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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  Amazing Machine - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By Matt Stone - November 25 - 11:16 am

  I have always considered myself a "brand snob" and purchased Lexus, Volvo, BMW, etc. I never would have believed that a Hyundai would be my favorite car that Ive ever owned. The fit and finish is impeccable, the ride is sublime and power delivery is smooth. Before making the purchase I cross-shopped a 5-series which felt small, and cost $20k more with equal equipment. If I had to gripe about something it would be: no keyless sensors on rear two doors, you still have to push a button to unlock the front doors (lexus you just pull the handles), the rain sensing wipers dont work well, the city gas mileage sucks. The pros far outweigh the cons though. If you are on the fence, just test drive one. Even if you dont purchase you will be amazed at just how far this brand has come.

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  First car I got to drive: loved it! - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jessica - November 24 - 7:01 am

  This car is dependable. Our sonata is 10 years old and has seen its days, but still runs with a bit of noise and other issues. Nothing too major but theres so many issues that we are now buying a new vehicle. I will say this is hard to park because I took my driving test in it and always came close to the cones. If you know the car though parking is fine! I got to know my dads car. lol

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  White exl sweet car - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By Adele - November 21 - 9:57 am

  Low miles 43000

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  Smooth - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By Brian Behler - November 19 - 4:38 pm

  Also have a 300 BMW and a C class Mercedes. Handling is more toward the BMW and the ride more toward the MB. Surprisingly good mileage in town. It is a very comfortable car for extended road trips. Easy installation of child seats (anchored hooks) when the grandkids are in town.

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  luvin it - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By philip prinzi - November 16 - 6:29 pm

  4th genesis and they keep getting better. Leased my 1st one in 2009 didnt think it would get any better until I got the 2015 Genesis. Now I know the only car that is better is my Equis.

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  needs a spare tire - 2015 Hyundai Elantra
  By LeRoy George - November 11 - 6:09 pm

  this car is very sharp.... every body checks out the car, great car for the money NEEDS SPARE TIRE!!!!.... thats my only beef with this car

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  2004 Hyundai Elantra redcrimson - 2004 Hyundai Elantra
  By BB - November 10 - 7:22 pm

  Has been a great reliable car!!! Would most def buy another Paid $5000 with 50,000 miles and now its has over 100,000 miles and still a great car!!!!

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  [non-permissible content removed] on the planet! - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By F. Yurchey - November 8 - 3:53 pm

  Before you purchase a vehicle like this from a dealer obtain absolute proof of prior maintenance records. I purchased this vehicle for around $8,000.00 from a local dealer. The dealer claimed that it had a lifetime power train warranty, found out that was a lie. Had to invest in replacing the flex pipe to the tune of around $400.00 not too long after purchase. Three days after purchase discovered valve train noise that started when the vehicle was cold and would end when the engine warmed. A week ago the timing belt went and I cant afford the repairs! The value of this vehicle has dropped significantly, KBB values this car in running condition, at around $3000.00. Ive owned this vehicle for eight months, and I owe over $7000.00 on it. The car is sitting in my garage and I am doing the repairs myself. BUYER BEWARE if you want to buy a vehicle like this. Be absolutely sure that everything is taken care of (maintenance wise) before you pay what a dealer is asking.

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  Problems with door locks - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By Francis Rosse - November 5 - 11:52 am

  I absolutely love my 2015 Genesis. Its performance and finish are well above average. For the money it is a very nice automobile. However I recently had a problem with the passenger and rear doors. They would not unlock unless you crawled inside and manually unlocked each door. I took the car to the dealership for repair. After more than a week they found the problem, but informed me that it would not be covered by warranty. They stated that it was caused by external sources. Close inspection of the car shows that not liquid has been ever been spilled on the driver side door where the dealer said liquid had been spilled. i dont know what the external sources could be. Anyway it cost me $500 to replace the door module. This makes me question the validity of the cars warranty. I have written it off as maintenance, but should another incident like this occur I will definitely trade this car even though I love it.

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  I just LOVE my Tiny Little Road Dawg ! - 2015 Hyundai Accent
  By Ted Adam Green - November 5 - 11:25 am

  I have had this for about a 16 months and have about 50,000 miles on it already as I drive a lot for work (over 60 hr a month on average), and I still just LOVE this car I have affectionately named The Tiny Little Road Dawg. (yes I am a UGA Alumni that why I call it Dawg). For many months I tracked the MPG and you can view it a FEULY.COM under Road Dawg. Basically I get about 35 mpg real world (the cars tracker is always about 3mpg high), up to 40+ if only doing long road trips at 55-65mpg. If going faster, or doing city driving it drops off. But if you drive the speed limit or near, you will do very well. We had a 2 door Accent in the mid-90s and even with a stick it only bested 27mpg. Things have come a long way. This car is waaaaay nicer and more advanced and gets better MPG without even trying. It is a perfect "inexpensive commuter car". The car is always comfortable and feels safe, even in bowels of Atlanta traffic as well as the country back-roads of deep-woods rural Georgia. For someone who is looking for a versatile hatchback to get around in, I could not recommend this car enough. It is the perfect combination of CHEAP and QUALITY and GOOD Lastly, with the USB port plus my iPhone on top of dash via a magnetic clamp, I have my own GPS, music streaming and podcasting ... all the tech I would want in ma car for short jaunts or looooong road trips.