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Hyundai Sonata vs. Honda Accord vs. Toyota Camry vs. Ford Fusion
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I can see that for the same money out the door, the Accord or Camry would have a big advantage in the first several years of depreciation. Then it would come down to, how long are you going to own the car, and which do you like driving better. The Sonata is very compelling at $16k (4-cylinder GLS). At $20k, it begins to lose its luster vs. the Accord, and soon the all-new Camry.
You cannot assume that a) the people who choose to post on message boards such as this are statistically representative of owners as a whole, nor that b) the numbers of posts closely represent the topic itself. One person can make 10, 20, 50 or more posts about one single problem over the course of time (I've seen it happen), and there can be all kinds of "happy" posts refuting one problem post in a P&S discussion. The reverse is also true in the "happy" discussions.
I sure like that term - "happy" discussion.
It's amazing to me that so many people demand only the most basic of models; e.g. 50% of our current and incoming inventory is the standard Camry ( no power seat, no keyless and a donut spare ) or the most basic LE 4c with only mats.
In addition well over 90% of all HonYota's are 4c also. Performance? 'Not for me. I just want to turn it on everyday for 10 years and not have to sink anyhing into it'. As a result the Camry continues to grow in numbers as does it's boring little brother.
For the auto enthusiast this is akin to heresy but it is innovative. They did in fact follow up on the Taurus that was so successful in the 80's in satisfying a basic need in the US market. But Ford lost its way and HonYota stepped and took the idea to a different level with high quality vanilla. And the result is that it makes them tons of money in the process.
As another poster stated tho there may be stirrings afoot as the new models come out that are more stylish and probably just as dependable. Will these along with the new HonYota Hybrids capture even more of the mainstream market.
Agree? Disagree? Dont Care?
kdhspyder
That may be due to the buyers being on a budget, trying to keep the price affordable to them. They are probably sold on Toy's reputation. If they look/test drive a Sonata, they may be pleasantly surprized. I was. Bought an '05 Sonata in April for several thousand less than a Hon/Toy would have cost, comparably equipped.
The new '06 Ford Fusion is for real and it's gonna make an impact on the car-buying scene once the rest of America finally discovers what it is and what powers it and how well it will hold up. You see, there's a lot of American buyers, particularly in the staunchly Detroit-fed Midwest, that will buy it because it is the American answer to the CamCord machine.
Both the Sonata and the Fusion are far better choices than the boring, mundane CamCord's. What's so very cool is that they will both hold up fine for you and will last for the long haul. Notice I didn't capitalize the Long-Haul Warranty because Ford is included in my argument against becoming another mundane CamCord purchaser?
Buy a Fusion or a Sonata for a brighter, better tomorrow. Do it without worrying about whether or not it's a "better" car than the CamCord twins. The Fusion/Sonata is a better combination, a combination with a better, brighter future. I guarantee it.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
What vehicle can you buy "knowing it won't break"? Please let me know so when I go to buy my new vehicle this spring, I can put it at the top of my list. Seriously though, new cars are so complicated with computers, gadgets, outsourced parts, reduced cost materials, etc... that you are foolish to think you can buy a new Hyundai/BMW/Honda/Kia/Toyota and it "won't break".
I have owned Ford, Dodge, Honda, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi vehicles. All of them have performed pretty much the same in terms of the average # of problems over the first 70,000 miles (that is the guage I am using, because our Hyundai has 70K on it now). The only difference I have seen with the different brands is how the warranty issues were handled by the dealers. I can give specific details of problems and how they were handled if anyone cares, but the Mitsubishi service dept has treated me the best, followed by the Hyundai dealer, then Ford and Honda were pretty much a tie with Dodge coming in last.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I don't know how to post pictures, but if some enterprising soul could post pics of each, you would agree I'm sure!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
So I wouldn't buy an '06 Sonata to replace an '05 Accord on the basis of 5 stars vs. 4. Wait for the IIHS side impact test results instead -- they're a lot more meaningful.
kdhspyder
Could you please enlighten me as to how a Sonata is more exciting than an Accord? Have you ever driven an accord? Do you know what steering feel means?
He said that the driving experience between the two cars was actually pretty similar. He was impressed with the Sonata.
I thought the exterior of the car was pretty neat; it was bland for my tastes, but MUCH better looking than Hyundais of old.
The interior, not so much. It would be unfair to compare it to my Maxima, but let me say that the Ford Fusion's interior is MUCH more impressive. The interior of the Hyundai was still a bit cheap.. also, though, keep in mind that I really don't like Toyota or Honda interiors that much either (Acura/Lexus interiors are a different story).
If I were in the market for a car costing in the high teens/early 20s, I would be shopping Altima and Fusion. No contest.
Um... don't you think the two are related? New audio systems cost money to design and build. It's way cheaper to use the same system across multiple car lines. What is wrong with using the same audio system on multiple vehicles, as long as the unit is a good one? It's not like the audio system interface on the Accord is the easiest to navigate.
Series" but I would choose a Camry out of the rest. FORGET FORD
(except for their trucks) I WOULD NEVER EVER BUY ONE. AND WHAT IS
HYUNDAI???? LOL Camry I really like them but they should do something about
the exterior (its not ugly or anything but look alittle too wide-ish) which I've seen
the 07' models which doesnt look that bad! They every good in gas hands down! (
dont like hybrids at all very geeky in my opinion but the Lexus RX 400h is nice)
But if I wasnt planning to buy the 2006 Lexus IS 350 I would buy the 07' Camry for
sure! Wouldnt mind spending 35K on it (If it even goes that high)!! Honda Accords
are OK but I like civic though maybe because I have one that is all tuned up like
one that you would see in "The Fast and The Furious"!!!!! Peace Out!
The '06 Ford Fusion and '06 Hyundai Sonata blow both the Camry and Accord away.
No, I've never driven an Accord, probably never will. Yes, I know, never is a long, long time.
I have driven an '05 Toyota Camry and I did like it. If the Honda Accord drives like the Toyota Camry I would probably like it, but I won't ever drive a Honda Accord because it looks so dull. I could care less if it even held 88% of it's value after 10 years! No kidding.
It's more important to me that a manufacturer exercises nice design integrity when forming it's rig's body panels and join areas.Toyota and Honda could learn truckloads of knowledge by studying superior Hyundai and American Ford Motor Company in this area.
Every new model year I look at the new Civic and Accord and wonder what they were not smoking! Not what they were smoking! Imagine that!
Once again, the only viable choices are the 2006 Ford Fusion and the 2006 Hyundai Sonata, not necessarily in that order, man.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Great job guys
Then you shouldn't say "The Accord loses"
Unless... you can tell how a car feels inside and drives by looking at it
You can put lipstick on a pig..........
Never seen so much Camcord envy.
We'll have to wait and see if that happens but I don't agree given what we know now. The next Camry will follow the past models whereas 70%+ of them will be sold with the I4. Ford is expecting 60%+ of all Fusions to be sold with the V6. Given those facts, a Fusion is going to win most stoplight races vs the current Camry or the next one.
Then we have the rumored SVT and ST Fusions. The ST will supposedly get the Duratec35 with somewhere around 250 HP. The SVT is supposedly getting the MAZDASPEED Mazda6 direct injection turbo Duratec23. 270+ HP with that one. Plus AWD and SVT tuned handling that Toyota can only DREAM about ever achieving in a mass market sedan. I bet the SVT will be priced right around a loaded V6 Camry too.
By then I'll own a 2007 Mustang GT so you can all kiss my tail lights because that's all you'll see! :P
Looks butt ugly with an underpowered unrefined and somewhat antiquated Duratec V6.
How is it underpowered? Sure it has fewer horses and ft-lbs than the others but it's no slouch. Like I said above, the majority of Fusions will be better than the majority of CamCords on the road. Ford was smart if you ask me. They essentially bettered all of the competition by making the V6 more affordable, or as affordable as the others' I4s. Their SE models, ST and SVT, will take care of the rest of the shoppers who want balls to the wall performance. That's something they won't get from the competition. Ford's timing with the SE's will be the real issue if you ask me.
I think it's more like CamCord nausea for some of us. :sick:
The Fusion V6 may be priced lower than the Accord and Camry V6s, but the Sonata V6 undercuts the Fusion by quite a bit, with similar equipment:
Fusion: list $22,955, less $500 rebate (there might be a $500 FMAC rebate also)
Sonata: list $21,495, less $1500 in rebates ($2500 for Hyundai owners--who says it doesn't pay to own a Hyundai?
As for the comment about millions of Camcord owners can't be wrong... they never had the choice of buying a Fusion, or '06 Sonata. I see tons of Malibus and Malibu Maxxes out there, and that car doesn't seem as good as the Fusion. Now that Ford has a competitive mid-sized car, I think it will find a wide audience.
Also, Ford is smart to not overprice the Fusion. They will start selling a decent chunk of these and, who knows, sales may even take off like they did on the Taurus. My first choice is the hard-to-beat value of the Hyundai Sonata, but the Fusion isn't a distant second by any stretch. The mundane looking CamCordians are weak, their sauce is thin and old. Just happens to be the truth, boys. Weak sauce.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Talk is cheap. The CamCord legacy will always have wannabes slinging mud in their direction. Own one and you'll understand the reason people want em.
We don't want to take a chance on an unproven lookalike.
Actually your figure of 70% of CamCords being 4c is WAY low... it's 90+%.
What are the top 8 vehicles sold in the US market now. Hint: 1, 2 and 4 are trucks.
If they continue pushing something the market doesnt want the domestic makers will miss another opportunity if the Fusion and Malibu dont turn things around quickly.
Answ:
1 F150
2 Silverado
3 Camry 90% 4c
4 Ram
5 Accord 90% 4c
6 Corolla 100% 4c
7 Civic 100% 4c
8 Altima 90% 4c
see a trend? Plain vanilla sells.
Otherwise, how to explain the "fuel effecient" F150, Silverado & Ram popularity? How to explain all the SUV's in the last 10 years?
Another good reason for people to consider the Sonata when shopping for a new car; get 6 cyl reliability & performance for less than the price of Toy/Hon 4 cyl.
Don't 6 cyl run more smoothly that 4 cyl? I don't know about today's cars, but 6's have been better than 4's for the last 20 or so years.. Since '71 I have had 4 new cars. The last two, 6 cyl. They run smoother than the '70's & '80's 4 cyl.
Maybe the 4's of today are just a smooth as the 6's. No question the 4's get better gas milage. But, if one drives 12K miles or less per year, the difference in gas cost isn't that much.
You're not going to find an I4 Fusion or Milan with an ATX for another few weeks as there was a delay in getting that transmission from it's manufacturer. Only V6 and I4s with the MTX will be available right now.
Just to clarify, I said the Fusion V6 is priced comparably to the Accord and Camry I4 models not their overpriced V6 models.
I wasn't comparing the Fusion's V6 to the Hyundai's as the latter is fighting for a piece of the big pie, or playing catch up if you will, along side of the Fusion right now. You are correct in what you said though.
I don't agree with that at all. I think everyone wants performance, from the 8-year old who just heard the growl of a Mustang for the first time right up to the 80-year old "blue hair".
Affordibility and value are the name of the game, always have been. The Accord and Camry sell very few V6 models because they've priced them out of the average Joe's reach. Plain and simple. We all have two or more cars per household now and the family sedan isn't going to be the cool one at least for now. SUVs have taken that role and all the cash gets thrown at them.
Don't get me wrong, Honda's engines are models of effieceincy and technology, but sometimes you can have too much. Especially when price is concerned.
I do not believe that the Fusion and/or the Sonata are going to take the market over from the CamCords. However I do believe we're in for a big change where Honda and Toyota are the biggest losers.
They [Ford] essentially bettered all of the competition by making the V6 more affordable, or as affordable as the others' I4s. (emphasis mine)
You can see how I thought you included the Sonata when you said "bettered all the competition."
Out of all the cars I drove today, I was most impressed with the Nissan Altima from a drivability standpoint. Granted it doesn't have all the features the Sonata has, but both the V4 & V6 Altima had plenty of power and no hesitation that was quite noticeable on the Mazda 6 and the Sonata. While the Sonata is "they thought of everything" feature rich, it doesn't have the same feel of quality that I felt sitting in and driving the Altima.
The Nissan Altima was never on my list of cars to consider, but that has changed after today. I still like the Sonata, but selecting my next car just got a little bit harder after driving the Altima.