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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  dntbuyit - 2005 Hyundai Tiburon
  By dontbuyit - August 31 - 12:30 am

  I bought this vehicle from the dealership at first the vehilce was fine, i got 1/2 mi down the road they never put antifreeze in the car!! then they drove me around in circles on what they were going to do. I called hyundai Motor America and they have not called back in 3 weeks on what is going on they said they would trade out vehicle. Nothing has happened. Some plastic pieces are allready falling off the car. and it has 1400 mi not worth the money that they want for it. unless its free dont bother buy a mini cooper S instead!!!!

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  still going - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Michael G. - August 30 - 4:48 pm

  Bought the car in 2002 - first transmission oil change was around 45,000 mi, I changed the timing belt around 69,000 but the mechanic told me tha124,141,799t was still in good condition and changed the spark plugs and the belts for water and alternator around 90,000 mi other than that just oil change (only synthetic) and tires. I have 107,000 mi and no problem I get 31 mi/gallon in city driving

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  First breakdown at 12,000 miles. - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Daniel - August 30 - 1:17 pm

  Overall a decent sporty car for the money with plenty of standard features for the price and great economy, however some switches (headlights) still feel cheap, and the engine is downright asthmatic with the a/c on (which in Arizona is a lot). Youll find a lot of people riding your tail after green lights while you get up to speed. Drivers armrest on door is rock hard, what were they thinking? I cant even bear to put my weight on it because it hurts my elbow. Shifter is slow and balky. B&M shifter, yeah right, from their spare parts bin maybe. Love the styling, the SE rims really add a wonderful sporty look to the car, get the SE if you can, it totally transforms the look of the car.

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  Like the car BUT... - 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
  By hasbro_t - August 28 - 8:31 pm

  I like my Sonata but to give an honest sober review I have to start off saying it is not as billed on the showroom floor. Sticker mentioned 37 MPG city when I bought it. I live in an area that gets well over 100 degrees in the summer and bought the car in June 2011. This meant I used the A/C quite a bit. Right out the door with the A/C on and learning the feel of driving for economy I was getting about 25 mpg in the city month or so. I did find however that with no climate control (or only turning it on when at cruising speed) and feathered driving I could get the 37 mpg after a while. Any AC from dead stops and that dropped to 32. Hyundai learned of the MPG issue and issued a software change that was intended to fix it. On a routine service I had them update the S/W and Hyundai sent me a $50 gift card for my trouble. I thought that was a good gesture, particularly since it did nothing to delay the normal service anyway. After the S/W update the best MPG I can get is about 32 but on the bright side, it wasn’t effected by the climate control as badly. I recently took it in for another service and the repair order mentions another S/W adjustment and now I haven’t been able to maintain an MPG above 29…Two software updates, two declines in gas mileage. Haven’t had it back long enough to determine all the impacts of the change. I might ask to see if they can set it back to original factory defaults. Additionally, I have also experienced the problem mentioned in a couple of the below posts with the lurching. When it was new, when stopped at red lights, if the gas engine clicked on at the stop, the car would lurch in a way that on a couple occasions, I looked into my rear view to see if I was rear ended. Also, once when accelerating to pass a vehicle on the freeway, when I pressed the accelerator, the car actually momentarily slowed rather than increase speed immediately. Again, this was at a point when it was running on EV mode and the accelerator caused it to shift to gas engine and the transition was not smooth and responsive, and potentially dangerous as noted in below posts. That only happened once and I don’t know if one of the S/W changes addressed it but Hyundai does need to acknowledge that issue. That all being said, it sounds like a negative review and maybe it is but, at the end of the day, I do like my Sonata. It is comfortable for me, has a reasonably smooth ride and I knew when I bought it that this was the 1st model year of the Hybrid and I expected it as such to be working out some issues. I’m sure the 2013 and beyond will have addresses much of these issues and become more refined. With the differences in the software I have had, I can see why these reviews are all over the map. I suppose if I were to be honest to someone looking for a Sonata, I would tell them to look at the regular gas model first as really, the title “Hybrid” in the 2011 is really just a novelty rather than a benefit and Hyundai is making good somewhat with gas cards for the mileage discrepancy.

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  After 4 years ... - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By DetourM - August 28 - 8:35 am

  After 4 years of owning my GT, Im on my third set of tires (all good brands), have had the breaks replaced once and the front end aligned twice. This is all within the first 40k miles!!! The car is horrible in the snow, almost to the point of being dangerous. Other than that, Ive had no other real issues. It still looks good and handles great. On my daily commute (city and highway driving) I average 28mpg. Im debating if I want to buy a 2009 or go to a Civic/Corolla

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  A cheap Lexus! - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By livewiremd - August 26 - 12:18 pm

  I have had this car for over 2 years now and am still impressed. I am also surprised that I see so many Sonatas on the road and so few of these! I was afraid to gamble on Hyundai after a bad experience in the early 90s but the warranty sold me. The first year warranty seems to replace ANYTHING (I didnt need to use it) and the roadside assistance package cant be beat. This car has a nice but a bit conservative look. The led tail lights make things stand out some. This car has a lot of power and it is easy to be going close to 100 without even feeling it. The car does have a little soft ride and corners a little sloppy for my taste but it is an impressive car overall.

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  Suprise - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By Shawn - August 20 - 11:34 pm

  What a Surprise just bought my Hyundai Accent 07 as a second car. I was looking for an affordable 2nd form of transportation as I own a Jeep Wrangler that was somewhat pricey to buy and pricey to drive at 15 mpg. I love my Hyundai Accent SE already! It handles well with the 16 in tires and sport suspension. Power windows, mirrors, and locks 10/100,000 power train, roadside assistance and a real smooth ride all for a great price. Good job Hyundai not as fun to drive as my Jeep in the Summer but surprisingly very close and for half the price. I am very happy. The only down side so far is it is a little sluggish on the hills with the AC running but that is what I expected for a 1.6l gas sipper

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  Very good car - 2004 Hyundai Accent
  By Dan-R - August 20 - 6:43 pm

  This is an absolutely wonderful small car. I use it to go to work everyday. Very very reliable. I am hitting around 35mpg on highway. I have never spent any money to fix anything (there werent many) yet. Hyundai honors their warranty very well.

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  Not Bad for the Money - 2001 Hyundai Elantra
  By thornne - August 20 - 2:00 am

  Id have to say overall I love the car. I have 30,000 miles on it, drive it very aggresively and havent had anything go wrong with it. Resale value sucks though. Gas mileage could be better, only average about 26 with a 5 spd, but I do drive aggressive. I think performance and handling are great for a car in this class.

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  Undecided - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By rbolt - August 19 - 6:10 pm

  Great price. Ive been a GM owner for years but couldnt pass up on the look, price and mileage of the new Sonata. However, after three months, the jury is still out. Love the mileage and the look but have already had it in the shop to replace a leaky radiator. There also is multiple rattles in the glove box and dashboard, hood, etc. And one rear speaker buzzes when heavy bass is on. Radio display also fades out when car sits in sun all day. Many good things about this car but not sure after three months and problems already. Stay tuned.