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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  NOT A CIVIC 4 SURE - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By Bill Bidlack - July 28 - 9:47 pm

  Read the owners manual thoroughly. It is not a Corvette or Mustang. And, it certainly is not a civic. I traded in my 2008 Honda Civic for my 2013 Hyundai Elantra GSL. Most noticeable difference was the roominess. Second difference is I got 43.3 MPG w/A/C on, ECO engaged and cruise control engaged on a trip from Dothan, AL to Panama City, FL. However, use your foot on the accelerator and use Jack rabbit starts, and yes youll only get 28 or so MPG. As for road noise, if you want to reduce It get rid of the dealer supplied tires which are the cheapest at best and put on some Goodyear Comfortread or Micheline Defender tires, inflate to 32PSI and your road noise will go away. If your Elantra GSL didnt come with a spare tire kit, order one from wholesalehyudaiparts.com and save 35%. I ordered mine. Other then the above, the Hyundai Elantra GLS can provide years of great driving.

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  Six-Speed Manual Great First Car - 2011 Hyundai Elantra
  By Savian Walker - July 27 - 1:20 pm

  This is a great car for anyone seeking to learn how to drive/drive a manual transmission. The front seats are comfortable and the car is easy to control. All of this is coming from a fifteen year old who has a learners permit. The only gripe are that the seat stain easily (with water!!!) and the rear end can get a little antsy in the highway. The car has been very reliable for only being in for the curtain airbags recall and regular service. The car now has 129,000.

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  WOW! MB E350 vs Hyundai Genesis 3.8 - 2012 Hyundai Genesis
  By Jay Tate - July 27 - 11:02 am

  Traded my 2011 MB for 2012 Genesis after 2.5 years with the E350 4-Matic. Should have done this years ago. I bought in April 2015. It was a leased turn-in with ONLY 5783 miles. First noticed great acceleration...3.8 vs 3.5! Second, fuel economy... 19.5 around town 32 on the road vs 18 and 28. The great cost savings feature: regular fuel for the 3.8 vs hi-test for the E350! As others have reported, there is a slight lag gear shifting in city driving but NOT on the highway. Mine has the fantastic technology package...front parking sensor is very convenient rear camera with parking sensor is great active cruise control does not allow me to sneak up on a slower driver. BTW, great dashboard graphics on the active cruise. Vent seat is great...but, would like vent in passenger seat as well. Genesiss leather seats are far superior compared to the MBs faux leather. My E350 drivers seat developed a crack near the sown seam at 51K miles. I had the 6-year/100K warranty. The MB dealer would not honor...saying crack was due to fair wear. Thats BS! My girl friends 2012 GLK 350 has 90K (shes a manufacturers rep), has same seat faux leather material, shes in and out all the time, and her seat has not cracked. (Yet one more reason why I traded!) Per another review, I assume the tech package comes with rear privacy curtain. I like this feature...MB had same. Overall, the Genesis 3.8 with tech package is by far superior to my MB E350. And for less, $$$, one gets a LOT more automobile. Oh yes, if you like the Genesis wing emblem, this can be ordered to replace the leaning H emblem....front, rear, and on the wheel rim hub covers. Last comment....WOW! is a great way to describe this automobile.

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  One Year After Purchase - 2015 Hyundai Genesis
  By John - July 25 - 5:32 pm

  We purchased our Genesis 3.8 exactly one year ago. Our car has the signature package, and is very well appointed for the price class. We wanted a rear wheel drive sedan, and all competitive Japanese and German makes were substantially more expensive than the Genesis. This car is solid and very well thought out. We have had NO PROBLEMS WITH ANYTHING in the 1st year. Hyundai replaced the OEM Korean tires with Michelin Primacy MXV4s at factory expense because of excess ride harshness and noise with the Hankook originals. The build quality and material quality on this vehicle is excellent, and I dont think there is a better all around value in the market today. Best car we have ever owned.

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  Think twice - 2012 Hyundai Accent
  By Jordan Bocanegra - July 25 - 4:34 pm

  I was so excited when I purchased my 2012 Hyundai Accent (from a private seller with 53k miles) it is my first car and I found it very stylish. It doesnt have much to offer on the inside, no cruise control no Bluetooth but I loved it... For about a month. The car is so low to the floor that simply tapping the parking barrier when parking can damage the undercarriage. Something I didnt know until my check engine light came on and I brought it to the dealer. Turns out my av compressor got pushed back into the radiatior, and long story short it cost me 2600 dollars in repairs. One month after buying it. Another thing is when youre driving the car it wont go past 45/50 mph until it goes over 2k rpm and thats an annoying trait in a car especially if you highway drive. Knowing what I know now I wouldnt have purchased this car. Its not the worst in the world, but definitely not the best.

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  Good Value for the money. - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Lou - July 24 - 11:42 pm

  Bought my car used in 2009 with 9,000 miles, was a little concerned that it was traded in so quick but with the remainder of warranty left 4+ years and 50K bumper to bumper it was worth the gamble considering some new cars only give you 36K and 3 years. Initially bought car for wife for local driving, during the last 6 years the car has been virtually repair free, only used warranty to replace driver visor and no other issues. I have the V6 and when getting into the FWYs no issues plenty of zip and easy handling, just made a cross country run of 2,900+ miles and it ran better than expected, really didnt check mileage but it was probably around 30+MPG. I am 61" and around 230LBS considering its size I felt I had adequate room driving 6+ hours a day. Getting ready to sell and its almost worth half of what I paid and have 89K, overall Id have to say its a 4+ and a 5 for value.

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  I would not buy another Hyundai Elantra - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By Derek - July 22 - 12:09 pm

  I purchased this car new in August of 2013 with 16 miles on the odometer. At 11,000 miles the drivers seat rail failed and had to be replaced under the warranty. Now at 20,000 miles the front drivers side ball bearings have failed, leaving me stranded on the side of the road. Road side assistance was amazing, but I found it very hard to get a Hyundai dealer to take the car. None of the dealers would offer me a courtesy car or rental. I had to find my own ride. The car is now fixed and back on the road, but needs a tire balance and alignment, which was affected during the repairs. The dealership said they are not responsible for this. My overall thoughts about the car, very sporty looking car, handles well, good gas mileage, reliable engine, I like the technology package, but very poor components aka powertrain and poor interior quality.

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  Service - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By Larry James. - July 21 - 5:55 pm

  This car is a lemon. It has spent 7 month out of 3 years in the shop. I am on my third engine. Now they will not fix my radio and nav system. I have had it the shop 4 times the the radio and nav.

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  Get rid of it before the warranty runs!!!!! - 2013 Hyundai Accent
  By JJ - July 20 - 6:49 pm

  The car was decent to drive when it worked and then it turned out to be the worst car I have ever owned. I thought I was getting a reliable vehicle and ended up getting a vehicle that lasted just past 101K. I have owned at least four other vehicles and all of them have lasted for years and made it to at least 200,000. In fact I have never had a motor go out on a single one of them except my crappy Hyundai. I well never buy another Hyundai.

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  Me & My Elantra - 2013 Hyundai Elantra
  By Daniel J. Andrews - July 14 - 12:43 am

  I have put less than 25K miles on this car (which replaced a 2004 Sonata which was a great car!) since I bought it in Nov., 2012. But I am currently on what will be about a 2,500 to 3,000 mile road trip over a period of 12 days from Fla. to GA. to MI. to PA. and back to Fla. I have completed nearly 1,200 miles over the last few days. This is, without doubt, one of the best cars I have ever owned during my 74 years of life on this planet, including Fords, Mercurys, Oldsmobiles, Dodges, Plymouths and Chryslers! I loaded up my MP-3 player selected a number of CDs I had not listened to in years and confirmed that the XMRadio subscription was paid up so I was good to go. What I did not expect was the +/- 40 MPG that I am realizing on the interstates at speeds averaging 70-75 MPH. I was also concerned that these old bones would not be able to withstand hours of driving, but that is no longer a concern as the seats are so adjustable and comfortable that I only need worry about my own "bony butt" in that regard. Spent nearly 13 hours on the road on Monday, July 12 and was none the worse for wear. Also had some serious rain around Knoxville and my Elantra performed beautifully under very adverse circumstances. All in all, I could ask for nothing better. There I only enough "technology" in the base vehicle that it is a help, rather than a hindrance as I must admit that I am technologically deficient. But for getting me from 25here to there, this is one of the best rides I have ever had!