2011 Hyundai Sonata

schdy

He gives accolades to style, gas mileage, and dollar value. He is critical of engine noise and acceleration.
I'm an owner for 4mos and several of my friends have the SE model and we all comment on the increased acceleration from the 2011 compared to the 6cy 2010. I've also left several Hondas,Toyotas,Ford Fusions, and Mazdas behind me at a traffic light with little effort.
I don't have the enhanced sound system and I have never had to increase the radio volume to override the engine noise. Maybe he had his Mother-in-law with him during the test drive.
Therefore his critiques have not entered into my driving experience. I can't imagine any owner of this car complaining about the get go of the new 4cyl engine.

backy

You have to wonder what this writer is comparing the Sonata to when he complains about acceleration. For example, when Edmunds.com tested the Sonata GLS vs. the Mazda6i and Accord LX, the Sonata was the quickest 0-60 - 7.7 seconds vs. 8.4 for the Mazda and 8.0 for the Accord. Maybe he did have his MIL with him.

jlflemmons

... and said MIL stressed the payload capacity???

sorry, couldn't resist. :P

backy

No, more like, "Don't go so fast! Slow down!" etc.

bhmr59

If the reviewer felt the Sonata had half its rated HP/torque, maybe he forgot to fully disengage the parking brake.

ral2167

well well well-- an unbiased review of the sonata and the author gets attacked or disparaged... maybe when the sonata owners come down from their little fantasy world and stop thinking thier car is the be all and end all, they'll get some sense of reality. hey-- it's a nice car,and one that i'll consider--but let's make it look like there's nothing else out there that's comparable, or even better within the same price range.

denp3

Since you don't own one, it's not fair to criticize us owners. No one has said there are no other cars out there comparable. Let's face it, Hyundai has come along way since the flops in the 80's. I have owned a 2002 Sonata, a 2006 Sonata and the 2011 Sonata. My wife has owned a 2003 Elantra and now a 2010 Elantra which we picked up 2 weeks ago. I have been quite satisfied with them, not to say I never had a problem, although all minor.

schdy

That is 1 of at least 10 unbiased reviews and the only one critical of power and side roll. I bought my Sonata SE for less than $23k without tax. Can you show me a comparable full size car for that price with 200hp, 18" alloy wheels, high performance low profile tires, Electronic stability ,Traction control, Antilock brakes,leather trim,bluetooth, satelite radio, 5star safety rating, pushbutton start, 6speed auto, paddle shifters on steering wheel, and a 10yr waranty. Not to mention a Mercedes paint job and futuristic style. I'm listening!

dogwood1

I bought my wife her 3rd Sonata the last day of June (a 2011 Limited). All have been great cars driven hard around town and on a few road trips - she had one shock failure on her 1st one - 2002 Limited - and that's it. 120K miles between the two. The 2nd one was a 2007 Limited. We live in the DFW area, just returned from a quick 155 mile round trip to OK this morning and averaged with about 20 minutes of stop/go/idling 37.8 mpg @ 70-75 mph. It has 490+ miles on it now and have not experienced a gas fill problem (only put gas in once) nor an idle problem - nor these problems with the others. For the money, the Sonata has been her best car over her 2 Camry's and her 1 Maxima since 1996. No, I don't work for Hyundai nor in the auto industry - but I have become a believer. Still, I'm not trading my Ridgeline.

backy

I am not sure this writer is "unbiased". There are strong hints that in fact the writer is quite biased, for example:

* Complaining about the acceleration when many other reviews show the Sonata is one of the leaders of its class, for four-cylinder cars, in that regard.
* Comments such as the following, which seem to indicate the writer has a general bias against Hyundai:
- "In the past, Hyundai's exterior styling has been forgettable, ugly or both."
- "Notwithstanding the silly name that (Fluidic Sculpture) brings to mind a flushing toilet,..."
- "First off, the engine, though rated at 200 horsepower in the sporty SE, feels like it has half that. The Sonata's 0-60 acceleration is normal for its class at about 8 seconds..." (note how the writer contradicts himself in the same sentence--first claiming the car feels like it has 100 horsepower, which would be far less than any other car in its class, then saying its acceleration is normal for its class).
- "As it stands now, I'd rather have an American or Japanese product without some of the frills like the navigation system, stereo and sun roof if it meant better driving dynamics." (note the writer doesn't say WHICH American or Japanese products offer better driving dynamics--other reviews aren't afraid to name names when comparing the Sonata to other cars).

When I see reviews like this on a car when so many professional auto reviewers have given the car a thumbs-up, I have to wonder if the writer is biased, and if they are trying to make a name for themselves by making clever comments, e.g. comparing a marketing slogan to a flushing toilet.

Just my opinion.

bobbo555

If you don`t own one and you don`t drive one how do you know it`s not the "be all and end all car". Maybe it is YOU that needs to get some sense of reality. Buy one, drive one and then get back to me. (not before please.)

jsmit86

I will give the reviewer the engine noise comment, but the acceleration lacking?
Not compared to anything in its class. (Perhaps compared to my G35 that I traded in )

:P

ridre52

OK, well, I don't "think" it anymore...I know it. Today, my wife noticed it while driving at low speeds and when starting from a complete stop. It is hesitating, bad. I am definitely taking it in tomorrow. 600 miles, that's it. Any ideas what may be causing this? I am using Shell gas, 89 octane. Anything I should ask the mechanic to check?

ral2167

use 87 octane

ridre52

why?

jsmit86

Tell your dealer the symptoms. IIRC there was a post from a user with drivability issues that turned out to be a fuel pump issue.

marvin6

I waited over a year for the new 2011 sonata. I had my heart set on buying one. My wife and I went to Montgomery for a tour of the hyundai plant and were impressed. I do like the looks of it, but my wife and I test drove the 2011 and were disappointed. It was noisy and even though it had 200 hp it had the power of a 4 cyl. The performance was nothing special. We were disappointed. We both thought it was underpowered, even for a 4 cyl. The 4 cyl camry we test drove had more zip to it than the sonata (the sonata did have more pep than the 4 cyl fusion). We thought the car had a "cheap" feel to it and passed on it. I think the guy gave a very honest review. We bought a new car, but it was not a hyundai.

keyman2

Great for you,what do you expect for a four cyl?I'm sure it's plenty fast.What did you biy a 6cyl?people are putting down the Hyundai,there great looking cars.If you want speed you should of waited for the 2.0t 275 horse

keyman2

Great for you,what do you expect for a four cyl?I'm sure it's plenty fast.What did you buy a 6 cyl?people are putting down the Hyundai,there great looking cars.If you want speed you should of waited for the 2.0t 275 horse

marvin6

I expected the 4 cylinder with 200 hp to have significantly more pep than it did. If the advertisement is most hp in its class I assume this is a selling point hyundai wishes to push. In fact, my wife and I thought it was disappointingly underpowered for 200 hp. I am not putting down hyundai, but wish them well. I think they have and will continue to raise the standards for all the automakers. I served two years in Korea and have nothing but admiration for koreans and their products. We also drove and would have bought the hyundai 2010 6 cyl limited, but the ones we drove had a lot of wind noise around the A pillar. We moved up a step and bought a 6 cyl venza - our first ever toyota. (We could have bought a 6 cyl XLE camry for less than the 4 cyl sonata limited). We got the venza very well equipped for just a little more than $1,000 over the cost of a limited 4 cyl sonata. I believe hyundai is selling all the sonatas they can build and I wish them nothing but the best. It just was not the car I was hoping for. In fact, of the three four cylinder cars we drove we both agreed that we'd have ranked them in the following order: the camry first, the fusion second and the sonata third. Each was a top of the line 4 cyl.

dash5

Hmm I wonder if the Sonata suffered from too high of an expectation from you. We've seen video of the Sonata beating the Camry convincingly in a drag race so I'm fairly sure it's objectively faster. Perhaps you made too much of the number 200 and thought it would pin you to the seat, hard to say.

As for the interior, would you rate those the same? Camry - Fusion - Sonata? I havent sat in a Fusion, but the Camry interior is brutal, in my eyes.

marvin6

I did have high expectations of the sonata. There was a lot of hype over the car, but I don't think the car lived up to the hype and I didn't buy one. (For those who do think it lives up to the hype I wish them the best with their purchases.) I think the 2010 sonata is a better car than the 2011, but that is just my opinion. I'd have bought the 6 cyl limited 2010 had it not been for the A pillar noise in each of the 3 we drove. I never expected the 200 hp to pin me to my seat and never thought of it as a dragracer, but for 200 hp I think it performs poorly. I haven't driven either of the cars since March (that's when we bought) but my ranking the 1) camry 2) fusion and 3) sonata was from the overall vehicle. When I came back from Korea, I came with a Korean wife. We also found that the passenger seat sits too low for a 5' 2" person and it cannot be raised. The passenger seat in the 2010 sat the passenger higher. The 2011 sonata is probably a good car, but was not the right one for us.

shabadoo25

The new Sonata is a perfectly peppy ride and equates itself just fine in traffic.

Will it blow anyone away off the line or handle sharp grades like a Range Rover? Of course not. However, for driving in everyday traffic, it gets around quite nicely.

dash5

Gotcha, I thought you were ranking them on performance and "pep". Good luck with your new car!

Kirstie_H

All reviews by individuals are, by nature, biased. It depends largely on that reviewer's personal preferences and experiences. Bias isn't an innately negative word, but people should be aware that every person on the planet has a "bias" when reading individual reviews. That's why it's generally better to take a big-picture approach instead of relying on a single review, and of course in the end, buy what's appealing to YOU. No review in the world is going to make a person enjoy a car that doesn't fit their needs or expectations.

syitalian25

Before buying my 2011 Sonata SE I was very sceptical about getting a 4 cylinder - I have only owned V6s since I thought that all the previous 4 cylinder cars were way underpowered. I am very happy with the 200 HP/3200 lb. Combination in this car and it felt at least as peppy as the 2010 V6 I tested (twice). Other vehicles I have tested were the 2009 Accord (4 cyl.), 2010 Chevy Malibu (4 cyl.), 2004 Sonata V6, 2008 Jeep Liberty, and a few others and the 2011 is faster than any of them. I am very happy with the acceleration and pickup, especially under 70 mph. Once you get above 100 the acceleration starts to lag behind a 6 cylinder, but that's to be expected. For normal driving there is plenty of passing power available - a feature I utilize frequently. Sure its not as fast as some V6s but for a 4 it is really impressive IMHO.

Maybe it is because you were testing the Limited which wieghs more to begin with and had 3 full sized adults in the car. The extra weight will definitely put a damper on the acceleration in most any midsize car. Anyways good luck with your new vehicle.">link title

toysax

I believe that the need for speed is over rated for this class of auto From 0-60 in 8 seconds... so... if a person is pulling out onto a highway from a dead stop.. and knows how to time their entry onto a freeway... they can be at 60mpg ( a speed that would put most into the middle lane) within 8 seconds... so.. how much more pep makes a difference? A half a second? 1 second? Can that 1 second difference be mitegated by 35mpg? In my opnion yes. I would gladly drive a car.. that would take .5 to 1 second more to get to 60mpg... and in exchange.. get 4-5 more miles per gallon! My limited is quiet, and smooth. You might have waited another 3-4 months for the turbo.. which is widely advertised and anticipated. In creating this car, the designers have balanced the "need for speed" and, mpg.. and I think they made an intelligent decision....but enjoy your car.. whatever you buy!
BTW.. I took a trip with my elderly parents trunk full of suitcases.... and STILL got 33 mpg highway driving!

schdy

Like you I'm very happy with the performance of my SE. If you really want to see a major improvement from 0 yo 60 try manual shift using the paddle shifters. I left my friends 6cy Ford Fusion in the dust. He was totaly amazed.

norm8_lakes

I just got back from my vacation. I got 37 MPG on the highway. From Broward County in South Florida to Stafford, Virginia. About 985 miles each way. I'm very pleased with the overall ride on my 2011 Sonata Limited. The ride was very good, listening to the XM radio, my iPod, and CDs. Very little road noise. :P

ridre52

So, I brought it to the the dealership this morning and drove with a technician who also felt the hesitation and bucking. Within an hour, the service manager call me with the following information:

He stated that the computer didn't show any problems with the transmission or engine. He stated that he called their "tech" department and was told that the new Sonata's have something like 5 separate computers that don't turn on until after the first 1000-1500 miles. He also said that they told him that the transmission (that is new for the 2011 Sonata's) is "learning" my driving style/habbits for the first 1000 miles and after the computers kick in, I should experience a much better driving experience. We'll have to wait and see. Has anyone else ever heard of this? I know someone posted in regards to my post that they had this issue too. Hopefully the service guy was blowing smoke up my [non-permissible content removed]

syitalian25

that is true and is a feature on Hyundai vehicles (and most models to my knowledge)- the transmission learns the way you drive and adjusts the shift points accordingly. When I acquired my 2004 Sonata V6 it was previously driven by an elderly person and the transmission would always shift around 4000 rpms, making the acceleration much less potent. After driving it for a couple of weeks it would allow my to get all the way to the 6500 rpm red line, and although I lost a mpg or two that thing could really move. If that doesn't fix your bucking problem you could try asking them to reset the fuzzy logic's computer and let it learn your shifting style from scratch. If that truly is the problem that should fix it.

jlflemmons

I will comment here on the 6spd auto. In the tucson (which I am pretty sure is using the same tranny) the computer has learned my wife's driving habits. Makes sense as she drives it 99% of the time. I get in and try to drive it, and it is nutso. My driving style is nothing like hers, and I guess the computer doesn't understand what the heck is going on.

I think your service manager got one too many zeros in the mileage equation. Within 100 miles the Tucson had adapted to my driving style and the shift points had changed. Drove much smoother after that. But then when wifey got back behind the wheel, she complained that the car "didn't drive the same, what did you do to it?". Within a day or so of running around, it was back to her style and whatever "I had done to it" was okay. Gotta love computers.

:P

schdy

I certainly would run the car on the highway for about 100 miles and TRY A DIFFERENT GAS STATION. I don't know where you live but here in NY we have had problems with water in the gas and also improper octane being pumped from some stations.

rdillier

Here's something that was posted on Autoblog today.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/12/first-drive-2011-hyundai-sonata-2-0t-brings-t- urbo-to-main-stree/

Cheers,

Bob

sb2002

I have had my limited 2011 with Navigation for about three weeks. Needless to say, I am very pleased with this car on several levels.

There is one small gripe I have. The first 2 seconds of every song while playing a CD and MP3 are missed. When one song is done, it pauses and skips the first couple seconds of the next song.

This happens on every CD I put in and each song on the thumb drive I have, every time. Is this delay normal? Has anyone else experienced this?

It's a small gripe, but for a brand new car with a fully loaded sound system, I am somewhat disappointed. It be awesome if there was an easy fix for this out there.

I would really appreciate any feedback from the community prior to going back to the dealer with any questions.

Thank you in advance for taking a moment to let me know.

hiedmunds

3 months after purchase the cd and antennae went beserk...the radio always shuts off randomly and the dealers wanted to charge 1300 to replace their defective equipment...

bobad

I assume you mean 2011, not 2001?

I'm sure there is much more to that story. I would like to hear all of it.

chrono

Edmunds turn ..

http://www.insideline.com/hyundai/sonata/2011/2011-hyundai-sonata-20t-first-driv- e.html

Sound like another homerun

jlflemmons

If it is a 2001, you are way beyond the warranty for the radio. Go find a nice aftermarket unit, or go online. Very easy to change a radio in a Hyundai.

If it is a 2011, and there have been no alterations to the radio, it is covered by warranty and your dealer knows that. Either they pay, or call Hyundai.a

jjx456

I rented a 2011 Sonata GLS, no Nav. My thumb drive worked perfectly. Might want to try having a friend give you a disc and/or thumb drive with songs the friend put on his/her device. This would help determine if problem is with the car or with the process/device(s) you're using.

bobad

Edmunds turn ..


Impressive! Stainless Mitsu for reliability, tweaked for better performance and linearity. About 284hp on 94 octane. Sounds like Hyundai is trying to make turbos reliable and practical for everyday use, not just for boy toys. 300 hours of testing at WOT is brutal.

toysax

This car company is hot! They smell $$ now that Toyota has fltered. Honda will always be there.. but very vanilla plain

but thats what makes a horserace!

alookman

Really? The hype goes on!

Prior to 2006-2010, Sonata models were replete with problems and because of that they have low resale value as of now. 2011 Sonata uses GDI technology that has been used by German car companies with mixed results, and its been shied away by Honda due to its tendency to clog the injectors. The new 2011 Sonata reliability is totally unknown. Yes, its a great value and nice product, if it keeps ticking 15 years down the road.

Compared to that Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Mazda and Nissan have been making solid cars for last 30 plus years.

Hyundai is JUST beginning to make very nice cars but let them do so for a while before we crown them the king of the road!

Will I buy one? Sure, but with some trepidation but the consolation that it has great warranty. Will I ever get the same resale as my Honda, I doubt it!

ewg54

I never buy a car because of it resale value. But that is Honda's claim to fame, they are nice appliances, just really boring

Kirstie_H

A reporter is looking to speak to consumers who were looking at mid-size vehicles and were choosing between a four and six cylinder engine but chose the four cylinder because of fuel prices or to save money. Please send your daytime phone number and the car you purchased to ctalati@edmunds.com by Monday, July 19, 2010.
Thanks,
Chintan
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com

alookman

Honda's philosophy is to make well balanced cars that offer great value. They are still the segment leader, It has emphasized good road handling, safety, reliability and value for the money. Yes, current model is outdated but its always like that when ever a new model is introduced by a major player. When 2013 Accord comes around Fall 2012 the Sonata will look outdated also.

Resale does matter because if you ever total your car, its the fair market value of the car before accident that is paid by insurance.

They have high resale because of reliability and also because they don't flood the market with fleet sales as lot of car companies do.

I like 2011 Sonata and its resale is the only reason I am hesitant about it.

schdy

I have a 2006 Elantra 5 dr. Granted it only has 15,000 mi on it but I have been offered $7000 for it. I paid $10800 for it almost 5 yrs ago. What Honda only loses $4k in 5 yrs?

When I bought my 2011 SE I traded in a 2006 Sonata that I paid $19,800 in 2006. I was given $10,500 on a trade towards my new car. Again I lost $9300 in 5 plus yrs.

And why do you think you can lease a 2011 Sonata for $199mo. Because the resale value has climbed as a result of Hyundai's quality improvement to the top 4 right behind Honda and ahead of Toyota.

schdy

Again look at the low lease price. Direct result of increased resale value!

ewg54

Some good points but I drive a car ten years before trade in and it is pretty used up by then. And I have never totaled a car so really don't care about resale value. In fact never had a ticket in over 30 years. This is my first Hyundai, and so far really nice car.

alookman

I am glad that you have such a good experience.

Honda's resale value is legendary and its supported by every resale indicator. That doesn't mean 2011 Sonata is not a good product, but used car market works on many factors.

Honda DOES NOT make fleet sales to rental car companies which also has major impact on resale. Hyundai Sonatas are common at major rental car companies, good for Hyundai but bad for resale. BTW this is also true of BMW in Germany, they don't do fleet sale for taxis and rental car companies and hence have better resale than Mercedes Benz.