We have had nothing but good things to say about the new Hyundai Sonata, expect of course for the recall issues. It won our midsize sedan test, beating out the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, and it has been praised by numerous other media outlets.
With all these awards and great comments, the Sonata began to sell very well. It began to move up the sales ladder and now, it has overtaken the Nissan Altima for third place in the midsize sedan segment, according to The Detroit News. Hyundai sold 21,399 models, just falling behind Honda’s 22,506 mark for the Accord and Toyota’s 30,000 sales for the Camry.
The Korean sedan has been kicking the tails of the Ford Fusion and the Chevrolet Malibu for quite some time, but this is the first time that it has beaten a major Japanese machine. There are many reasons for this overtaking. Styling, performance, build quality, and the car’s incredible fuel economy have helped it climb easily up the ladder.
Nobody will ever get excited over a washing machine. It does one job and if it does it well, that’s enough to make you smile for at least a few seconds, but you will never get tingly over it. The same can easily be said of midsize sedans. There will never be one parked outside of a very expensive Beverly Hills country club and no super spy will drive one. Yet, that won’t stop the Hyundai Sonata from being a damn good car.
What makes this machine so amazing is the fact that Hyundai wrapped so much into a package that costs so little. You get a 2.4-liter direct-injection four cylinder with variable valve timing, six-speed automatic with manual shift, an Ipod/USB/AUX jacks with Bluetooth, ABS, stability control, power everything, and a warranty that will outlast some of the owners, 10 years/100,000 miles, all for $20,195. That cost saving bundle is more shocking than this year’s San Diego Padres.
The 2011 Hyundai Sonata is the sixth version of the sedan in the Korean automaker’s history. The plan with this car is to offer families more for their money than they get with the Honda Accord, the Toyota Camry, the Chevrolet Malibu, and so on. On paper, this is the best car for the money.
Hit the jump to read on.
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The people over at Consumer Reports have just finished up a series of tests on a few family sedans. The magazine lined up the Chevrolet Impala, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima, and the Suzuki Kizashi, which we just tested. After the miles and miles of driving and investigating were finished, it was the Hyundai and the Nissan that came out on top.
The four-cylinder Altima and Sonata both got ‘Excellent’ ratings from Consumer Reports, but only the Altima managed to get the ‘Recommended’ badge. The reason that the Sonata failed to get that badge was because it was too new and the testers were unable to determine its reliability.
The Kizashi suffered the same fate. As it’s new as well, the Kizashi failed to get the ‘Recommended’ rating, though it did get an ’Excellent’ score. Sadly, the Impala didn’t do so hot.
The downright awful Chevrolet only managed a ‘Good’ rating, though it wasn’t ‘Recommended’ despite its age. The testers didn’t like its fuel economy, clumsy 19th century four-speed automatic, and the poor build quality. They also used the word "Dated".
Hit the jump to see the press release.
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So, we all know by now that the Hyundai Sonata is very good and better than most of the competition. It looks brilliant and can turn heads like a topless woman walking down the street. It has never lacked power, but Hyundai wanted to offer up something fun, for those of us who are speed freaks.
The Hyundai Sonata Turbo is coming and we simply can’t wait. Hyundai say that under the hood of the Turbo will be a 274-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged motor that will allow the car to hit 60 miles per hour in just 6.5 seconds. Nissan Altima 3.5 SR, watch your back.
The power is great, but so is fuel economy. And like the base Sonata, the new Turbo version doesn’t disappoint. The Sonata Turbo, with its turbocharged motor, will be able to get 22 miles per gallon city and 34 on the highway. Mind you, that is on regular-grade fuel, not the premium nonsense that some turbocharged cars have to use. That is mighty impressive if you ask us. Hyundai claims that the fuel economy figures are 16 percent better than the 3.5-liter V6.
Driving impressions should be coming soon and we can’t wait to take this new Hyundai out on the back roads.
Hyundai made an impressive statement with their new models unveiled in the past few years on the automotive market and the new Sonata is no exception. So, inspired by their great success, Hyundai decided it was time to try a convertible version for the new sedan.
Now, since the Chrysler Sebring has received some undesirable attention and the Toyota Solara and Pontiac G6 convertibles are dead, it seems that a future Sonata Convertible will have no competitors on the market.
Most likely - if built - the convertible version will feature the same engines as the sedan: a 200-horsepower 2.4-liter inline-4 as in the SE model or the 274-hp 2.0-liter turbo from the 2.0T model. A power-folding fabric top will be used instead of a retractable hardtop.
