Hyundai Sonata 6 cylinders or 4?

targettuning · October 2008

Having driven both the V-6 and 4 cylinder versions for semi-extended lengths of time (rented over time frames from 3 day week-ends to week long rentals) and used them on the same drives which involve both (relatively) flat land driving via the Pa turnpike going east to driving to western Pa and the Allegheny mountains plus rural and secondary roads here in S. central Pa and I-81 going both north and south I have to make a few comments. Yes, the V-6 is a rocket on par with both the Accord and Camry V-6's and yes (no suprise) it is quicker than the 4 but I have always found the previous generation 4 w/4 speed automatic to be perfectly adequate no matter the terrain or load. The new generation with 5 speed auto should be marginally better yet. If you crave acceleration on tap and use it frequently (fuel economy be damned) the V-6 is best but I find I can cruise @ 70-80 mph just fine in the 4 and still have reserve to pass. There IS a reason something like 95% of all Camry and Accord are 4cylinders (and probably a like percentage of Sonata's) and that reason is...they are perfectly adequate for 95% of drivers. Obviously you are in the remaining 5%.

i360 · October 2008

I may fall into that other 95% and feel the i4 is adequate for everyday driving. The car has loosened up over time and is somewhat quicker and nimble. Also the engine roar has died down some over time as well. Granted off the line it isn't as quick as a 6, but whats the rush? The i4 once in gear and moving can get up there fairly quickly. I've been on several long drives and you don't notice the engine when your just cruising along. I also agree that is has reserve. I was driving on I4 going to Orlando doing about 75 when I had to get by 2 tractor trailers. I just gave it more gas, went in between them (Dumb at the time) emerged out the other side and gunned it and never felt like I couldn't make it, hit 100 in a few seconds. Most of the world drives underpowered cars with no problem, for us it isn't fast enough... If your doing the limit then there isn't an issue really. Although some on ramps may be a bit hairy, but I have insurance so...... Bring it.

dave868 · October 2008

I have only put 600 miles on the car, so my mpg sample is small... So far I am getting about 23 mpg. My split is about 70/30 city to hwy.

I can't stress enough how week the 4 cyl felt. The sonata is a fairly large car. The 4 cyl just has to work too hard to move it. Just to keep up traffic from stop lights i was nearly flooring it.

I am confident that I would get no better mileage with the 4 cyl than the v6... except for perhaps a steady 60 mph cruise.

22K is a decenct price for a v6 ltd w/o nav. I paid 23K with nav...which i love!

In my opinion, unless you do a lot of hwy cruising buy the v6...besides gas prices are dropping quickly!

targettuning · October 2008

Again I say....the Accord is a fairly large car, so are the Camry and Altima but all of those are being bought as 4 cylinders by an overwhelming number of people (and historically they always have been). All these size cars have adequate to outright quick performance with 0-60 ranging from the high 7's for the Altima to the middle to lower 8's for the rest and 1/4 mile times in the 16 second and middle to upper 80's mph range. These friend are V-8 times from not too long ago and in the case of the Altima quicker yet. Please do not tell me that every traffic light prompts 0-70 mph "races" and if they do that you have to participate. I maintain that the 4 cyl. versions of all these cars are a perfect balance between performance and economy. The "bigger is better" mentality in all things is one of this country's larger problems especially when applied to choosing our personal vehicles. As for your "besides gas prices are dropping quickly" comment.....yeah, shelve the plans for buying the fuel saving car and check out the Hummer again. When someone farts in the middle east and fuel prices rise faster than they dropped you are once again stuck with a poor choice. Which points out another "problem" with the citizens of this country...no long term commitment. Get used to it, we are at the mercy of those who pull our strings as far as fuel prices. Choose well...!!

dave868 · October 2008

I can't speak to the drivabilty of the accord, camry or altima. I can say that when I test drove the 4cyl Sonata it was loud and weak.

I am not racing people at stop lights. I just want to be able to move away from a light without people beeping at me or passing me angryly as I limp away from the light.

While it's acceleration may be "adequate". To achieve the "adequate" acceleration, the engine had to be flogged. I feel that this results in equal and quite possibly worse MPG than the v6. While producing more pollution due to the higher revs. And causing more stress to the engine.

In my opinion driving underpowered cars, is false economy. I would really like to see a study of real people driving 4 and 6 cyl versions of a larger car such as the Soanta and compare results. I suspect you would be surprised.

All I am suggesting is that the engine be appropriate to the vehicle. If you must drive a 4 cyl, how about considering the Elantra, especially with the manual. It's nearly as large as the Soanta in interior room.

Again all this is, is my opinion. I cant offer hard facts. However based on the impression I get from cosmo, I would bet that if he got the 4cyl, he would drive it harder than intended. And therefore not see any mpg gain and a frustrating driving experience.

newowner10 · October 2008

I own a 2009 Sonata 4 cylinder and I think it has plenty of power. I would say the tachometer stays below 3,500 rpm when I pull away from a stop light. I get 28 MPG around town (Not City) and 38 MPG with 4 adults highway. I noticed when I first got the car and drove it on highways that had hills with the 4 adults aboard it would downshift which I was not use to happening. I think I was originally conditioned that once a car got in high gear it stayed in high gear until you stop. I have no problem keeping up with normal people at stop signs.

cosmo15 · October 2008

Dave thanks for your reply. I feel you and I are on the same page with the 6 cyl over 4cyl. Im surprised your getting 23 mpg with 70/30. I think thats pretty good. What everyone needs to realize the engine debate is about opinion. I had every and I mean every intention of buying a 4cyl limited. As soon as I began my test drive within 200 feet I noticed loud, annoying and wining engine noise. That is something I personally do not like. Second you could notice and feel the car as is shifted due to lack of power under normal acceleration. When I drove the 6cyl none of these things were noticeable. It was smooth and very quite. Thats what I like in a car. Believe me I would love to save the extra money but these things would probably bother me and I would regret the purchase. Again people its all about opinion.

i360 · October 2008

Great post...

Well whatever, I feel my 2009 i4 is good enough for me to get around. And I dont have to gun it from the light like ol' lead foot seems to have to. I dont get honked at or passed and if I do so what, Americans need to slow down anyways. Thats one of the reasons we consume so much gas in the first place. That and the need to have the biggest fastest cars on the planet.

dave868 · October 2008

This is primarily a discussion of opinion. And with the MPG numbers posted by newowner, I would have considered a 4 cyl. However I can't imagine them bieing realistic, unless you drive like a hypermiler. With a constant feather foot and shutting the engine off when stopped.

I don't want to race my fellow drivers. I just want to be able to stay out of their way.

Quick poll just for curiousity sake:

Where are we doing our driving?

I am in New York.

rick2456 · December 2008

I have an 07 Sonata SE v6. Recently when having my car serviced, they gave me a loaner car which happened to be a 09 limit 4 cyl. I have to agree, after driving the V6, there is no way in the world that I could ever live with the I4. It is like dragging an anchor, not to mention much more noisy.

craigbrooks · December 2008

Dave,
Check this spreadsheet out. These are real numbers from real drivers around the country and Canada. I have the 4 and seeing the numbers my friends are getting with the 6 I'd probably go for the 6 next time. BTW the 4 has enough umph to get out of anyones way and a 125 mph top speed. :surprise:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pJcyZKy9s5qeUc-opuToYBg

newowner10 · December 2008

The V6 cost $2500 more than the I4. Driving 15,000/year with a 5 mpg reduction in gas mileage ($2/Gallon) with a 60 month loan it cost $50 more a month to own the V6. It may be worth it. Keep in mind that people shop for gas to save 5 cents per gallon.

dave868 · December 2008

I have no doubt that cruising the 4 will do better. I just know that flogging the 4 will produce worse mileage than the v6. I was all set to buy the I4 till i took a test drive. Normal acceleration required 3/4's of the pedal. And sooo noisy. Heck the V6 isn't exactly a rocketship, but it's adequate to keep you out of trouble.

newowner10 · December 2008

"I just know that flogging the 4 will produce worse mileage than the v6" \

Why do you think that is true. Are you saying if you follow a I4 with a V6 and I accelerate quickly the I4 millage will be worse? You are stating that a V6 is more efficient than an I4. I do not believe it would be worse than the V6 they would just get closer in gas mileage. How long can you "Flog" an engine maybe 12 seconds then you will be going pretty fast (70). I must drive more conservative then most people I would say I push the gas about an 1" may be 25%.
Are you related to the kids with the free-flow muffler who thing that the muffler makes a 4 cylinder Honda Accord a race car. My 2001 Sable could out accelerate the 4 cyclinder Honda Accord. It all comes down to to me if you dislike having the car downshift going up hills and lisening to the engine rev more than you like than the V6 is the way to go.
But honestly the I4 will keep up with any traffic flow I have ever seen.

dave868 · December 2008

"Are you related to the kids with the free-flow muffler who thing that the muffler makes a 4 cylinder Honda Accord a race car."

No, I am not a goofball "boy racer" with the coffee can mufflers that think if the car sounds fast, it is fast. I am a 40 year old father of 3. And drive pretty conservately. Believe me, I was all set to buy the "sensible" 4 cyl Sonata. Gone are the days of BMW's and Infinitis But then I drove the 4 cyl Sonata. And I proved what I always believed, cars should have an engine that appropriately sized. A 4 cyl in a Civic, Corolla or Elantra makes perfect sense. Anything more would be silly, fun maybe, but silly. However a 4 cyl engine in a Camry or Sonata is fools economy. Unless you feather foot it and cruise at a steady 60 mph, you are overstressing the engine. Big cars with small engines is false economy

"You are stating that a V6 is more efficient than an I4."

Not blanketly. But if the car is too big for the engine, yes. Engines have sweet spots. If you are forced to operate an engine too hard too often, it is less efficient. It also experiences greater wear and produces more polution. Compare the 4 cyl to the V6. The V6 produces 48% more horsepower, yet the 4 cyl only gets 15% greater MPG (according to the EPA, I contend real world numbers are closer still) Even so, I think that gives credence to the V6 being more efficient.

"12 seconds then you will be going pretty fast (70)"

Ouch 12 seconds to 70? And how many feet?. Many (most) of the merging lanes in my area are 75 feet or less preceeded by a tight radius 160 degree turn. So you have to accelerate from about10 mph to 65+ in 75 feet. Underpowered cars are a major source of accidents in this scenario.

If you are happy with your 4 cyl Sonata then God Bless. Maybe your driving needs allow for efficient use of the 4. However I am confident that had I bought the 4 cyl Sonata I would have been annoyed every time I drove it, and not realized any mileage benefit.

newowner10 · December 2008

I actually agree with you on many of your points. I test drove other cars (Accord, Milan, Legacy) with the 4 cylinder and I decide I would need the 6 cylinder but for some reason when I drove the Sonata with the I4 it appeared to have adequate power. I never drove the V6 Sonata due to the I4 having the power level I could live with. The Sonata is the first 4 cylinder car I have owed in 20 years. I have the basic I4 GLS with Automatic and my goal was to purchase a car I could afford to wear out in 5 years. Thank you for your thoughts.

i360 · December 2008

Generally I would understand your point of underpowered engines in larger cars but I don't feel this is the case. If I drive 60mph for an extended period I can get up to 38mpg which would not be the case if it couldn't handle it. While the i4 does make some noise from take off if floored, once your in 3rd and moving along, the engine noise is gone. Well it is on mine but I own it and have driven it alot more then your test drive. It can cruise at posted limit speeds at 1,500-2,000 rpm which results in a quieter engine. So again, unless I punch it at a stop light its generally quiet. I've owned it for three months and in my section of the world I have to share the road with some of the worst drivers in the US, who tend to drive alot over the posted limits and have not had an issue with speed, handling or evasive menuveurs. I just dont want people to stumble into this thread thinking the i4 is a hatchback Civic, it's not. In fact I dusted one the other night before he knew what was happening. Normally I don't race my cars, but this guy was annoying and fit the description posted above.

bhmr59 · December 2008

The 2.7L V-6 in my '05 Sonata has 170 HP, 181 torque and the car weighs 3254. The '09 4 cyl Sonata has 175 HP, 168 torque and the car weight 3327. The '09 has a little more horse, a little less torque and weight about 70 lbs more. Acceleration should be similar, with the '05 6-cyl maybe having slightly faster acceleration.

Also, you are probably underestimating the length of your acceleration lanes.

sduff68 · July 2009

I traded in a 3.3 liter Santa Fe for a 4 Cylinder Hyundai Sonata Limited.

Though they are two different vehicles, the V6 in the Santa Fe still has the same characteristics as the V6 in the Sonata. Plenty powerful, but slow to downshift when trying to pass or accelerate from a stop; however when it downshifted you got a nice torque rush pushing you into your seat.

When I test drove the 4 Cylinder Limited I did not even drive the the V6 because I knew I would like it better. The primarily thing I miss about the V6 now that I have been driving my Sonata for over one month now is the smoothness and the torque of the 6. The 4 cylinder has NO torque and even on dry pavement with the ESC turned of you can't chirp the tires.

The Lambda V6 just oozed class and luxury even if it wasn't the fastest engine in it's class. The 4 cylinder is pretty quiet for a 4 but it isn't in the same class as the 6 and it kind of hurts the "almost" near luxury appearance and feel of the Sonata.

billward · July 2009

Even though this is now an old conversation, I'll chirp in.

I have a 2003 Sonata GLS V6 4-Speed Automatic (which was the 2003 equivalent to the 2009 SE). I also have a 2009 Sonata GLS I4 5-Speed Automatic. Of the two....

The 2003 has 113K miles on it and get 23/30 City/Highway in our driving.
The 2009 has 5K miles on it and gets 26/33 City/Highway in our driving. Note that the 2009 has not hit the 20K mark where it will be fully loosened up and getting optimal mileage; we also put 1400 miles on it in the first 10 days of ownership, as we had two emergency trips on consecutive weekends to due to a death in the family, the death 240 miles away, the funeral 500 miles away.

The 2003 is slightly smoother, I think, in hard accelleration than the 2009...and I mean HARD acceleration, as I drive cars hard. The 2009 is the first 4 Cylinder I've bought since 1982, by the way, and I stopped driving that to buy my Baby IROC Camaro in 1989 (5.0 V8). Even THEN, the old Pontiac (the 4 Cylinder I bought in 1982, which was a 1980 model) had 105 HP on a 2100lb car, VERY sporty for the era.

OTOH, when my wife is driving the 2009 and I'm driving the 2003 (we sometime meet somewhere after work, and then drive home later in the evening) I've noticed that while I CAN leave the 2009 behind, I'm certainly not dusting it, and I'm pushing the car hard.... and if I'm behind my wife when she takes off at a stoplight, I have to rev fairly high on the 2003 to keep up.

I've driven the newer v6 extensively ( a couple of long term rentals, one a 2007, one a 2008) and was prepared to buy the v6 if the wife wanted the extra power... but from my perspective, I would have salivated over the v6 back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Now, the 4 has almost as much HP and oomph as my old Camaro, one of the last of the classic musclecars. My wife took one of the I4s for a test drive on the interstate, gave the I4 some gas, and smiled. That's when I knew we would get an I4.

I mean, I drive hard... even our MINIVAN is a "Sport" minivan, with a High Power v6, sport suspension, and sport tuning (a Crysler Rallye v6 short; would definitely qualify for CARS if we had waited!). The I4 is a good car.

Hyundai Sonata 6 cylinders or 4?

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