Topic: My new ride: 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T

[johngenx]

I said the same to GD at the auto show, and we both agreed we'd still go with the Sonata, just as we think the reliability would be better.  It may or may not, just opinion.

I'd buy the Hyundai.  The brand has become a known quantity and resale is good.  The Kia will drop hard, and if you want out of it, it'll be pricey.

[Jaeger]

Hey Jaeger,

Car and colour looks fantastic. Congratulations.

I havent read all the discussions but just wondering if you did not want to wait till Kia Optima Turbo's arrival?

Any buyers remorse now that Optima is being appreciated by many as having a much better exterior and interior design?

Hey Leowin - good questions.

I did look at the Optima at the auto show, and decided that, based on what I could see (it was locked, couldn't get inside), it wasn't worth waiting for:

1) I really like the overall lines of the Optima - very different from the Sonata - angular versus curvy - but really well conceived and executed.  But they went for too many boy-racer "look-at-me-I'm-so-sporty" design cues for my personal preference.  Chief among these are the non-functional, cheap-looking, and did I mention FAKE fender vents.  I also really didn't like the chrome arc around the windows that forms a curve which visually clashes with all the straight, chiseled lines. I think it's a solid design that lacks cohesion due to the assortment of tacked-on bits.

2) Really didn't like the interior - the solid unrelieved medium-grey of the dash and its overall blocky design gave me a retro-Pontiac vibe - as did the orange lighting, something I was happy to leave behind with my Altima.

3) The cloth inserts in the leather seats look loose-weave and not very durable.  Moreover, I have kept my leather looking like-new in several cars over a decade and a half using Lexol cleaner / conditioner. I have no idea how I'd accomplish that in the Optima without gumming up all the cloth bits with the product.

4) Most reviews I've read show that it provides little if any performance / dynamic advantage over the Sonata.  For example, if it offered a 6sp manual / turbo combo, that might have made me wait.

5) It does offer a number of additional features for the same money as the Sonata, but the only one I am really envious of is the factory HID.  I figure that will eventually be offered for the Sonata and I will upgrade then.

6) You probably get this by now, but no buyer's remorse whatsoever on the Optima.  I am sure is has its fans, and as I have said before, it was a smart move to offer such distinct product differentiation inside and out as between Sonata and Optima - they will likely appeal to buyers with different stylistic preferences.  I prefer the Sonata.  I'm sure many will prefer the Optima and enjoy it very much.

Jaeger

[dirtyjeffer]

i also prefer the Sonata, but that isn't to take anything away from the Optima as i agree, they are different enough to appeal to different people and are unlikely to cannibalize each other for sales (think Buick Regal/Buick Verano).

[roundupready]

Just my thought.

If you are going to keep the car for a long time, maybe long term service/reliability costs should be part of the consideration as well.

Enjoy the car hunt.

[DomD]

Just been looking through some older Show n' Shine posts.  Sorry I didn't read the 8 pages of replies, but the car looked great in the pictures, and I was wondering what you have thought of it after owning it for a year?

[Jaeger]

Just been looking through some older Show n' Shine posts.  Sorry I didn't read the 8 pages of replies, but the car looked great in the pictures, and I was wondering what you have thought of it after owning it for a year?

Hey Dom - thanks.

One year / ~20k kms later - I'm a completey happy camper. 

About 6 months ago I had an issue where the power seemed to drop off noticeably when accelerating- well, noticeable to me anyway - if I had to put a number on it, I'd say it felt like a 25% power loss.  No check engine light.  I took in into the dealer - no codes, and they said it was driving normally.  I thought crap - here we go....  The dealer said it might be a bad tank of gas.  I initially thought that was bs, but my last fill-up had been in the States just prior to driving back to Oakville.  I didn't notice anything cruising on the highway, but I was still burning that tank when the problem showed up in city driving here.  Sure enough, when that tank was gone and I re-filled at my local Shell station, everything returned to normal.

Aside from that issue - which I can't really blame on the car itself - all has been good.  As in ZERO problems.  My twin fave things about the car are the way it pulls hard from any speed in any gear - a torque plateau starting at 1800 or so rpm is something I have really come to enjoy - and the superb highway economy.  Highway cruising is largely off-boost, so mostly like running a small displacement 4. 6.7 to 6.8 is pretty common.  I think for 2012 the normally aspirated 4 and the turbo have the same highway EPA highway economy rating.

I got a full set of snows for the car, and on the ONE real bad weather day we had this winter, I happened to be on the road pretty much the whole day.  The car handled it with inspiring confidence.

The dealership experience has also been very good - from purchase through servicing.  It's not as poshly furnished as the old Nissan / Infiniti service area, but the staff are polite and professional, the work is done right / on time / at quoted price.  And they shuttle me to and from the train station on service days.  Not a lot more I could really ask for.

Bottom line - no real complaints, no regrets.  And I still think I'd make the same choice now.  I'd check out the new Passat and Camry - both released since my purchase - but I find both designs terminally boring and don't think either would earn my purchase dollars.  The Passat CC would still rank as a strong second.  I'd also check out the new Azera.

If I had to stretch to find a complaint, I'd say that the car seems slightly more susceptible to cross-winds than my Altima did.  Not bad, by any stretch, just not as good.

Jaeger

[Guy]

Thanks for the update. Hyundai is right up there with the Japanese brands these days, if not higher.

[dougjp]

Thanks for the update. Hyundai is right up there with the Japanese brands these days, if not higher.

I think that is a GREAT question to raise at this time, and great detailed answer too, Jaeger. I remember that happening to me with gas bought in the US twice, with different cars. Once the car also didn't idle smoothly, but the other time idle and everything else was fine. I'd bet anything it was the gas.

Feedback by owners of various cars after a year of driving through all seasons is something I hope to read more often. 

[Jaeger]

Thanks gents.  doug - I think the one-year update is a good idea across-the-board for Show 'n Shine.

Glad to hear I am not alone in the bad gas experience (leave it alone Saf  ).  I hadn't encountered the problem before, and I go to the States several times a year.

Jaeger

[Keh-vin]

Great update.  Still wish my family had given one of these a chance.  Wife hates the chrome strip that runs from the headlight back (Really!! ) kid hates it because it's a "Hy-uHn-die"...sheesh, gimme a break.  41 mpg beats 25 any friggin' day of the week.  Not that I hate my car, I love it, but those Fords suck gas like a 60's car.  Even the 4 cyl Fusion's don't get better than 28 avg mpg (we have a few company cars...and that's the best one of our guys gets).

[inco]

While the Sonata was the right car at the right time for Hyundai to roll out, I can't help but wish they would also add the Azera.

Saw an ad on American TV last week and it's a very good looking car. Would slot nicely below the Genesis and for the heck of it I priced it out and with the Tech package it comes in just a shade over $36 grand. Very nice. Genesis is nice but tops out around $47 with Tech package and while it's also a great car, I can't help but think many folks would be just as happy with an Azera.

[Jaeger]

While the Sonata was the right car at the right time for Hyundai to roll out, I can't help but wish they would also add the Azera.

Saw an ad on American TV last week and it's a very good looking car. Would slot nicely below the Genesis and for the heck of it I priced it out and with the Tech package it comes in just a shade over $36 grand. Very nice. Genesis is nice but tops out around $47 with Tech package and while it's also a great car, I can't help but think many folks would be just as happy with an Azera.

I'd sure like to see it up here - the interior certainly looks like a nice step up from the Sonata.  It IS a small window to slot in between the Sonata and Genesis, however - that gets even smaller when considering the (comparatively) tiny Canadian market.  I doubt it would top out at $36 up here, considering that the Sonata tops out at just over $34k.

Even with a VERY established brand name in the Maxima, Nissan doesn't move very many of them as it is squashed on either side by top trim Altima and entry level G37.  Bottom line - I'd love to see the Azera in Canada, but can understand why there might not be a compelling busines case to bring it here.

Jaeger

[tpl]

The gas thing:   I have read that various states and regions within states have different gasoline formulations at different times of the year, not just winter and summer) for emissions reasons.

This   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygenate    explains it all at some length. From the article

"Many motorists in the U.S. did not welcome oxygenated gasoline because of its reduced energy density resulting in increased fuel consumption and because of fears of damage to cars, particularly to older cars. Alcohol (particularly methanol) fuel blends were expected to cause chemical damage to fuel system materials not designed to withstand exposure to alcohols, to increase water contamination due to alcohols' co-solvent properties, and via alcohols' solvent action loosening fixed fuel system deposits thus causing free-moving particulate contamination and clogging of various components. Experience with oxygenated fuels has shown little widespread deleterious mechanical effects, but oxygenated fuels have resulted in increased fuel consumption and often higher fuel prices. Although market conditions vary widely, ethanol is generally more expensive on a volumetric basis (and unquestionably more expensive on an energy content basis) than the gasoline with which it is blended. Refining and distribution complexities associated with regionally-specific oxygenated 'boutique gas' blends also has significantly raised gasoline prices in parts of the United States, particularly in California. Air pollution benefits from oxygenated fuels have thus far been difficult to quantify and to attribute to oxygenated fuel, but undoubtedly small."

[alexdc]

I like this car. Congrats!

[Jaeger]

one quick question Consumers rates the braking as GOOD...Car & Driver says it is NOT......below average............which is it in YOUR Humble Opinion?

I thought I'd re-visit this question from Saf, as I have a slightly different view on it a year later.  In normal driving, I still say the brakes are just fine in terms of how they work and how they feel.  However, having had to do a couple full-blown panic stops recently (who lets a three year old and a five year old play in the street unsupervised, anyway?)  the brakes definitely have a soft, mushy feel in full-flaps, drop-the-anchor mode.  They worked just fine (to my GREAT relief - the three year old remained blissfully oblivious) - but the feel was not so hot.

Jaeger

[SaskSpecV]

one quick question Consumers rates the braking as GOOD...Car & Driver says it is NOT......below average............which is it in YOUR Humble Opinion?

The brakes definitely have a soft, mushy feel in full-flaps, drop-the-anchor mode.They worked just fine (to my GREAT relief - the three year old remained blissfully oblivious) - but the feel was not so hot.

Jaeger

Interesting observation.  This is the type of detail that is rarely addressed by a mainstream auto review - they rate the brakes as "good, OK, or not so good".  No nuance or description.  C&D may comment on the feel in some sort of abstract way, but rarely gives you this type of experiential review.  That's why forums like this are so valuable...