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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  Stay Away from this hunk of Crap! - 2015 Hyundai Elantra
  By Nik - December 9 - 6:51 pm

  Chief complaint: the freaking (and I dont mean freaking) trunk goes thru spells where it just pops up whenever it wants. Seriously, I stood in the parking garage at work for 45 freaking minutes closing my trunk because it pops open every 3 minutes! I took it to the dealership and the guy from the service department told me that he was familiar with the problem because it happened to him when he drove a loaner vehicle, however, the techs werent going to be able to diagnose and fix it unless they actually saw the trunk popping up with their own eyes! Are you freaking kidding me! Now Im standing guard at my trunk because it keeps popping open and I live in a freaking apt complex! Next complaint: the alignment or something is off... You cant hold the damn car straight in one lane. No matter how straight and steady you hold the steering wheel, you still end up swerving and veering into someone elses lane. Additional complaint: the worst acceleration that Ive ever experienced in a vehicle... good luck pulling a heel. Haha! You can mash the gas to the floor and youll literally be going 10mph, but give it about 2-3 minutes itll respond to you pushing the accelerator. Last complaint: Idk why, but the windows fog up like crazy! Myself and a coworker who has this same car discussed this... you literally need the defroster year-round...the windows just fog up... no talking or singing with the radio --the windows just fog up. This was a horrible purchase and Im counting the days until I can trade it in. I purchased this car in March 2015 with 4 miles on it. Today it has 4,500 Miles exactly...and the freaking trunk wont close! Im seriously considering speaking with an attorney re: our local Lemon Law. No way a brand spanking new car should have these issues! Why am I outside, in the dark, closing my trunk every 3 minutes... at this very moment...

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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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  Lemon - 2012 Hyundai Elantra
  By Christina Espinoza - November 3 - 5:59 pm

  I was hoping for something better for the reviews. Only 3 years old and needs work on fuel ejector and a new axle!!!!!! What the heck?

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  Horrible - 2002 Hyundai Sonata
  By Ashley Martinez - October 20 - 7:40 pm

  This car was honestly the worst thing I could have purchased. I spent a lot of money just to buy it and then ended up having to spend thousands of dollars to fix it the next week after purchase. Although gas mileage was great I would rather have something that would burn through gas then this. It was not reliable and had a mind of its own.

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  Horrible Car - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By Sarah - October 19 - 9:57 am

  I bought my 2011 Hyundai Elantra GLS last May with only 38,000 miles on it. For the first 6 months it was fine... in less than a year I had to replace all brakes, all rotors, all calipers, all the tires, all the coils, all the spark plugs, and get the seats professionally cleaned because WATER stains them... I was STILL having issues with it and no one could seem to find the issue... when we went back to the Hyundai Dealer and they drained my engine they found a ton of metal in the oil pan... the engine is done. Now I owe $10,000 on a car that needs a new engine that Hyundai would only give me $500 bucks for if I wanted to trade it in. I am, therefore, stuck with replacing the engine. I will hope that with a new engine they will give me at least $6,000 for it and I will take the loss so that I can trade in for a new car. This car has drained our savings and really hurt my work because Ive been stranded numerous times on the side of the road because he stopped accelerating (also a problem we could not find "why"). Even with winter tires, the car is so light is has swung out in the rear on the highway going 40 mph in the winter blocking the highway. I feel safer in our "beater" car which is a 2001 Jetta. Horrible car.

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  Finest Car we ever owned!!!!!! But un-reliable!! - 2011 Hyundai Equus
  By John Chavanne - October 10 - 5:49 pm

  This review is for our 2011 Equus. Prior to this we owned 4 Lexus LS sedans (1990,1996,2001,2005). The car is by far smoother and more comfortable and outperforms anything we have ever had. But------------At least 6 ot 8 times we have been faced with a dead battery. Why??? I think two possible reasons. When entering or exiting the car it is very easy to accidently touch the "Trunk Release" button. The trunk lid does not open, just moves up perhaps a 1/4" or so. So unless you grasp the trunk and try to open it and/or slam it you never realize this has happened. Trunk light comes on and a few days later---dead car!!!! Not sure about the latest model but some Hyundais (new Sonata and Genesis) when the button is pushed, open the lid all the way---obvious!! So two fixes--1- Retrofit to raise the lid completely or at least several inches and 2- Install what many competitors have which is a timer that automatically shuts down any accessories/lights that are accidentally left on!! Our dealer and we presume Hyundai refuse to consider this fix and instead are prepared to remove the trunk light!!!! Another contributing factor seems to be that if car is not driven for a couple of weeks the existing systems seem to run the battery down. I installed a trickle charger but the dealer removed it. Sadly, the dealer and Hyundai have spent more in service calls and battery replacements than they would have to do a fix to the problems! At this point we may be looking for a lesser car but one that is reliable!! It would be wonderful if someone at Hyundai or our dealer who is able to make decisions would contact us. Meanwhile the car is gone for at least 3-4 days----again!!!!!!!!!!!

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  Terrible buy - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By DILLAN - September 30 - 8:24 am

  The warranty given by Hyundai doesnt guarantee the motor 100,000 miles unless your original owner. My engine blew even after regular maintenance. The recent recall of the 2011 and 2012 model confirms my suspicion that they wont recall them because its only affecting a certain region. The mechanics know that vehicles are defected as well.

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  Stay away from hyundai entourage..run and never lo - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Amanda - September 16 - 7:37 pm

  This car has a defect with the starter and wiring..something defective with the antitheft system. You will regret buying so dont. We paid 11,000 and asked to trade in a month later offered 3,000 by the same joke of a dealership. Van randomly does not start. Ongoing issue since purchase. Key Hyundai service dept has been totally useless. Sales dept was not honest and upfront about the vehicles issues. DO NOT expensive mistake our family made.

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  Nice concept but still a Hyundai - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By crmoraes@hotmail.com - September 5 - 11:20 am

  I bought a 2015 Genesis 3.8 after thinking for a long time. I never had a Hyundai before and honestly did not trust it as a reliable car. Initially the car performed well in all aspects but at 1k miles the driver seat started to vibrate and few more miles the steering wheel also started to vibrate. - First Service The vibration just got worst and at the first service and some internet research I was asked to replace the tires due a Hyundai recall, which I did. Well, that did not fix the vibration issue but just made worst. I also opened a complain with Hyundai about the vibration. - Second visit I went back to the dealer and explained in details what was happening. They inspect and said that had to perform a tire balance as they were off. - Third visit Vibration was still as before, specially around 50-60 miles. So, took it back to the dealer and again inspection more adjusts and nothing. - Fourth visit At this point I was upset and did not want the car anymore. Went back to the dealer and asked them to trade in for another car or helped me fixed, even talked to the owner. He asked the service manager to ride my car which he did and even with the vibration he said it was normal. I told him that the loaner Genesis they gave did not have it and he should drive the loaner to compare it. He said the owner would take care of my issue. After almost 3 hrs seated at the dealer waiting for someone to talk to me I went to search for the owner again and ask what would happen. At that point the owner was busy and nobody could help me. So, I decided Hyundai never more and left to trade it for another trusted and reliable brand.

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  Two engines since coming off the showroom floor in - 2006 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jeff - August 6 - 3:42 pm

  All I can say is that this car had an electrical system right off the showroom floor. It has also had two engines. The first failed at less than 100,000 and the last one failed at 34,700. Support from the dealer was ok but Hyundai Motors showed nothing but contempt for us and treated us like dirt. Will never ever purchase any other Hyundai product again period. Please do yourself a favor and ask lots of questions and also talk to as many owners and research any car you purchase from these people before hand. The warranty sounds good but its a scam. They Hyundai Motors staff are cotemptable disrespectful trolls.