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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  going good - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Shad - August 18 - 12:20 pm

  I bought this car in July and drove it 1200 mile from Chicago to Houston getting 32 mpg. Was fast on the highway. Its cozy inside. Good design. Have 1600 miles get 27 mpg city only. A bit slow to pick up and less power but overall good ride cheap eco ride with good mileage. Only worst thing is ac its very very weak specially in the Texas heat ufff... Will write a second review after few months. Got se loaded with sunroof, mats, sunroof deflector & leather for 18,250.00 out the door.

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  First tank of Gas - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By Eugene - August 18 - 10:42 am

  Good first impression, 1st fill up was pleasant surprise, 33.6MPG. How above 400 miles logged, Tried a 100 mile trip to see how it rides. All seems good, but the radio has a shorter range than my other vehicles. Have to try all the seat adjustments to see which like better. Good all around vision. Vehicle is hard to seen by others.

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  My little go-cart - 2002 Hyundai Accent
  By Chris - August 17 - 9:47 pm

  This was like a go-cart because of its size and power. A 1.4L is a weak engine, but I assure you it has pickup and I would whip this car around. I drove it hard, but not crazy. No major problems with anything though I have broke both door handles by pulling on them the wrong way. Regular oil changes and sensible (not conservative) driving have me at 92000 miles. I can tell the car is on its way out though. There is a hole somewhere in the exhaust and I just have this feeling that a bunch of things are about to be worn out. Great buy, great car for 8k. Would definitely buy a Hyundai again, its just simply worth the money (no headaches at 92000)

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  Lug at low speed - 2008 Hyundai Accent
  By Joe - August 14 - 6:05 pm

  While I do enjoy the fuel efficiency and it is comfortable for 6 ft tall man to drive for extended periods, I found that right after you have to decelerate for traffic and then try to pick up the pace, the transfer lugs sometimes. Go with a manual for stop and go traffic.

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  some negative things and some positive - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Dan Johnson - August 12 - 5:26 pm

  After owning this car for two months, here are the things Im pleased with: great interior and exterior styling. Quiet smooth engine, good power (until you have to climb a hill) loads of features, incredible rebates to bring down the price, love the heated seats! Negatives: bucket seats are extremely hard and uncomfortable, leather steering wheel is very slippery, new car smell is too intense (plastic smell), sunroof sits back too far, cant see the sky unless you tilt your head back, volume knob and up/down volume controls on wheel r slow to respond, very quiet in general but some tire noise gets into the cabin at highway speeds.

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  Rate My Ride - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Louise A. Carasone - August 5 - 4:09 pm

  I have been driving my Sonata for 6 years and have little or no trouble with it. I have been keeping up the maintenance schedule and only taking it to the dealer for my service work. I now have approximately 58,000 miles on my car and the timing chain went and am now faced with rebuilding the engine, at a cost of $1,500.00, Hyundai is going to pick up the rest as a good faith gesture. I would not suggest that you keep this car past 50,000 miles. They say in the warranty 10 years or 100,000 miles. Im not sure this car is designed to last that long. Really Bummed in Connecticut.

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  Nice car, questionable quality - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By David - August 4 - 2:03 pm

  Love the style, features, etc. Unfortunately, after owning for one week, the air bag light stayed on. After two weeks, I had transmission problems (hit a slight bump in the road and the car downshifted to 4th gear and it was stuck in 4th gear from that point on). Took it to the dealership and they said it needed a new transmission, car was in the shop for over a week as they had to get the transmission from Korea. In short, I had to have the car taken to the dealer for service for two items for a car that was less than 3 weeks old. Complained to Hyundai consumer affairs which was a waste of time. I can only hope that the reliability will be better going forward.

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  too many clutch replacement - 2005 Hyundai Elantra
  By browneyes - August 3 - 11:25 am

  I have replaced the clutch 2 times within a 6mo time. The original clutch was plastic and broke, the second clutch went out (broke) and now after 3 days it is out again. I am a single mother going to school to become a rn. I cannot afford the cost of replacing the clutch and never at the dealership. How can I deal with this?

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  His Seat Dont Fit - 2006 Hyundai Azera
  By MaryLou - August 2 - 1:26 pm

  I bought this car and I love most everything about it, but I have a problem. My husband hates my drivers seat, he can not get it to go back far enough. I took it to the dealer, two times and they say its just the way it is, but after reading all the reviews, no one has complained about the seat, so that tells me, my dealer just blew me off or my husband is the only man who cant fit behind the wheel. I like this car and most everything about it, but I dont want to do all the driving, when we go on a trip. Can someone help?

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  Driving it my way to the bank - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jason - July 28 - 2:20 pm

  Its a great car. I have owned it for over a year. If you can get passed the name plate your well on your way to a great ownership experience. If you have too much money go ahead and buy something else. But in all reality- this car has almost everything else beat in its class at a significantly lower price point. Engine is great. Interior fits my 6ft 2in 210lb frame very well. Its really quiet at freeway speeds. Its easy to get in and out of. The sound system w/ subwoofer is actually really quite good.