I'm Impressed - 2015 Hyundai Sonata Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

I'm Impressed - 2015 Hyundai Sonata Long-Term Road Test

This time around the 2015 Hyundai Sonata is real competition in a very competitive class.

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allthingshonda

My girlfriend has a 2011 Sonata and it has been a great car. The transmission is the smoothest I've ever driven. Almost 50,000 miles later and it still has no shift shock when you select a gear. None. The engine is also a high tech quality piece. Dual continuously variable valve timing, direct injection, two stage oil pump, piston oil cooling jets, variable induction system, engine oil cooler, variable speed cooling fan with airflow sensors, and more. This is not a "cheap" car by any means. Hyundai really went above and beyond developing this car.

shabadoo25

Err...can you explain what "sticktion" means?

I am one month into my ownership of a 2015 2.0T Sport. I knew I was going to consider getting one last year when I had a base model as a rental. I couldn't believe how comfortable and quiet it was compared to what it replaced.

The shocker to me is that this car isn't selling other than the lowest cost versions. I got almost $6k off of mine because of this.

bankerdanny

Sticktion is resistance felt through the steering wheel as if you are overcoming high initial friction, like the wheel sticks briefly before it starts to turn.

The only negative I have about the 2011 generation Sonata that I drove as a rental a few years ago was that the DI injector tick was a bit excessive. Other than that I really liked the car.

legacygt

I'm not going to defend the previous generation as a fantastic car but in terms of appearance and design it was special. The post refers to the Fusion, Mazda6, Optima, etc. as better looking cars. I agree. But the last Sonata came out before the current designs of all of those cars. In fact, some would say that it was the Sonata that injected style into the segment and forced the competition to step up it's game. I like the improvements to the current Sonata and I think it looks better than it's predecessor. But let's give credit where it's due. The last Sonata really changed the way we look at mid sized sedans.

formersuver1

I've had (all Sonata) a 2006, 2012 and now a 2015 equipped identically to Edmund's long-term vehicle. It's been fascinating to see the evolution from 06 to the 2015. The 06 was OK, the 2012 pretty good but the 2015 is truly a very good car. Bought Sept. 2014, now have 6600 miles, averaging 28-29 suburban, Just did round trip Mpls-Tofte, Mn.-Mpls, (about 500m) mostly freeway, cruise set at 74, hand-calculated at 35.99 mpg. The only thing I'd change about this car (and I did) was to take off OEM tires, replace w/ Pirelli Cinturato P7--absolutely best all-around tire I've ever had, (especially on icy/slushy/snow covered roads). I've always been a Michelin Primacy person in the past, but no more.

tall10512

I am sure this version drives better and feels more refined, but it looks so boring! I agree with legacygt on this one, the previous version made people turn and look at your car to see what it was. This version is just too vanilla. Whether you loved or hated the last version's styling, at least it caused a reaction. The 2015 model just blends in too much. I would be interested to see sales figures on how well this new model is doing compared to the previous model's first year of sales. I am guessing the conquest sales that were made with the previous model are lost when those individuals go and replace their aging car with something fresh.

shabadoo25

The 2015 looks better in person than it does in photos. I loved the YF version also, but my LF looks great standing next to it.

dochideaway

I've always thought the Sonata was a good value, so long as you you don't buy one from before mid-late 2000s.