Might have been great, if it had a head gasket
You read it right. After 20k miles, intermittent overheating, water pump replacement, "air bubbles" discovered, and getting stranded hundreds of miles from home, it was discovered this car rolled out of the factory without a head gasket. How the engine lasted that long I guess is a testament to some great machining work, but it took over a year and six visits to the dealership--and the dealership dealing with Hyundai's tech line--to finally pull the engine and discover there was no head gasket. Hyundai's customer service is like dealing with an insurance company. You get delayed, put off, and at some point communication goes dark for months at a time. When they do call you they don't have any information but instead expect that you have more information for them. And Roadside Assistance. Just be aware if you contact them a tow might show up, but they will tow your vehicle to the nearest Hyundai dealership, which in my case was 200 miles in the other direction from my home. Make sure you have roadside assistance with some other provider if you decide to take your chances with a Hyundai.
It's one thing to make a mistake, like forgetting the head gasket, but if you choose to be an obstacle to getting something fixed you are making a choice, and that is not what I would call customer service.