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Hyundai Sonata vs. Honda Accord vs. Toyota Camry vs. Ford Fusion
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got what I thought was a very good deal on it. 200 over
invoice. My 2006 Hyundai, which has a more powerful
engine, alloy wheels, stability control, and more room,
cost 2000 less. And quite a bit less than the 2006
Accord V6. If I really thought that the Accord was
that much better a car I would have gotten the Accord,
since my previous 3 cars were Hondas, and I really like
the Honda dealership here. But after driving both, it
was a tossup. As you say, why pay more for less car?
why you would post your narrative on the sonata vs accord
vs camry vs fusion forum. Why not just put it on the
Accord forum?
why you would post your narrative on the sonata vs accord
vs camry vs fusion forum. Why not just put it on the
Accord forum?
He wanted to inform buyers what mileage he got. What's wrong with that? Some of us here do care about mileage in this forum. It's nice to hear personal expieriences, it helps buyers to make the right choice.
Basically, ctalk said what I was thinking.
That's the risk and trade-off that person took for buying early! They should know they're going to be paying a premium for being one of the first to get a car. The retained resale value of people who bought the Sonata when it was brand spanking new should NOT be a standard by which the Sonata resale value is measured. What about those people that did purchase a new Sonata for $15k? They could potentially have a very good resale value percentage. I think you are making a conclusion about potential resale based on the wrong population of people. Early buyers of a popular new model should never expect to get a good resale value compared to a buyer with more patience that waits out the hype.
Some people probably would like a Sonata over a Camry or Accord even without the lower price factored in. I know I do at least the Sonata in black color I would take over the Accord or Camry. I just don't like the 2 tone plastics in the Sonata.
As for Hyundai putting the Sonata in fleets. I think there is nothing wrong with selling cars to rentals but an excesive amount of the same car to rental fleets is too much. Look at Mitsubishi fleets sales acounted for a 3rd of their sales a few years ago which is way too much. Now fleet sales account for 10 to 12 percent for Mitsubishi which is a normal number of rental fleet sales. Mazda has trimmed their number of cars that it sells to fleets.
Consumer Reports rates the 6 V6 pretty good for the "trouble spot of engine" but Consumers gives a bad rating for the 6's V6's "trouble spot of brakes".
Its not the same kind of soup. Many many folks would never even consider buying a Hyundai. CamCord's probably still banking on that fact. One day Hyundai may shed its negative image completely. Until then, the company has to bank on the lower price selling the cars.
I've been following along on the 6 threads here at Edmunds and can't recall one person complaining about brakes. I've had to use the brakes in an emergency in the real world a couple of times (idiot pulling out in front of me, deer, poor snow drivers) and I have to say they are pretty impressive performance wise.
Does it say what the problems with the brakes are?
We absolutely love our GLS V6 too, but I agree 100% that gas lid and cap are very chintzy in feel and apearance. I know most other models also have plastic gas lids (the actual locking fuel door), sure seems like that's a lousy place to save a buck. Our '89 Accord also had a very cheap plastic cover and we had to replace it twice One other thing I wish the Sonata had was an oil pressure guage. But all-in-all a very satisfying purchase
Unless your Audi was from the 80's or earlier, north america and europe are full of people who would laugh at this statement.
Have you driven both? Apparently sanatame has, his/her/its opinion my be biased but I would tend to listen more to it than to someone who doesn't have first hand experience.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
FWIW My wifes daily drive ia an Accent. While the feel is what you would expect the ability of that thing to corner is simply amazing. I don't know if it is common to the model, or its just a quirk of my car, or just a good combination of car and driver, but I can take corners a bit faster than I could in most cars I have driven.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
No they didn't say what the problem with the 6's brakes were. They just gave the 03 6 a much worse than average reliability rating(black circle for the 03 6 for the trouble spot of brakes.) Th 04 6 had a worse than average rating(a black over white circle) for the brakes. The 05 6 had a average rating(white circle) for brakes. keep in mind 05 models surveyed by consumers only had a total of 3,000 miles on then.
On a seperate note Consumers doesn't reccomend the 6 6 cyl sedan and 6 hatchback due to under average reliability. However Consumers reccomends the 6 4 cyl sedan(average reliability) and 6 wagon(above average reliability.)
BTW, I received a quote of $28,790 OTD on a 2006 Accord EX V6, and a quote of $20,636 OTD on a 2006 Sonata LX V6. Comparably equiped. 8K difference. For ME, both cars have their pros and cons. I just have to weigh (in my mind) what are really the important factors/features that I want in a car. My wife and I are leaning toward just waiting until this fall and see what the 07 models offer, and then either buy an 07 or get a good deal on a left-over 06.
Well from what I hear the Fusion has more interior room than the 6 so it must be a bigger car than the 6 so maybe there is an issue with weight gain with the Fusion.
Since I tend to drive til the wheels fall off, then put them back on and drive some more I have the same problem. When that happens I either try to sell it as is in a third party sale or if its bad enough take it to the junk yard and get some cash for it. Either way if I am not getting anything for a trade in it comes off the table.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Don't think thats true, using the prices quoted for the two cars in the post you are replying to for the payments to equal out Honda has to offer 0% financing over Hyundais 13.5% financing. Don't think thats the case.
Also it usually costs the same or more to do that. You savings in interest is offset by the loan insurance.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
If you will check your owners manual, it gives that information in full detail, but, if I"m not mistaken, it involves holding in the trip meter reset knob THEN turning the key to the "ON" position and holding for several seconds. Hope this is right for you, and good luck!
thegrad
FWIW I take very little stock in what CR says and I don't want to start a CR war here, but that seems very odd. The Mazda6 sport wagon comes with the V6 only. But somehow it's more reliable than the sedan and hatch which are built on the same line with the same parts? Yeah, that makes sense. :confuse:
FWIW I do have a 2004 Mazda6 V6 MTX, "S" if you will, and have had one problem with it in 10,000+ miles. I noticed some jerky hesitation last spring when trying to hold a constant speed while climbing the hills in this area. Turned out the throttle body went bad and they had to replace it. It was done within an hour or two during a routine oil change and was of no inconvenience to me. The car still started every day and drove fine for the most part. Brakes are definitely NOT an issue at all. It's a really great car and I think it's getting a bad rap for no reason and without any real proof.
Using MT's logic my long-term update log would show no problems to date.
Hopefully the Fusion fares better because, if for no other reason, Ford needs it to.
I just think that there is a loa of incentives on the car and that the used car market for these cars will be very competitive. I think that resale will be very low. They put $3K on it when it was two months old. What is going to happen at model year end? Even if there is only $4.5 on the hood at that point, that will hit both the people that bought the car for sticker in the first two months, and the peopel who bought it for $3K off the following months. It basically has to stick at $3K off for the rest of the year. After seeing it for $3K off all over commercials and web sites, would you still be willing to buy at a lower rebate. And at that point, someone could sell you their used for almost exactly the same money they paid for it to begin with. If incentives go down to $1K, people who bought at $3K off and negotiated their invoice price (another $1K off of sticker), could say, "hey buy mine, it has about 5K mileage but I'll give you $3K off the sticker of a new one". THat can't happen in the auto industry. Hyundai has put themselves and the car in a very compromised position very early.
I'll tell you this, if Hyundai can still turn a good profit on the Sonata at its already low price, minus $3K in rebates and produce the quality and fit and finish levels they are. Then Honda, Toyota, GM, Ford, should all file for bankruptcy together because it would be impossible for them to compete unless they relocate all plants to Korea. It would be like me and you having two lemonade stands and you pay $1 for your lemons and I pay 50 cents. If the quality of your leonade is only marginally better (ignoring sugar costs), if I charge 75 cents and you only a $1.05, the question has to come down to. Is your marginal quality advantage worth 30 cents on the dollar? If I discount my lemonade to 60 cents (still making double your profit margin), fold up your stand and go sell newspapers.
I don't think its getting a bad rap. Mazda missed the boat on the interior room so thats sales of the 6 are at 70k units a year and not at 90-100K units a year is because the car is not as roomy as Altima and Accord.
I compared top models of Mazda 6, Accord, Altima, and Camry(outgoing), and here are a few of the shortcoming I have found.
Legroom F/R:
Mazda (42.3/36.5)= 78.8 total
Honda (42.6/36.8)= 79.4 total
Nissan(43.9/36.4)= 80.3 total
Toyota(41.6/37.8)= 79.4 total
These numbers don't illustrate the fact that the car isn't as wide as the others, and therefore feels more cramped when sitting 2 or three abreast in the car. (Just opinion, though)
Mazda smallest in width, length, horsepower (by 29-54 hp or) AND economy, lower crash test results, old (relative) styling (since 2002, nothing has changed) in quick changing market.
Mazda's 6 is a great car with great handling, it just isn't what everyone looks for when shopping for a family car.
Some of this was addressed for this year though. Side curtains and ABS are now standard on all models except for the base I4. The interior and exterior have been refreshed, NAV is now available, and the engine has been massaged a bit.
But I was really pointing the bad rap thing out in reference to CR. Their ratings don't make sense to me and probably turn some buyers away without good reason.
On another note, why Ford didn't follow it's own lead and make side curtains and ABS standard on the Fusion is beyond me. I know some people don't want or like them but it seems they took the hint from the market in the Mazda but not in the Ford. Kind of strange.
Just a thought.
Hip & shoulder room, front & rear, is also more spacious in the Sonata.
I guess this isn't the consumer's problem right now. The cars are decent and the prices are dirt cheap. Somehow you'd think something will have to give. Iran could somehow buddy-up with North Korea and attack Seoul......
I guess this isn't the consumer's problem right now. The cars are decent and the prices are dirt cheap. Somehow you'd think something will have to give.
Exactly. It very soon becomes a consumer's problem if Hyundai of NA decides to file chapter 11.
But I believe it's pretty unlikely and they are probably trying to do what Lexus did starting in 1990. Which is launch excellent products while severely undercutting prices of the competition, win customers with the quality of products and service and then raise prices while retaining superior quality.
Really a great scheme, but central to its success is the quality of the product, which Hyundai doesn't have at the moment.
Somehow I think GM or Ford will file for Chapter 11 before HMA does.
They may not be making huge profits on the Sonata now because:
a) They know they can't command a Camry/Accord price YET, and
b) they are most importantly buying market share.
Low profits today are an investment for future profits when they have built market share and brand-name recognition. The Japanese effectively did this over twenty years ago. What this means to the consumer now is a good quality product at a bargain-basement price.
With the release of the new Camry, though, I think a lot of top brass at Hyundai, Ford, GM, Honda and Nissan are having nightmares right now. It looks like it may blow everything else into the weeds...