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:

• 

  2005 XG 350L - 2005 Hyundai XG350
  By Jason - October 2 - 8:16 pm

  I picked up my wife XG350L a few days ago. So far everything seems fine. We are moving from a 99 Toyota Corolla to the XG, and the XG is a much nicer car. Size, power, features, and appearance are much, much better than expected. I wasnt thrilled with the dealership, but everything worked out ok. Next years model, the TG, looks interesting, but my wife preferred the 2005. She loves the floating feel. And compared to the Corolla, this car is fit for a king. Ill do my best to check back in a few months with an update.

• 

  Mileage champ - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jack - October 2 - 2:03 pm

  Car has GDI engine, I bought new, now have 56k miles. Outstanding gas mileage. Best highway mileage was with just me in the car, barely any luggage and a fall day, keeping it on flat ground thru the Midwest for 400 miles at between 65 and 70 mph I got 41 mpg, and this was dividing number of gallons by miles driven. Computer is always optimistic - usually 2 mpg higher than what it really is when checking the math. Car gets around 26-27 mpg city, with the family in the car and going 70 on the freeway expect 36-38 mpg. Decent power with the 2.4 engine. I run full synthetic oil all the time and BG fuel and oil cleaners regularly. Standard radio is the only downfall. It is weak. Road noise is also a minor irritation. Comfort of a/c and heater are good. Absolutely no mechical issues to date. Battery lasted 3 year, Hankook tires were replaced after 55k miles, - they could have gone 60k though but were getting real noisy. Replaced tires with contenitial dws06 tires. They are about the same as the original hankooks which I think were real good tires. Car goes good in the snow, but as tires wear you loose traction on incline and experience spin. Car handle real well in the wet weather. Lots of room and cargo space for family of 4. Well put together car, but depreciates quickly. Get a used one as there is no difference between the 2011 thru 2014.

• 

  Just bought it - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Pierre - October 2 - 8:26 am

  I have replace my BMW with this new Sonata 2006 and let me tell you, I would never pay big bucks anymore, this new 2006 has everything plus the comfort and speed and road stability. The manufacturer has put a lot in this new 2006 and they have succeeded, paying for big names is not value anymore, you have to try this new Hyundai.

• 

  Best price/performance ever - 2006 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Chris Schrader - October 2 - 4:33 am

  This is my first car purchase. I am not a street racer but I wanted a smaller car, definately a two door, and it had to look cool. This is the smoothest ride of any car I have ever been in. When I do 80 it feels like I am doing 40 (which landed me a ticket unfortunately). The limited edition is well worth it. The leather is very classy and the sound system rules. I wouldnt reccomend this car for a racer as the horse power is a bit below par of other cars like the eclipse. But this car destroys the scion Tc, anyday. If youre a person looking for a cool 2 door ride that is affordable, this is the way to go for sure. I cannot reccomend this car enough.

• 

  I love my Tiburon - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Ryan - October 2 - 2:26 am

  I bought this car with 45,000 miles on it and have driven it another 50,000 with no mechanical issues period. I have a cold air intake, headers, and exhaust, and the car has handled it like a dream! I really could not be any happier with the looks, deceiving amount of interior space and power that this little Hyundai puts out. I take it on 1,000 mile roadtrips; I throw my bike into the hatch; I enjoy carving through North Georgia mountain roads. Until I got this car I was always unsatisfied with the wheels I was in. I bought this thing for $12,000 and havent complained since. Thank you Hyundai!!! =]

• 

  Bad Transmission - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jim - October 1 - 10:46 pm

  Purchased 2010 Hyundai Sante Fe V6. While the car rides smoothly and gets good mileage for midsized SUV the car has serious transmission issues. When you first start off it sporadically will make a loud bang as it shifts between 1- 2 gear. It also has a rocking motion caused by the transmission when slowly accelerating. It also shakes badly when shifting from park to either reverse or drive. Contacted Hyundai Consumer affairs about this issue and they say that they do no have any trend as to any transmission issues. Do a Google search on 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe transmission problems and you will see many unhappy owners. Car is at the dealer as I write this. Doesnt look good. Dont buy

• 

  Painful Drivers Seat - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Kat - October 1 - 2:55 pm

  I rented a 2017 Hyundai Elantra sedan for a day trip (a 4 hour drive on the interstate one way and 4 hours back, all in the same day). The car looks really nice, but the drivers seat is incredibly uncomfortable. After only an hour of driving, I had pain in my spine from the top of my neck to my lower back, and in my arms, hips, butt and hamstrings. Also, my right big toe kept going numb as my foot was on the gas pedal. I adjusted the seat a million ways - up, down, forwards, backwards - nothing would relieve the pain. I tried adjusting the steering wheel up and down - nothing helped. I dont typically get pain like this from driving, other than my body just getting tired from sitting for too long. Bottom line, I shouldnt get prickling pain after just 1 hour of driving. There is something ergonomically incorrect with these seats. I really think the seats are too low to the floor and thats why no amount of adjustment helps. On a positive note, the headrests were not a problem. They didnt push too forward like they do in some cars. Personally, I never want to rent this car again. Its just too uncomfortable. Maybe its the right fit for some people, but not for me. The pain that I had from driving this car continued into the following day (after I returned the car to the rental car company). The only thing that started to relieve the pain was going to a yoga class. Last year, I rented a 2016 Hyundai Elantra sedan for a trip and experienced similar pain, but not quite to this extent. I read that Hyundai is making Elantras seating out of a different material for 2017 (SoyFoam - which seems really cool), but I dont know if thats part of the problem, or if its just the fact that the seats are too low to the floor. Its unfortunate because if the seats were comfortable, I would consider buying this car... but painful seats are a deal breaker.

• 

  In the service shop all the time - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Kwollard - October 1 - 10:33 am

  My car has rattled in the back end and I was told at 20,000 miles I need two new struts. This did not solve the problem and I still have the rattle. I also have had my check engine light on several times and the last time it was blinking. I have had the fuel pump replaced in it also. I had to have knew tires at 22,000 miles because it was out of lined. I bought the car with 8000 miles on it and I feel that this was a damaged program car! I love the car, the room it has in it, and my sun roof, but have been unhappy with it breaking down all the time!

• 

  2000 Elantra keeps on goin - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By car lover 9000 - October 1 - 2:00 am

  I really like this car. It is cute, affordable and very reliable. I like this body style (2000) better than that of the newer version. Also, this body style has a better safety rating than the newer 2001 to 2003s. It has a lot of pep for a 4-cylinder but I find myself pining for a v-6. After three years and 38,000mi, I have had no major problems with either transmission or power features on this car. The exterior is strangely resistent to hail, but not to shopping carts and two door sports cars. Sadly, the suspension and body are loosening up so it opens the cab to a lot of road noise.

• 

  OK - 2003 Hyundai Accent
  By Crazy8 - October 1 - 2:00 am

  This car is very affordable and reliable, plus you cant beat the warranty!