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Midsize Sedans Comparison Thread
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I have trouble seeing how the difference in shipping from the Fulan plant in Mexico is that much more than the cost of shipping Sonatas from Birmingham. We're talking about rail transport here.
Also, as was noted by someone else, Hyundai brings in big profits on cars in their home market, which helps offset the rebates/discounts they offer in the U.S. They don't offer that level of rebate/discount in other countries--not even Canada. It isn't reasonable to paint a profit picture for corporation by looking at only one market--albeit a big market.
It's a good thing, because I've read numerous reviews of how the Sonata felt about like the old Camry in Handling - not very good news.
On my own little sidebar here for a second; I think a lot of Hyundai owners don't realize that a lot of the "Accord guys and Toyota guys" want Hyundai to do well. It is common sense, that if Hyundai turns on the heat in this competition, then Honda and Toyota must also step up their game further. It would be a great thing for all involved.
The Sonata's are built just south of our capital city (about 5 miles on I-65 S )of Montgomery, AL, not Birmingham (which is the largest city). Just a little note to clarify. It doesn't make much difference to your conversation, so no harm done. (Is there a shipping area that launches from B'ham that I don't know about?)
Rich - at the expense of the people of SK tho. Corruption at the highest levels of the company - $ to pay government officials. Isn't Hyundai and the SK government one in the same anyway? Sonata prices are obviously subsidized by the people of SK since the collusion between Hyundai and the government is apparently rampant. Sonata prices may be headed up.
I wonder if somebody whacked Chung Mong-koo to silence him...."
...telling a story but mentioning only the part where Hyundai looks good.
That's about all I could remember about the CNN scrawl. What is going on? Does this scandal from Hyundai cover up other things?
Why I am curious is that two years ago the CEO of Mitsubishi was arrested and jailed. It was later determined that he refused to have Mitsubishi autos recalled on internally known serious safety problems. He is now serving time in a Japanese jail.
Is there other coverups by Hyundai management affecting their autos, I sincerely hope not. Hyuundai doesn't need nose-diving sales as Mitsubishi did. I would hate to see the people in the Hyundai plant laid off because of a scandal in Korea...the impact on the area would be great!
Of course I would expect this to be censored out just as most of my entries are. Edmunds doesn't even play by their own rules.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/27/D8H8C9F80.html
I didn't read the in-depth report off the "slush fund" link in the story but it seems he is accused of embezzling money from the company in order to set up a slush fund to bribe Korean government officials.
Actually I paid less and got more in my I4 GLS Sonata. I got alloy wheels, four wheel disc brakes, side curtain airbags, ESC, and an MP3 readable cd player which is awesome. I got all this for $17,500 and that price is a little high compared to others.
I could have gotten a Camry (my first choice until I did the test drives of both vehicles) for $19,100 without the above but I would have gotten a power drivers seat. That is about the only thing the Camry had on the Sonata.
In the test drive the Sonata was every bit as good if not better than the Camry so the decision was a no brainer. I now have 10,000 trouble free miles on this car and I love it more every day.
I don't see a reference to a news article as negging the Company or it's products.
If Fujio Cho were accused of corruption, it wouldn't change the Camry one iota.
Here we are comparing the cars. Not the people who run the company.
Thanks.
Honestly this is a great car. My lease will be up by next year, i'm thinking that by then the coupe version will come out, which should be really nice.
HAs anyone checked out the santa fe or elantras new interior? wow! once that is in the sonata eventually, it will on par with hondayota.
Your last 10 posts have been in this forum...nothing on a site limited to Honda or other makes/models. Nearly everyone of your posts rags on the Sonata, without lodging a specific complaint. Actually, I don't recall you saying anything you specifically like about your '03 Honda.
But, I won't belabor the point. Others can check your profile and writing style to see if they think elroy5 is a new userID for seniorjose (who recently posted that the host keeps censoring his posts).
What?? Why are recall ok for Toyota/Honda? and not for Ford/GM? Can you say double standard? :confuse:
And by the way, I have no idea who this "oldjoe" person is.
Cost structure: ( let's give them numbers )
Honda and Toyota lowest ( $12000 ) per unit
Hyundai in the middle ( $13000 ) per unit
Ford is the Highest ( $15000 ) per unit
Sales:
Honda and Toyota dominate this segment as No's 1 & 2
Ford was strong and trying to get back to #3
Hyundai is a fast rising #6
Pricing: ( See costs above )
Toyota and Honda typical wholesale price : $20000
Ford typical wholesale price : $17000
Hyundai typical wholesale price : $15000
Profits: ( Who has the best longterm prospects )
Toyota and Honda 400K units annually $8,000 profit each;
Ford 300K units annually at $2000 profit each;
Hyundai 200K units annually at $2000 profit each.
Do the multiplication:
Toyota 450K X $8000
Honda 400K X $8000
Ford 300K X $2000
Hyundai 200K X $2000
Also, it will take a while before the 07 Camry prices come down from the MSRP as they will be hot over the summer and they are still trying to clear the 06's.
Now that I have driven this Sonata for 10K miles I am very happy with my decision and am thankful I didn't choose anything else. This is the perfect vehicle for me and for once I got 99.9 % of what I was looking for in a car at a unbelievable price. (About the only thing I would change is the often mentioned addition of a seek control on the steering wheel).
hyundai is not bringing the best because people won't buy 25k sonata just yet. i think they will bring it sooner or later.
that interior is as good as accord and camry IMO.
The accords interior is not a whole lot better, trust me. The design gives it a higher quality material feel, as well as what u see from acuras that might percept you to feel that way, but the quality of materials are very simiiar to the sonatas. Have you actually went in the sonata and touched the materials?? plastics are almost non existant and everything is soft to touch(same as accord and camry)
In my opinion why the accords interior is really good is cuz of the tightness, and the sonata has that now as well. (you think honda or toyota care about giving the public the best materials? lets make sense now)
But you can't tell that to these Hyundai lovers that seem to dominate Edmunds. What's the deal with that? Sure Sonata is a better car than before, and priced nice (until the Hyundai chairman thing causes prices to go up), but the overall package AIN'T ALL THAT ! Got it? Good.
To me, I just don't like the design of the Sonata's interior. Most of the materials are nice, but I too don't think the interior overall is as nice as the Accord or new Camrys. I drive an Altima, and while it's interior doesn't have the best materials in the world, I (that's me) find that the interior is better looking than the Sonata's, though the Sonata has better materials overall.
To me, the Accord and Passat have been the interior benchmarks for the past two generations of midsize cars, I do like the new Camry's interior, but I still favor the Accord's overall.
The Sonata's interior just doesn't seem to have a great design. It's quite bland IMO.
Otherwise, I think the Sonata is a nice, though rather plain and bland sedan...but hey, everybody claims bland sells..or at least that's what everybody in here used to say.
Find it funny now that even the "Bland Queen" the Camry is adding some flair to their designs (if that's what you wanna call it)
But then again, I'm only 20, so most cars in this class (including the Accord) just don't appeal to me. The Altima, Mazda6, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura do however.
No, I do not have an alternate ID, please don't try to censor or belittle Honda/Camry owners. It is not the object of this forum. It's a standard political spin, if you disagree with someone and people do not accept your opinion, then attack the other person personally. Please get back to the forum objective.
Yes, many of my posts have been censored. So what, it is EDMUNDS forum asnd they can censor what they want. However, "ragging" and whining about the Camry/Accord well earned best quality/reliability/value midsize auto reputation seems to be encouraged and wholeheartedly accepted. We will all survive.
Anyway, none of this is on topic. If anyone has comments to make about another member, either email them to me or just skip it. We're not here to speculate about other members in any way. Thanks.
http://file2.bobaedream.co.kr/pds/CyberCar/9/38109/img_38109_9.jpg
korean model looks as good as both camry and accord.
<img src="http://www.autobytel.com/images/previews/05HondaAccordHybrid/400/2004-honda-accord-hybrid-interior.jpg
The Sonata's interior is full of quality materials, but IMO, it still doesn't reach the Accord's level in both interior design and material quality.
According the the recent Edmunds comparison,
the Accord recieved a Score of 17 and 85%,
while the Sonata recieved a 14 and a 70%
--in interior quality.
as far as interior materials...i can't say anything about the sonata or new camry as i haven't sat in them yet. but design wise, i have to give the nod to the accord. the shapes and placement have a more refined feel to them. there is more of a sense of flow and balance. also, the colors match a bit better too. the aqua green in the new camry hybrid is a bit odd when you compare it to the rest of the dash; it completely clashes with the gauges. and the sonata...what's with those green backlit lcd's in the middle of the dash. and why green? feels too sci fi, not clean and contemporary like the vw or legacy. and it's not like the mazda's lighting is all that great either. fortunately there are a few dash gauge covers available to get away from the russian submarine tactical display look... overall, i like the accord, legacy, and jetta dashes the best.
i would say the material is on par with accord. design is subjective, so edmunds can like whatever they want, but i know for a fact that material is about the same.
Then there are guys like me. I've owned Accords since 1991. In 15 years they have never let me down. I loved my 92 Accord, and the 03V6 Accord has just re-enforced that feeling. Why would I take a chance on another brand now?
If I had bought a Hyundai 15 years ago, would I be feeling that same love now? I think not.
Fine.
Please provide links to your facts.
- I'm not disagreeing with you- I just like proof, rather than a statement.
In my opinion why the accords interior is really good is cuz of the tightness, and the sonata has that now as well. (you think honda or toyota care about giving the public the best materials? lets make sense now)
What do you think that faux-woodgrain is? The dashboard? It's plastic, just like most cars under $75,000.
The Sonata has leaped over the domestics, but is in Limbo between Ford/GM and Toyonda. I turned the heat/air knob (temperature knob) in the Sonata and it didn't have the same tactile feel as the Accord. It felt less positive in its feel, less connected (the tightness you speak of, i guess?) I think Hyundai is oh so close, which is amazing based on how far along they have come.
Your mind is so infused with honda, i bet u dont' care about a toyota camry, and you may even defend it against a bmw 325, basically your emotionally attached to this car.
Logically speaking though, if toyota and honda thought as prideful as yourself, they would laugh at the sonata, but they are in actually fear(and these guys are the real experts and not the editors like from edmunds and car and driver).
It is real this car is a threat, and its proven by huge sales increases, feardome from the leaders hondayota, jd quality.