Options
Hyundai Sonata vs. Honda Accord vs. Toyota Camry vs. Ford Fusion
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
had the same warranty, and the same standard features,
I would probably buy the Accord. But the 6k difference
sealed the deal.
And good luck trying to get much off that.
MSRP for my 2000 Honda Accord LX V6 was 22.5K. I got it
for around 21.
My Sonata GLS V6 cost 18k. 19.4 OTD And I am seeing
reports on the Sonata Buying forum of people paying
much less than 18K.
Maybe you misread my message? I said my Sonata cost
me 3K less than my 2000 Honda Accord LX V6.
I actually would not say that Hyundai is not at the same level as Honda in the automotive world. With both in the garage you can see that all the quality is there in both vehicles. The Dealers for the Hyundai were much nicer to work with and made the whole experience pleasant. When purchasing the Honda it was more like we joined an exclusive golf club and there were plenty of people waiting to join. Hopefully very few of us will have to deal directly with the manufacturers, but the dealers can make a big difference in which car is ultimately purchased. I talked with a ford dealer before purchasing the Sonata and the first thing out of the mouth of the sales person was "I have a guy coming back from Europe to purchase this car", the accounting department said the same thing. I didn't purchase the car because of the deal, but the next day I got a call from the sales person returning my call that I never made. In other words an honest sales person will get my vote and business whether at an exclusive Honda dealer or a down to earth Hyundai dealer.
You should talk to my son-in-law, he owns a Honda my daughter owns a Hyundai. Last night he told me that her Hyundai was better than his Honda in quality.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I think that a lot of people that come to Edmunds really do a lot of research before they buy a vehicle. They just don't buy an Accord or Camry because every body else did. They actually look at the competition and then find which vehicle will best fit their criteria. After doing this research and tons of test drives they finally make a decision. When making the decision they find that they can get a very comparable or superior car for about $5,000 cheaper than the rest and the decision becomes very easy.
If everybody that bought a car actually did this, then I feel that Hyundai would have a really hard time keeping up with productiion. Unfortuantely a lot of people don't want to do the research and could care less and just buy the old dependable Camry and Accord.
I'm probably rambling, but that is why I think there are more Hyundai owners than Accord or Camry on this board. Probably, also the fact that most Hyundai owners can't believe how good there Sonatas are and want to fill everybody in on their little secret that saved them about $5,000 for a comparable car.
Having said all that, you really can't go wrong with all three.
I too think Honda builds a better car than anyone, but also agree that Hyundai builds a good car now. Hyundai just doesn't have the appeal with me as other vehicles.
Anyway... at the beginning of the year, the local Honda dealer had called me about his End-Of-Year sale, so just for grins and being curious, I got OTD quotes on a 06 Accord EX V6 and called the Hyundai dealer for a quote on a 06 Sonata LX V6 Limited ... comparily equiped. The quote on the Honda was 28,900. The quote on the Hyundai was 20,600. An $8,000 difference. The Accord had some ammenities that I liked better than the Sonata, and visa versa. Hmmmm... do I want to spend $8,000 more for a car that I have to crank the seat all the way down and tilt the seat back a little so that I fit?
I will probably wait until this fall and see what the 2007 Camry is like, and see what changes are made to the 07 Sonata and if I can get a better deal on something. In the meantime, I am reading, driving and comparing.
I did test drive a Sonata LX w/ sunroof package, was very impressed, and would have bought one if the price differential was as large as everyone here proclaims. In fact, for me the difference was closer to two thousand and I still had to do the Hyundai finance dance. Despite being cheaper,for really an equivalent vehicle, I felt the Sonata's residual value would not be not as strong as the Accords... yet. That may change, and if i wanted an 1-4, i would have gone w/ the Sonata because of the VSC and traction control.
You should talk to my friend who compared my Accord with his Sonata.
We both own the top models and decided to compare one day.
The Accord is worth the extra to some. My friend told me that he would have bought an Accord. But his brother works at that the Hyundai dealership, and offers him high incentives.
Still, about what? <5% of Camry buyers are going to actually choose the SE 5M VSC model....
I was hoping for a review of the LE 4 5A, and XLE orSE V6 6A to get a better cross section.....and a POV on the new 6 speed automatic and V6 combo
~alpha
Note C/D wasnt anywhere near as critical in their very balanced review (and last place ranking) of the Camry XLE V6 (2006) in their December issue- that model is one for which the company makes no pretenses, and it acquitted itself well, IMO, for a 5 year old design, losing by only a few points to the Sonata and Fusion (though the Accord EX V6 trounced it).
Still, your point remains, very few will bring the car to the point of VSC intervention...
~alpha
-----------------------------------------------------------
alpha01,
0-60 is 8.6 sec.
5-60 street start is 9.1 sec.
70-0 braking is 175 ft.
Skidpad: .82g
They say they took a 4 cyl. because it represents 60 percent of all Camry sales, and the 5-speed manual fits their readers' priorities. They promised more tests with the V-6 and hybrid setups in the future.
As for the "lukewarm" idea, my experience with C&D is that it's hard for them to be really enthusiastic about any car, no matter what its purpose is, unless it has a sporty nature, and they're very upfront about that point of view. So my previous car, for example, a '96 Buick Regal, represents to C&D everything bad about cars, but for me it was a super quiet, smooth, powerful, comfortable highway cruiser with great dependability, and I was willing to live with the floaty suspension.
But my reading of this article is that they really like this 07 Camry, with the caveat of the stability control system. At the end of the article they say they would give this SE the "checkered flag" as a sport sedan if it weren't for that one aspect. Otherwise, they praise it as "athletic" and having "responsive steering and resolute roll control." And they give Toyota lots of credit for the unique engineering in this SE that makes it more than just a Camry with a different badge.
It sounds to me like many of us who are kind of semi-enthusiasts would find this car to be fairly sporty. Instead of C&D's "anti-sport" sedan tag, maybe "semi-sport" sedan would be more fair.
Finally, I'm really taken by the looks of this car in the C&D photos. I hope it looks as good in real life.
---------------------------------------------------------
5-60 street start is 9.1 sec.
70-0 braking is 175 ft.
Skidpad: .82g
These are the Car and Driver numbers on the new Camry manual tranny 4-cyl? Car and Driver tested an Accord EX manual back in 2003 or 2004 which undercut the 0-60 number by more than a second (7.5, to be precise)! What gives? Their FE is similar (in fact, isn't the current Accord's better than the new Camry?Maybe the Camry weighs more?
A little help, guys?
Using your logic the Honda Accord just lost points in Quality because they legnthened the warranty and I guess your going to need it! CD also put the SR 4 ahead of the mercedes equiv even though the S 4 had one of the worst ratings for quality ever.
Depending on what you read the two seem to trade off position, which tells me it is all opinion of a human's preferences that might not be the same as yours or mine
The Accord is lighter than the Sonata as well, which weighs about the same as the Camry...
The acceleration figures arent very impressive, but the skidpad and braking are both improvements over previous generation. Actually, I thought the added weight to the Camry would slow it down more than it did; the previous, lighter Camry SE 5M tested by C/D did 0-60 in 8.3 seconds, and I believe, the street start in 9 flat, so no improvement, but not markedly worse, given that it has a good deal more weight due to the structrual enhancements, VSC/Side Curtain weight, etc.
Resale value has a historical perspective. A car today can have low resale value because of public perception and also reality of how previous cars from the same manufacturer have held up. It is also a measure of the desirability of the car. So that is why cars like the Accord and Camry have high resale values. They have a long-term reputation for reliability and have been solid performers in their class for many years. The Sonata has only recently had a good reputation for reliability and until the '06 model was not fully competitive with the best cars in its class. It will take awhile for resale value to catch up. That is why Hyundai has to put such large incentives on the Sonata today.
From your statement I would guess that all but one of your friends don't have experience in both cars. If so what do they base their opinion on?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
3 Yrs later you want a new one. Instead of ~$20000 as before there is a killer deal on the new one so that you can buy it at ~$16000 brand spanking new. You want to trade yours in to the dealer so that he can put it into his used car inventory. Yours is in great condition but if anybody can come in and buy a brand spanking new one at $16000 at what price do you think the Used Car Manager has to put your 3 y.o. on the lot? It's got ~45K miles and some little nicks and some wear inside. He's had to clean it up and put on new tires and recondition it to the tune of may be $800 and then make a profit ( $1500 min? ) plus interest and lot fees say $200 min.
So between his acquistion cost ( what he pays to you on trade ) and sales price it's a min of ~ $2500. But at what price should he sell a 3 y.o. sedan if a brand new one is $16000? What would you pay for it as a used buyer? $10000? So the most he can pay now for your vehicle ( trade value ) is ~$7500. It cost you $20000 and it was a good deal to you at that time.
It's just that the $4000 in new car rebates now have decreased the value of your trade by about the same amount. Rebates dont help the existing owners at all.
In fact if you were a business and the market went against you like this, by GAAP, you'd have to write down the value of your assets by the current market value reduction.
Now take the same figures and percentages on a vehicle with no rebates and again a good negotiation results in a $20000 price. On this lot the UC Mgr could offer his trades for sale in the $13500-$14000 range i.s.o. $10000 as in the case of your vehicle. He can also pay the prospective 'trader' about $11000 for his trade whereas you were offered $7500 for yours. But you both paid $20000 originally.
Ford and GM and DC buyers have been taking it on the chin like this for 4 years. They come back in 3-4 years and find that the lying scummy dealers are trying to 'steal' their trade where their neighbor just traded his 2000 Accord for $11000 and they are being offered $7000 or less.
So make sure you get the rebate and that there are not going to be any larger rebates in the future too. Get that one in writing. Better yet lease, then it's never a question.
Besides, that isn't necessary. If someone has two choices for a car that they can live with, and one costs $5000 or more less than the other one, and we are talking about $20k cars, the lower price offsets the lower resale value. The problem is when you don't get a good deal up front, e.g. if you have to be the first on your block with a new model, before the discounts and rebates appear, or you don't know how to go about getting the best price on a car. Then the lease might work out better--at least you know exactly what you will pay out for the car.
Their ranking went like this:
Fusion SEL V6 (6A)
Sonata V6 GLS (5A)
Sonata GLS 4 (4A)
Milan Premier (I think) (5A)
CR's goin nuts these days, testing many models and trims, which I think is great- in the current issue, CR tested 2 versions of each of the Passat, Fusion/Milan, Sonata, and Charger. They also tested one Impala, and one Monte Carlo.
~alpha
Do you know how they ranked these 3 cars vs. others in their class, e.g. Accord and Camry?
My feelings are it is going to come to price/value. Some consumers with "blinders on" still believe Honda and Toyota will never, ever fall from thier thrones. I believe differently. If you get out on the net and read what consumers are saying you may change your thought process a bit. Hyundia is a threat to Honda more than Toyota right now. Quality is there in GM/Ford products. If some would do the research and read they would see this. This vehicle segment is the most intense fought after segment. With all the choices, consumers will be the winner. Choice is nice...
I've been looking at the 2007 Kia Optima in pictures and feature content, etc. at the Kia Motors America website and that car is a looker.
Actually, out of these cars here I'd get a 2007 Kia Optima. Great looks, great Warranty, an AM/FM/CD/Cassette changer and a 2.4L 4-cylinder engine coupled with a 5-speed tranny that is supposed to get over 30 miles per gallon.
One thing I didn't find out was price, but I would venture a guess that the 4-cylinder 2007 Kia Optima in 5-speed tranny form would probably run you around $17,995, give or take a Hasselback completion or two. Not bad. Not bad at all, gentlemen.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
That's great, iluv, but the Optima is not one of these cars here.
The Sonata comes in 4-cylinder, stick-shift, 34 mpg highway form too, for under $18k. And it also offers a 235 hp V6, which apparently that "other car" will not.
There is a Midsized Sedan discussion here where we are free to discuss the Optima and all the other mid-sizers ad nauseum.
The Milan was about $20 or $21K, so maybe it wasnt a Premier, Im not totally familiar with the trim lines for that vehicle, I just know from reading the article on the newsstand that it was a 4 cylinder automatic with modest options and it placed behind the Sonata GLS 4 (which I believe had the Premium Pkg).
Backy, does the Sonata require Premium fuel to hit its 162 horse rating for the 4 cylinder? Kia is showing on its website that the 2006.5 Optima requires premium fuel to achieve 161 horses....
~alpha
I don't disagree and have stated such more than once in these discussions. I still maintain that it is possible to overcome higher depreciation by taking full advantage of rebates and negotiating a large discount. I know because I have successfully followed that strategy. I guess we will need to agree to disagree on that point.
I wonder if the difference in transmissions (4-speed vs. 5-speed) had anything to do with the difference in 4-cylinder performance? I have not heard that the 4-cylinder Sonata recommends premium fuel, although I think the V6 does. Maybe a Sonata owner can look in their owner's manual and answer that for us.
For anyone in this forum who would like to see what the differences are in looks, I would recommend a local car show. After four hours of sitting in and looking at all the cars I am very happy with my Toyota Sienna, Hyundai Sonata and Honda Accord.
~alpha
The rebate program in theory anyway is a temporary measure. The List Price of a Sonata is about $2500 below the other midsized sedans similarly-equipped, but few would buy a Sonata at this time with only a $2500 discount. As production in AL comes up and they begin to fill the plant, they are buying volume now, the rebates are likely to become skinnier. If the new model does hold up in 3-5 years then the market values will start to come up also.
Saw about 5 of em in a hotel parking lot the other day. Then I realized they were all rentals....
Each to their own. I can understand why many people on this forum prefer the Sonata or the Accord or the Camry. But the Fusion is a darned good car -- and buyers really need to go and see the car for themselves, and drive it for themselves, rather than judging by the opinions of others.
Cheers!