This week we were given a new Sonata loaner by the dealership. It was the base model. These are my thoughts on the car:
Exterior: I always liked the sharp styling of this car. No complaints here...it's at the head of the class compared to the competition.
Interior: Overall, not bad. The front, center and rear pillars are big which limits visibility. The interior was soft plastic which was expected for the base model. The interior is large front to back but isn't much wider than my 2003 Corolla which was a bit disappointing. The center stack and dash was adequate and modern. The stock radio was good but the speakers produced terrible sound. Seats were firm.
Driving Experience: One thing that annoyed me was how easy it was to knock the shifter from "Auto" mode to the setting where you could select your gear. The engine and transmission work well together, a normal person would be surprised there wasn't a V-6 under the hood. The engine was smooth under acceleration but seemed to "miss" a bit at idle or when RPM's were low. By far, the biggest issue I have with the car is road noise. It's rather excessive and the biggest disappointment I have with the vehicle.
Conclusion: In order for me to buy a Sonata, it would have to be seriously discounted below $18K. Even if I could get it that low, I still would shop the competition. I travel quite a bit and the road noise is a big issue for me. For as much hype as this vehicle received when it was introduced, I came away a little disappointed. It would have been easy for Hyundai just to add a bit of sound insulation to have a real nice cruiser on their hands. Maybe we will see that on an upcoming refreshed version.
Exterior: I always liked the sharp styling of this car. No complaints here...it's at the head of the class compared to the competition.
Interior: Overall, not bad. The front, center and rear pillars are big which limits visibility. The interior was soft plastic which was expected for the base model. The interior is large front to back but isn't much wider than my 2003 Corolla which was a bit disappointing. The center stack and dash was adequate and modern. The stock radio was good but the speakers produced terrible sound. Seats were firm.
Driving Experience: One thing that annoyed me was how easy it was to knock the shifter from "Auto" mode to the setting where you could select your gear. The engine and transmission work well together, a normal person would be surprised there wasn't a V-6 under the hood. The engine was smooth under acceleration but seemed to "miss" a bit at idle or when RPM's were low. By far, the biggest issue I have with the car is road noise. It's rather excessive and the biggest disappointment I have with the vehicle.
Conclusion: In order for me to buy a Sonata, it would have to be seriously discounted below $18K. Even if I could get it that low, I still would shop the competition. I travel quite a bit and the road noise is a big issue for me. For as much hype as this vehicle received when it was introduced, I came away a little disappointed. It would have been easy for Hyundai just to add a bit of sound insulation to have a real nice cruiser on their hands. Maybe we will see that on an upcoming refreshed version.
