What do you guys think of the current incarnation of the Sonata....
my college auto body instructor just bought a brand new one. he said it drives really nice. idk i dont think it looks bad at all either
They are pretty nice cars. I don't know if you are looking for used or new. If you are looking for new, wait a bit for the 2009 interior. 100 times better than the current model. I think they are coming around early 2008.
look it up, you'll agree with me 100%. The new interior is alot better than the current.
If you are jsut looking for the current, they are good cars, but the interior could be ALOT better. Wait for the 2009(early 2008).
i had a rental for my vacation last summer... it was ok, nothing really bad that I have to say about it, but I wouldn't rush out to buy one. i dunno, comparable to a Camry or Accord as far as driving dynamics.
I was curious as to others opinions because I picked up one ('08 model) today as my daily driver. I had an '03 Mustang v6 for that, but it just didn't work out (for a number of reasons) and I was starting to have some minor problems with it. Found out they were doing 0% for 72 months on the '08s so I went out and took a test drive of a 4 cylinder. Not the fastest car in the world (if I want to go somewhat speedy, I got my '06 Mustang for that) but more than adequate (and faster than the v6 in the '03, in my opinion). I took a slight hit on the '03 but I got the Sonata for $100 over invoice and the 0% financing help offset any serious hit I would have taken on the price.
I like it so far. It's a pretty tame ride, nothing exciting. So far I think it's a pretty decent ride...not bad for a fully loaded (minus sunroof, automatic a/c, upgraded wheels, power pedals, leather trim, foglights & rear spoiler) base car. Not really a fan of sedans but I've always been a fan of the styling of the last gen Passat which cars like the Sonata and Five Hundred/Taurus have adopted, in some form.. Truth be told, Camry SE i4 would have been my first choice but I don't see Toyota discounting those cars or offering a really low APR, so the Sonata was #2 in the list. I don't know if I'm going to do any customization to the car. Maybe a lip kit, some upgraded wheels or something along those lines in a couple of years...but nothing now. Paying for 2 cars doesn't leave much room for doing anything aftermarket, so I'm not in a real big hurry to do anything along those lines.
It'll be a while before I get a true sense of the MPGs but I'm impressed with the 26 in the city I got driving it around all day.
Oh I did take a look at the '09 Sonata after reading xerd's suggestion and I agree the interior is sooo much better, but I'm not much one for waiting, lol. The green lighting inside the '08 instrument panel, radio display, etc is the only annoying feature (should've been a nice blue color like in the 09s) to me, seeing how I will be driving the car 95% during daylight hours, it shouldn't be a problem lol but if I could change the interior display color of the gauges, I probably would.
So far, decent ride...no complaints.
On a side note, this is the first car I've ever owned that has a sporttronic/shiftronic/man-o-matic/tiptronic transmission set up. Is it really good for anything or should I just let the car do it's thing?
James (The SN95 & S197 Driver) wrote:I was curious as to others opinions because I picked up one ('08 model) today as my daily driver. I had an '03 Mustang v6 for that, but it just didn't work out (for a number of reasons) and I was starting to have some minor problems with it. Found out they were doing 0% for 72 months on the '08s so I went out and took a test drive of a 4 cylinder. Not the fastest car in the world (if I want to go somewhat speedy, I got my '06 Mustang for that) but more than adequate (and faster than the v6 in the '03, in my opinion). I took a slight hit on the '03 but I got the Sonata for $100 over invoice and the 0% financing help offset any serious hit I would have taken on the price.
I like it so far. It's a pretty tame ride, nothing exciting. So far I think it's a pretty decent ride...not bad for a fully loaded (minus sunroof, automatic a/c, upgraded wheels, power pedals, leather trim, foglights & rear spoiler) base car. Not really a fan of sedans but I've always been a fan of the styling of the last gen Passat which cars like the Sonata and Five Hundred/Taurus have adopted, in some form.. Truth be told, Camry SE i4 would have been my first choice but I don't see Toyota discounting those cars or offering a really low APR, so the Sonata was #2 in the list. I don't know if I'm going to do any customization to the car. Maybe a lip kit, some upgraded wheels or something along those lines in a couple of years...but nothing now. Paying for 2 cars doesn't leave much room for doing anything aftermarket, so I'm not in a real big hurry to do anything along those lines.
It'll be a while before I get a true sense of the MPGs but I'm impressed with the 26 in the city I got driving it around all day.
Oh I did take a look at the '09 Sonata after reading xerd's suggestion and I agree the interior is sooo much better, but I'm not much one for waiting, lol. The green lighting inside the '08 instrument panel, radio display, etc is the only annoying feature (should've been a nice blue color like in the 09s) to me, seeing how I will be driving the car 95% during daylight hours, it shouldn't be a problem lol but if I could change the interior display color of the gauges, I probably would.
So far, decent ride...no complaints.
On a side note, this is the first car I've ever owned that has a sporttronic/shiftronic/man-o-matic/tiptronic transmission set up. Is it really good for anything or should I just let the car do it's thing?
Congrats on the purchase. Hyundai is putting out some nice looking vehicles. Your concern about the tiptronic; use it. It won't hurt the car if you use it, however, do be hot rodding around using it. I'm sure the transmission can handle it, as they wouldn't put it on if it couldn't. My parents have had two cars with it (S80 T6 and TL) and no complaints. Have fun!
i love the shift tronic in mine... it is really nice for the simple fact that if you have noticed, when you give it gas, it takes a bit.... usually i use it around the city getting in lanes, and out of lanes, or past yellowlights.
its supposed to be good to use it rather than to let is just be there.... but i wouldnt over- use it...
usually my mom drives the car, so when i get it i try to use the shift tronic for a bit.
she never does, and since i drive the car about 10-20% of the time, i think 80/20 is a good split for use and non-use.
plus its really nice to be in an "on call" horsepower situation like a regular manual.
i like the sonata overall... a few things ive noticed with ours (06 GLS v6)
the paint, personally, its very orange peely. especially after a good wax. idk i would prefer a higher quality paint job.
the air intake. its really long, twisty, and to many parts... its going to be really hard to find any aftermarket parts.
gas mileage... no car is perfect, but ours averages right around 20mpg not bad, but my cav would kill it from a tank to tank fill
we had one recall which was never solved... the headlights dim without warning, and then re-light to normal...
its also very heavy... and doesnt handle well esp. compared to my cav.
on the good side,
its great for cruising, has the power to get pesky hondas out of the way...
the engine handles power well, and the oil filter is much easier than the cavaliers... lol
the sound system is very nice, and it has a very roomy, comfortable interior... it fit an entire Type J body-kit inside, closed the trunk, and had room for my friend and i to drive home somewhat comfortably.
i wouldnt consider it on par with the accord, and camry, but then again, i would. considering it was a first place recipient of many acknoledgments and priced around 10K less than an accord or camry with similar options... ill definetly take the sonata.
im considering the genesis for my next car. should it be available.
Thanks for the info. I've played around with the tiptronic a little bit today while I had it out and I like the "mini-boost" that it gives when it's put in sport mode. I've been driving it for the past couple of days while I let my v6 Mustang sit in the car port. I really can't compare it to other cars in it's class but the ride is pretty smooth, in my opinion. I barely feel any bumps in the road when I'm riding in it. Tomorrow will be the true test of it as I take 35 miles on the Interstate in to work tomorrow.
My gas mileage has been great in the two days I had it and if the trip computer is accurate, I'll hit over 500 miles on my first tank of gas.
This thing has so many airbags and safety features, that I'm hoping for a decent discount when I go to my agent tomorrow to get insurance officially put on it.
The XM Radio is something new to me. I've been listening to it since I got the car (came standard) and I like it, not sure if I like it well enough to get a subscription but I like the channels that I perused thus far I've enjoyed. I still have the balance of 3 months to determine if its something that I would want to invest money in.
I agree, it's a great cruiser vehicle...it was fun driving around town. Having a sunroof might have made it better but it' doesn't detract from anything.
My car hasn't been waxed yet, when I picked it up their detailed shop was closed so I took it home and cleaned it myself. I'll take it back to them this weekend for my complimentary car detailing then wax it when I get it back home this weekend. I'll definitely be taking a closer look at the paint then to see if I notice any orange peel
I quickly noticed there isn't much of an aftermarket for this car, lol. At best I've only found one lip kit for the current Sonatas and that's it. No CAIs, exhaust or anything like that, lol.
yeah aftermarket who?
its not a HUGE amount of orange peel, but its not a little bit. darker colors probably show it more than lighter colors.
i have buffed the car twice and thats after the most recent waxing. its looking better than it did, hopefully ill be able to work it out a little more and not wear away much more clear coat. its still got a decent clear coat depth says my painter.
Well, nice buy. I love Hyundais, and will continue to own them. I just picked up an 07 Elantra for my wife a few months ago, and I'm thinking of trading in my Pathfinder for a Tucson.
Hyundais suck for aftermarket for the most part, unless it's the Tiburon. Check out
Shark Racing. They have some decent stuff. Even if there's not much you can do, you'll enjoy reliability, which for a DD is all that matters.
Keep us updated!!
-John
I've seem some nice parts for Sonatas on Shark Racing as well as a few other KDM sites. I'd really like to have one of the KDM Sonata lip kits, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable paying $1400 for a fiberglass lip kit (although it fits the car very well). I want to add OEM fog lights to my car at some point (the only Sonatas in stock that had foglights were upper $20,000 Limited models). So I found OEM foglights, but I haven't been able to find a wiring harness. I think they are impossible to find at the point, so I'll probably have to use a universal fog light wiring harness to power them...which also I haven't been able to find yet...I think I suck pretty much at searching.
I had one problem with the car thus far. I took the car back earlier in the week for my complimentary cleaning and when I went to pick up the car, I found a large white, hazy spot in the center of the hood. Their detailers couldn't get it out, (and made it sound like I was the one that damaged the car) so I asked them to switch hoods on me, which they stated they couldn't do (for 2 hours). Then I asked them to swap me into a car with the same options as mine in any color, to which they stated they couldn't do that either as they have reported my VIN number as being sold. So finally, they agreed to swap hoods with another black Sonata in stock as I vehemently refused to let them repaint my hood with the company they use to do all their bodywork as that particular company royally screwed up my Cavalier when I brought it in to their shop for repairs 4 years ago. So I told them to wash the new hood on the car they were doing the swap with and let me take a look at the hood and if I approve of the new hood to put it on. Well they put the hood on without even letting me look at it first and that hood had blemishes in the paint as well. They were closing up shop so they told me to bring the car back the next day so they can take a look at it. I brought it back the next day and luckily they were able to buff things out with little effort and so my car looks like it should have when I got it.
Oh I did get a call from the saleswoman that sold me the Sonata telling me the HMFC needs proof that I am who I say that I am because apparently my SSN doesn't match to the person it belongs, despite the fact this is my SSN and this is the same number that was on file with Hyundai when I got my Accent back in 1999. I checked my credit report and so far, no suspicious activity has been reported on my credit, so hopefully all of this is just a clerical error by HMFC and all of that will get cleared up soon.
As for the car, I can't say enough positive things for it. For a 4 cylinder it has a lot of pep and sips gas in the city better than any small economy car that I've owned or used in the past. As a matter of fact, I'm 8 days into ownership with 475 miles on the tripometer and I'm still using the original tank of gas furnished by the dealer with another estimated 35 miles to go before I need to refuel. I definitely plan to do some light modifications (mostly appearance) in the future like chrome grille (my car is black, so I think a OEM or aftermarket chrome grille would make the front look even better and accent the OEM chrome garnish that sits below the hood), 17" wheels, (I've been thinking about something along this
style), a mild drop...about an inch front and rear...with some springs, and I think I'm pretty much done with the car. I was really considering doing the Razzi kit but on 2nd thought, I really don't like the styling of the front and my car doesn't have dual exhaust so I don't like the thought of having fake duals out the rear. I'm pretty sure any good quality exhaust shop can fab me a good dual set up, but I wouldn't see what benefits it would have on a car that really wasn't geared to be performance minded. It doesn't mean I wouldn't get it done but I don't see the point in doing it right now. Maybe if I'm fortunate enough to get my hands on a black v6 Sonata rear bumper in the future, but right now it's off the radar. That's pretty much it for me, it's my daily driver so it's not like I can get too crazy with it, nor do I plan to. My main goal is to pay off both cars, asap but small mods here and there on the Sonata I can see myself doing and as I calculated, it's a lot cheaper to mod the Sonata than it is to mod the Mustang.
Any other tips you Hyundai owners (and yes I visited other Hyundai forums) can offer me, I would greatly appreciate those as well.
lots of wax. the paint needs cared for, thats just what ive noticed. it gets etchy very easily. keep it waxed/polished.
I saw these up close and personal recently and the upgraded model is really nice. It surprised me.
