2009 Hyundai Sonata

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New front end coming up. With new lights in the back too.

But to really keep up with the all new 2008 Accord or Mazda6, it will need an all new interior.
The current one is OK. But it’s never been great.
And it will be pretty dated in a year…

Conversation 14 comments

  1. Accord, Mazda6, WHHAAAAT!!! They think their competition is the BMW 5 Series. What, haven’t you seen the commercials, Its twenty grand less than a 5 Series, but has less cup-holders.

    No seriously I agree with you on the interior, with that weird split in the center console. But who would cross shop FWD Hyundais with RWD luxury cars/SUVs? I mean they pit the Azera against The LS460. They reasoning is that the only thing you lose is that the car can’t park itself, “but for half the price you could pay someone to park for you.” HUH!?!?!? I mean I do remember the commercials but for the wrong reasons.

  2. I drove the sister car to this, The Kia Optima (06) EX trim 4-cyl automatic for four days. I was quite impressed with that car. At 80 mph, the RPM was at 2500. Very smooth and quiet ride, no rattles at 25,000 miles. More than enough power, surprisingly.

  3. Joe in Seattle said…
    I drove the sister car to this, The Kia Optima (06) EX trim 4-cyl automatic for four days. I was quite impressed with that car. At 80 mph, the RPM was at 2500. Very smooth and quiet ride, no rattles at 25,000 miles. More than enough power, surprisingly
    ————————————–Isn’t the EX the top model, iirc?
    I test drove the V6 and the I-4 last year(before they prices went up, and they ditched one model version, the affordable one, lol..the one I wanted, EX, with sunroof, and abs pkg, on sale, was 18,999. Now? Try about 1K more)
    And the V6 was slighty better, but not enough to vindicate spending an extra 1-2K more.
    Also, 34MPG hwy, 5 speed automanual( where Accord or Camry’s auto-manual shifter? I don’t see ’em)…
    is nice, if ya wanna pass, drop it down a gear, or two!
    It does help.

    The Kia Optima, to me, is better than the Sebring, Fusion, or current Malibu, and better than the Sonata(I test drove it, too, all of these cars, the past year, to be honest).
    It may not be a rocket( maybe 9.5-10 to 60 in I-4 version), but in every other dept, it is a cut above most others.
    Even reviews brag of it.
    I think a road and track or was it C&D in feb this year did a 6 midsized car comparo, and Optima was 3rd, behind accord and altima( and if it had the 235HP V6… of sonata, it may have been first!)ahead of camry,aura,sebring.

    I dunno,. my gripe is Hyundai MSRP’s are within 1-1,500 of Toyota-Honda these days.
    The lost their uniqueness about 2006 model( the old one looked liek a jag, some said, some hated it, but everyone looks at it..my 04)….
    now? Looks like Japan, Inc…car.
    Big deal.
    Even Optima, but at least it can be had (least costly midsized car in USA)cheap.
    Heard rumors of diesel, but who knows?
    Hyundia promised a hybrid Accent for Sept of last year, then at the last month or two before it was to appear in USA, they decided not to sell it due ot currency issues, and they claimed they would lose too much money.
    Who knows what Hyundai will do?

    They are losing their”weirdness” in design/looks, which I liked, to be honest. I know MANY others who feel the same way.

    Why blend in with the crowd?
    Boring!

    The Sonata is boring these days.
    And overpriced, compared to the 05 models they sold 18-22 months back.

  4. they dont expect anyone to cross shop bmw, lexus or land rover (with the santa fe), they are just showcasing high value.

  5. Leland, I’d like to object on your view on Hyundai’s latest commercial which compares the Sonata to the BMW. Hyundai’s objective is to NOT cross-shop BMW buyers nor compare the Sonata to the BMW. Hyundai remarks that in the commercial and their main point of comparing it with the Bimmer is that they know the BMW is far superior to the Hyundai. Hyundai’s target is to the average Joes in this one. You can find features standard on a car $20,000 more in a Hyundai. That’s what Hyundai is aiming for. I, for once, believe that the Smart Move campaign is quite clever.

    William Lee
    TheCarBlogger

  6. CaymanS I agree with you on that part when it comes to comparing the Sante Fe to the LR2 (especially and correct me if I’m wrong, it uses the same commen platform as the Ford Escape)

    The BMW and especially the Lexus fall into the realm of ridiculous. They should have chosen the Acura TL or Lexus ES (I.E midsize FWD status cars that COULD be compared apples to apples) and granted the 525 is a dog but its like that on purpose to “make” people buy the bigger engine (A problem Infiniti has because the VQ35DE they put into the M and FX are so good that many, more like most customers don’t see too much difference between its performance and the VK45DE, and the VQ35/37HR are going to close that gap further)
    The Azera Ad; now several car mags have said that “its the best Buick built today and GM look out” So maybe it beating the Lucerne and Cadillac DTS would be more appropriate. then again it shows how much Hyundai (and the competition) think of those warmed over W-Body cars. Can they please be phased out sooner so Oshawa Car Assembly can be retooled for the Zeta cars.

  7. The current car has really taken advantage of the low expectations people had of Hyundai. It was a good car, not great. But much better than people expected. Now that people’s perceptions have improved, their cars are really going to have to get much better.

  8. You guys are stupid if you don’t understand the ads.

    The point is that BMWs may be better than Hyundais, but is it really worth the $20,000 to YOU (YOU!) for the difference? Probably not, and especially not if you DO NOT have the extra $20,000!!

    Someone from Australia on a forum site said they found them “offensive”. How retarded can you get?? Maybe they have different concepts down there.

  9. M-I-L has a 06 LX w/ V-6. Very nice car for the money…(very nice for $18k), but interior is a little hard to swallow. Agreed, that better fuel economy would be welcomed. Overall, exterior quality is better than my EX Accord, while interior is better on the Accord. Hate to say it Honda, but the Sonata is more fun to drive!

  10. Re late model Hyundai Cars as an engineer i recognise quality and value. i own a lexus and am not biased by brand names i consider Hyundai to be as good in Quality or in some cases better than BMW Benz Lexus Et’c As a refined and safe means of transport driving within the law and not on a racetrack for example the 2009 hyundai Azera & Granduer would probably give you a safer quieter relaxing drive than many overated European cars.Think about it.

  11. very nice đŸ™‚
    Beautiful expression.
    Beautiful stuff! That’s not just tagging, that’s art.

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