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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  Wow - 2003 Hyundai Elantra
  By mycar87 - February 16 - 2:00 am

  i love this car. I never dreamed i would drive a hyundai, but so far it is a great car! It is smooth, safe, comfortable and the warranty cant be beat.

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  Quicksilver "SE" w/ Premium Pkg. - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By BRENT - February 15 - 3:23 pm

  What an awesome compact! The car drives almost like a compact sport sedan. Handling is secure, and ride and comfort of this vehicle is amazing. Ive had all different makes and models of compacts, but this car with its extensive list of standard features and safety ratings as well as the quietness and overall perfromance is my best vehicle yet. And all at a very reasonable price! It really seems like your in a much more expensive compact! I would highly recommend this compact over many others, and its really worth your while to give this car serious consideration before buying another compact.

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  Wow what a vehicle - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MissyAnn - February 15 - 2:43 pm

  This is my first vehicle that I have bought. The sales people at the dealership helped out alot. I love how the AC gets cold right away and how it is nice and quiet in the vehicle. I only wish I bought it sooner. Overall the thing that caught my attention the most was the warrenty on it.

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  6th Largest Car Manufacturer - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By RichmondVA - February 15 - 6:10 am

  Owned 00 Audi A4, 90 Honda Accord, 04 Jeep Liberty & 99 Ford Explorer. Santa Fe exceeds even the Accord in ownership experience so far. Accord has 251k miles and we expect the Hyundai will be kept that long as well. We have GLS w/FWD, 2.7L, A/C, Shiftronic and XM radio... hard to imagine needing more in an SUV. At 13k miles, we avg 24 MPG (40% city/60% hwy driving w/ air always on). Great suspension much like the MB ML320; decent engine torque like the BMW 2.5L inline-6; class-leading interior like 07 Audi A6. No problems so far.

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  an Accent that is eccentric - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By accent22 - February 15 - 2:00 am

  when i got this car i had my doubts, cause i have been driving japanese nameplates all my life, but this car surprised me. in just one month i had no problems at all. the car is easy to drive a manuever around tight situations and the engine, automatic and suspension work beautiful together. it is also roomy for its size and the quality is excellent inside and out!

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  Did Hyundai Provide Me Great Customer Service? - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By Disappointed - February 15 - 12:53 am

  Hyundai’s safety recall Campaign 137 was on the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system, which may have caused my car accident with my 2012 Hyundai Elantra. I called the Hyundai Recall Campaign Center several times about my case. Many of the reps I spoke with either provided wrong information, inaccurate timeframes for supervisors to call me back, denied my request to speak to a supervisor, or hung up on me. National Customer Care Rep Larry Bane managed my case. He refused my request to have my car tested in post-accident condition. During an oil change visit at my local Hyundai dealer, a service advisor recommended replacing my car’s yaw-rate sensor (the key component to the ESC system), and I approved. More than five weeks later, Larry Bane’s first conclusion letter said, “Unfortunately, we were unable to inspect your vehicle in its post-accident condition since it had already been repaired.” The message ended by saying, “We believe your vehicle operated according to its design in the accident.” The following week Larry Bane sent a second conclusion letter. This letter stated, “We have re-reviewed all of the available information regarding your accident, as well as the points raised in your most recent correspondence. Based on all of the available information, we continue to believe that our previous response is accurate and that your accident did not involve a product defect. With respect to the recall referenced in your correspondence (Recall 137), we do not believe that the condition that the recall seeks to address was present or caused your accident.” Larry Bane’s supervisor Chris said, “We pride ourselves in customer service and delivering excellence to each and every person.” However, he said the decision on my case was already made, and there was nothing else he could do for me. Then he added, “I’m trying to be really honest with you. I’m in the business for helping people, and I want to make sure that I’m doing my part to make us close any gaps and make the process as smooth as possible for you, and unfortunately I don’t make any of those decisions.” I asked him to clarify Hyundai’s conclusion letters. He simply said, “That was the decision they made.” Then I called the Hyundai Recall Campaign Center and spoke with supervisor Ethan. He suggested that “someone that doesn’t know how to write out a letter” could have composed the conclusion letters. Ethan concluded, “Honestly, those letters just sound ridiculous.” I wrote a letter to Dave Zuchowski, the CEO of Hyundai Motor America. He didn’t address my customer service experiences or answer why Hyundai didn’t want to test my car in post-accident condition. He said, “We continue to believe that our previous response is accurate and that your accident did not involve a product defect.” Do you think Hyundai was correct in refusing my request to test my car with the same yaw-rate sensor and ESC system at the time of the accident as part of the recall? Do you think Hyundai provided me great customer service? Do you think my next car should be a Hyundai?

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  Great Vehicle - 2004 Hyundai XG350
  By Kdeans - February 14 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle has the look of a luxury vehicle inside and out. It has all the wanted features in a luxury vehicle. I am completly satisfied with the vehicle. On long trips I have never completed the trip and been uncomfortable from sitting in one posistion over long periods of time. The vehicle has excellent acceleration, and performance. I am very satisfied with the vehicle in all areas, I have approximately 3,000 miles on the vehicle. I would highly recommend this vehicle to anyone looking for a high end vehicle at a very economical price. I have been very enchouraged by the service of the dealership in Dickson City, PA.

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  good car for a Great Price! - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By hyulew - February 14 - 10:00 am

  This car as far as I can tell is up to par with all the others of its class. It handles like a dream takes corners very well. I go around curves at about 65 to 70 and it has no problem holding turn. Eather way I beat the crap out of this car and have had no problems to date. Thank you hyundai!

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  SO FAR, SO GOOD - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By VESPEE - February 14 - 10:00 am

  FIRST TIME HYUNDAI BUYER..AM VERY HAPPY, SO FAR. NOT ONLY WITH THE AUTOMOBILE BUT ALSO WITH PLANET HYUNDAIS ATTENTIVE AND COURTEOUS SERVICE. VP LAS VEGAS, NV

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  owner - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By rsteinkamp - February 14 - 10:00 am

  I like this truck because it is a good size for getting around town, but i am still able to haul a large load or a bunch of friends