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Comments
By the way, I can't believe how awesome this car is. I was looking exclusively at the new Camry and Accord to replace my 14mpg (on premium) Trailblazer SS. My dad said I should look at the Sonata, after he rented one a few months ago and really liked it. Just to appease him, I did. They offered me almost $3k more for my trade than Honda and Toyota, and sold me the Sonata for $24k ($3.5k off MSRP). It rides better than the Camry and fits me better than the Accord. It was a no brainer! Now, I just have to get my friends and coworkers to stop laughing at me. People need to be convinced that Hyundai doesn't sell the junk they used to. It took me about a week of research and a test drive.
08620-2L000 is the part number for the iPod cable. I encourage any 09 sonata owner with any modern iPod to go to the dealer and get the cable.
• Two of the eight suggestions listed are:
o “Don’t drive faster that 55MPH”
o “While driving, keep your engine speed (rpm, or revolutions per minute) between 2,000rpm and 4,000rpm”
Following the second suggestion is impossible to do with automatic transmission unless one uses Sports Mode shifter to keep the rpm higher than Auto transmission will. For the most part Auto transmission keeps the rpm from under 1,000 to 1,500.
I want this engine to last as long as possible and in the long run I want to get the best MPG possible. Hence, do I keep using the Sports Mode shifter to keep the rpm around 2,000-2,5000?
As far as the break-in suggestions, that 2K to 4K rpm bit is for manual transmission cars, obviously not the automatic. Even though Hyundai doesn't specify that, it's pretty easy to figure out, as bringing the engine to 4K rpm's in the auto would mean completely flooring the throttle, and that's not good during engine break-in. I'm actually surprised how many miles Hyundai suggests for break-in. 1,200 miles is much longer than other manufactures, but I'm following it just the same.
And to moocow1, actually driving faster than 55 MPH on the highway with today's ~$3,70 a gallon gas prices (and rising daily) is "ridiculous." I'm absolutely amazed at being the slowest car on the freeway driving 55 MPH. People are blowing by me like I'm standing still. I guess no one has made the mental leap that the faster you drive the more gas you burn. This is especially true at anything over 55 MPH, where gas mileage plummets. People [non-permissible content removed] and complain about high gas prices but they do absolutely nothing about changing their driving style to help mitigate the pain. They still floor-it as soon as the light turns green like they are in some kind of race, they still drive 80 MPH plus on the freeway like they're taking a pregnant wife to the hospital, and they still break at the very last instance like they're testing their breaks to make sure they work. That is ridiculous, not driving 55 MPH, not taking off very slowly from stops, and not slowing down and breaking way in advance of a stop. That is smart driving, and it seems to me there are very few smart motorists on the road these days.
I can't do anything about the ridiculous price of gas, but I'm sure not going to be hypocritical about it like everyone else by bitching and then not do a damn thing to change.
Slow down people, what is your darn rush?!
In IL you would get a ticket for impeding traffic. Drive the speed limit, or get off the road.
I have to disagree with that as a general statement. My 2004 Elantra AT is quite aerodynamic for a compact car. There is a significant difference in mpg at 55 vs. 70. At 55, the engine is loafing at around 2000 RPMs, and can easily get near 40 mpg on level ground at that speed. At 70, the RPMs are around 2700 (I forget exactly how fast) and mpg drops to around 35 mpg on level ground. I have found similar behavior on every other car I've owned over 30+ years.
There is discussion in the press about resurrecting the 55 mph national speed limit, to save gas. Already some states are dropping their speed limits.
On a long trip, I can see the benefit of going 70 vs. 65. On around-town driving, I think the gas savings in slowing down far outweigh the little bit of time saved. I did a test once. I drove a route I frequently travel across town, mostly on an urban freeway but with some city streets and stoplights too, about 7 miles total. On the way to my destination, I drove the speed limit (55-65 range) on the freeway and tried to use as light a foot as possible on the gas, considering conditions. On the way home, I drove much more aggressively, went 5+ over the speed limits, didn't pay any attention to how hard I was pressing on the pedal, and sped away from stoplights. I got about 24 mpg. I also saved a whopping 1 minute on my trip.
I think your example of an aggressive driving test is more an example of accelerating, braking, accelerating, etc, rather than driving at a relatively steady speed.
Back to my great old 1800E, on a highway trip of 350 miles (notwithstanding wind resistance) it just seems that 5 hours at 70 mph vs 7 hours at 50 mph would result in better mpg at the higher speed in the higher gear.
Well I don't live in IL, I live in TX and the speed limit here is 60 mph. Driving 5 mph under that limit is hardly impeding traffic. It's called a "speed limit" for a reason, meaning it's the fastest you're legally allowed to drive. It doesn't mean you have to drive that fast. I wouldn't care if the speed limit was 65 mph, I would still drive 55 mph. As far as I'm concerned as long as I'm in the far right lane, if you don't like how fast I'm driving then go around me. I'm not going to speed up and waste my money to accommodate some impatient motorist behind me in a big rush to go nowhere.
Hey, if people want to go flying around at 80 mph wasting gas that's their prerogative. However for every mile per hour faster than 55 mph, fuel economy drops by about 1 percent, and the drop-off increases at a greater rate after 65 mph. So with gas prices dangerously close to $4.00 a gallon I will take every bit of gas savings I can get. And if it means driving 55 mph instead of 80 mph and taking a little longer to get to my destination, then so be it. Unless you work in a job that requires you to drive, then time does not equal money. My priority now is to save money on gas, and I will do everything I can to make that happen.
Pray people.....pray to the gas gods. :shades:
But speaking of that 2009 Sonata... that would be a nice car to take on a cross-country cruise, huh?
That being said, it does not slow me down when I drive in the 70mph zone. I agree with moocow1 that time is money. And to me, even though I do enjoy driving this car, driving is such a waste of time . There are so many other productive things I could be doing. I took gas prices into account when purchasing the V6 and I do not have any regrets. I love it.
As far as seat comfort is concerned, I found the seats on the SE more comfortable than the leather seats in the Limited. The cloth seats in the GLS wasn't bad either. I made a 14 hour round-trip during the Memorial Day weekend and never felt exhausted, or wished for a more comfortable seat, for me the seats were that good.
Observations:
1) My gas mileage on the trip ranged from 29.8mpg to 33mpg @72mph which I think is very good for a car producing 249hp with the A/C running and 2400 miles on the odometer.I would be repeating the trip again in August and I'd check to see if the mpg stays consistent.
2) The metallic trim (or whatever it is) actually looks good. The trim in mine is silver which I think enhances the look of the interior. So far it has been very easy to keep the seats clean especially the cloth inserts which I thought would be difficult to clean (pet hair).
3) The transmissiom didn't shift real smooth the first 600 miles when I tried to baby the throttle, so I just give it enough gas so that the transmission shifts between 2500 and 3000rpm. Under full acceleration the shifts are very smooth and it upshifts at 5500 rpm. It has only shifted at redline once, and I pretty much had to floor the throttle and let's just say the CVVT feels good (if you have ever driven a Civic Si or any Honda with i-VTEC you would know what I'm talking about.
Based on my experiences so far, I would rate the car a 10 on a scale of 10. To answer the question if I drove other cars, the answer is yes, listed below is my opinions of the cars driven:
08 Accord Ex: both engines were responsive but wind and road noise was better subdued in the Sonata. The only thing I liked about the Hondas was how the steering felt (but again they had 50 series tires compared to the Sonata's 55 series). I personally feel the SE's chassis can accomodate a real performance tire/summer tire upgrade compared to the O.E Kumho's
08 Malibu: wasn't crazy about the interior and but liked the power of the V6.
08 Pontiac G6: a decent car but that's it.
08 Saturn Aura: wasn't crazy about the steering effort (which was the same in the G6 and Malibu)
09 Camry SE: 4-cylinder was adequate but the SE V6 was stupid fast, too bad the transmission had a mind of it's own.
I hope this post was helpful, but if anyone has specific questions regarding the 09 SE V6, I would be happy to offer any information I have. The buying experience was great, got a good deal on my trade and paid $21,150 for this vehicle.
BiggCellus
1. Power passenger seat
2. Passenger Auto Up/Down window
3. Engine immobilizer (cheap econo cars have this, can't believe my 09 Limited doesn't)
4. Rear door pockets
5. RearView camera (if you buy the nav system option)
6. Power folding mirrors
I really think at a minimum Hyundai needs to incorporate the first three suggestions. I didn't realize my car didn't have the immobilizer until I got it home and was reading through the owners manual. That's kind of cheap of Hyundai not to add that. So if any of those features show up in a future Sonata you can thank me.
But I basically told them I loved the car and besides a few features I would have liked it's a home run. I especially like the new navigation system. The voice recognition is spot on.
I tried 2 more times later this evening. One of these was just like I wrote above. I also smelled something burning. Anyone has similar experience? Would you please try (several times) to see whether it is just my car or it is a common problem for 2009 Sonata?
Thanks!
Now, about that fusion-powered hyperdrive I'd like on the 2010 Sonata...
Currently I'm very happy with the 29 to 30 mpg I'm getting with my 09 V6 Limited. I think the fact I've had to use my A/C since purchasing the car probably hasn't allowed me to break the 30 mpg ceiling. Plus the engine is still very new. I just hit 1,100 miles on the way to work this morning.