causes people to look at it wherever I go. Very satisfied with the car and the excellent dealership experience.

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  turbo pulls to the left - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By esperandrich - March 24 - 9:42 am

  just got the car today. drove it off the lot and pulled to the left like other reviewer pointed out. dealer aligned it and i drove away. still pulled to the left. going back to the dealer this weekend so they can try to fix it. always have the Lemon Law. other than the above everything else is great.

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  Happyness - 1992 Hyundai Sonata
  By allanoncle - March 24 - 2:00 am

  After 11 years and 93K km this is my first trouble free car in 50 years,best gas milage since my 87 sentra

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  Hyundai Milestone - 2007 Hyundai Azera
  By DASF - March 23 - 4:26 pm

  After having Caddys,Lincolns,Audis and most recently a 2006 Maxima I wanted something different. I never gave much thought to Hyundai until I saw the Azera.I went to the dealership on a Saturday morning and after a test drive and an overall review of the Azera Ltd. I walked out a new owner.I was somewhat skeptical at first until I drove the vehicle for a while. I am really impressed with it.The quality,ride,handeling,and style is as good if not better than any other car I have owned. It has qualitys that you will pay much more for from other manufactures. And the safty features... endless.

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  Buyer Beware - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By madnmas1 - March 23 - 6:50 am

  My husband bought the Veloster in 2012. He needed a car that had good gas mileage but with a somewhat sporty look. To give you an idea, next month will be a year and it already has 25k miles on it. Long story short within one week the car died, antifreeze everywhere, and they had to replace the gasket. It started shaking real bad and Hyundai did not want to let us trade it in. We went the BBB route and did not win. Took it in recently for FOUR recalls..the sunroof is known to shatter at high way speeds, the rear calibers had to be replaced and were a safety issue, the mileage was misadvertised and now we get a refund check for mileage every so often Buyer Beware. Run as fast as you can.

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  Super Happy - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Lil - March 23 - 5:48 am

  I had my heart set on a Toyota Corolla. I visited a nearby Toyota dealership and met with a salesman who never called me back. I phoned a second dealership and told the salesman Id come in on Saturday only to find out on Saturday the car I told them I wanted to see was sold to that salesmans mom! Whaaaat? So since it wasnt working out for me I decided to consider a different car. Honda is sure nice but I realized I could get perty near the same thing from Hyundai for $1000 less. My 2012 Ford Focus Titanium was totaled but I knew I would never purchase another because the transmission made an unattractive sound (we called it the car-fart sound) intermittently and Ford is facing a class action suit regarding the transmissions. It did have an awesome ten speaker sound system, which I miss, and I thank God for the bags that popped open all around me and protected my body from serious injury. Mazda, I have past emotional baggage regarding Mazda and though their "soul red metallic" rocks and is richer than my Hyundai in scarlet red pearl, I just cannot have a Mazda in my life. The small sedan Chevrolet never appealed to me. I decided to look at Hyundai. Three people where I work, all in management, drive Hyundais and are very satisfied with their cars. Most important to me was to get something in a pretty red (not bright red), a sedan not SUV, small but not teensy, highly reliable, good gas mileage, and most of all, heated seats. I test drove a 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited and, surprisingly, I liked it. The ride is remarkably smooth and quiet. I once had a Chrysler LeBaron convertible and it was also smooth but like riding on a cushy pillow - which I liked. The Elantra is quiet and over bumps its soft and smooth but without bounce, if that makes sense. An article in the San Diego Union-Tribune explains it better. It says that it is "bonded with aircraft-grade glue — 390 feet of the adhesive compared with about 10 feet in the previous model. The result is a snug cabin, reduced vibration and a stronger foundation to hang the suspension for a more-planted ride." I bought it two months ago and am very pleased with the purchase. The seat gets nice and warm even on my back. I see I will have to pay for the Bluelink after 12 months and I am still learning all it does, but its nice being able to turn the car on from afar. My 57-year-old eyes that need reading glasses can see the text on the LCD screen well enough and the touchscreen responds better than the one in my Ford Focus did. My husband got me a little clippie thing to attach my iPhone to the air vent and its easy to use the Bluetooth navigation that way. I figured I dont need nav in the car since its on my phone. The only thing I wish I had that I dont have is the upgraded sound system. The regular sound system is okay, but I like to feel my music so I sure do miss having some decent bass. The car comes with quite a few zoo-zoos and wham-whams like the back-up camera and a warning sound if a car is too close and the free roadside assistance for five years doesnt hurt my feelings either. I had thought that Hyundai was sort of a weird car, but its not weird. Its a good car! The 2016 Toyota Corolla I test drove is pretty plain in comparison. I will update if I have any problems with it.

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  To Many Problems - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Ron - March 22 - 8:00 am

  Since I have purchased this vehicle brand new two years ago, I have had many problems that are not covered by the warranty. It is on its third clutch and flywheel in only 37,000 miles and the first two were factory. I had a racing clutch and flywheel put in because it was cheaper and better quality than hyundai engineering. Now my starter is out and they are blaming it on my flywheel so they wont cover it by the warranty. I like how the care looks, and drives when it works. I hate how much maintenance i have had to it just to keep it running. IT is not worth it, the car looks nice but unless you want to waste a lot of money dont get the 6 speed version.

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  Poor Design for Maintainability - 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jim - March 21 - 9:33 pm

  At 75,000 miles had the spark plugs and timing belt replaced at a cost of $900! The intake manifold has to be removed to get at the spark plugs and the timing belt is very difficult to get to. There could be two reasons for this: 1) Thoroughly incompetent engine design engineers, or 2) Hyundai management dictated poor design for maintainability as a way of enriching their dealerships. The unfortunate owner has to spend a lot of money for what should be simple and inexpensive replacements. Spark plugs at least should be a do it yourself project. And then there are those engine and cruise control glitches; my Santa Fe seems top have more glitches than the space shuttle.

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  Wise spending decision - 2007 Hyundai Sonata
  By JJ - March 21 - 6:26 pm

  The Sonata has been a great car to drive. I drive it as a second car and it has become a "sort-of" utility vehicle. The room in it is fantastic, great for the trips to Home Depot or Lowes. The seats are somewhat uncomfortable on a long trip, but the gas milage makes up a little for the comfort. I think Hyundai needs to make a change on the front seats. All in all, a super car. Having owned 2 Lexus I would consider an Azera next trip around.