dat **** is hot

The outgoing version looked better. Still, up against the butt-ugly Accord or Camry, this looks good. Against a Malibu or Mazda 6 (current or upcoming), no way.

Utterly forgettable on the outside. The interior looks like Hyundai wanted to rip off the CTS interior, but only wanted to spend 20 bucks to do it.

LOL the accord is sexy as hell… the 6 is outdated the malibu is nice..

btw this is OLD news

The front reminds me of the old IS300 with the headlights and foglights. Overall, it is nice and not as bland as the older style. Yes the Sonata still looks more proportional than Camcord!

I don’t care it looks like, we just DUMPED a 04 Sonata GLS V6 for a 2008 SES Ford Focus(and the Focus is better in everything except 0-60 times).

In August of 1999, we got the Sonata GLS V6, leather, etc, minus abs. Nice car, like a slightly smnaller version of their(soon to be released, at the time) XG300.
We did have issues… in 5 years time, we needed:
Radiator, New Window regulators,New Alternator, new turn signal stalk, and under warranty, they replaced a tranny chip every year, for 3 years, in the engine…big hassles…nickle and dime you to death.
Nice car..and had it over 119,000 in 5 years.

We also got a 2001 Tiburon in June of 01( no bad luck with the Sonata until after we got this)….
not a bad little car…but tranny was near death at 3.5 years old, 103,000 miles.
Kind of forced to trade it in for another Hyundai(Spouse called from work, September 04…a Friday am.. I had to go down there).
We took a hit on the Tiburon, and got a (on sale) 2004 Sonata , GLS V6, with cloth/sunroof.
Again, the window regulators blew out, needed replaced.
The rotors and brakes, etc, needed to be replaced at only 47,000 miles!!!!Never replaced rotors(or windwo regualtors) on any other brand we owned: Chevy, Nissan, Scion, or so far(at 6K miles) Ford.
And we had other minor nickle and dime stuff, too, nearly 1,800 worth of work…in 3 years of ownership… we dumped it, and took a hit…

NO. There’s a reason why the lost 22-23% in sales vs 2006…(see the jan sales results.. here, wherever).
They took a Huge Hit, where as most who lost sales were Single Digits losses(percentage-wise).

They keep firing their top mgrs in USA because of missed sales goals every year the past few years(they wanted to sell over 500,000 units in 07, they missed that , again, for 3rd year in a row).

The last time, for the brakes, may have been due to a crooked service dept..
but either way..No More Chances.

If I wanted a midsized sedan now? I’d look at the Chevy Malibu 4 cylinder.
And we have not had a Chevy since the Summer of 1990.

Buyer Beware.

My cousins had a 1991 Sonata for years and years. The paint flaked off of it but they never had any major problems with it. They ran that thing into the ground and let it go after a decade or so. I never found them to be particularly compelling machines, but I have to say I would definitely pick this over a Camry and would pit it up against the better-than-Camry Accord.

The interior revision is amazingly done. It looks far better than the strange two tiered centre stack it’s replacing. I can’t say I’m as hot on the exterior revisions. I don’t like this new grille compared to the old one – it’s even MORE generic looking, but overall the car still has better proportions than the bloated, melty Camry or the blunt nosed Accord.

As far as exterior looks and driving dynamics go I’d probably pick an Altima or 6 over this, but if I wanted a luxury bent family sedan I’d probably go with this!

My god, this is just so bland and unoriginal.

Love it. I rented a 4 cylinder sonata when this style first came out, and it was plenty strong. I had to look under the hood to make sure it wasn’t a V6. My only complaint about the car was the ugly, cheap-looking dash. Hyundai definitely fixed that issue…this is one of the most beautiful interiors on the market. Kudos, Hyundai.

Do you lie awake at night fantasisng about buying that shiney new Hyundai? Do you dream of going through the brochures and picking the colour? Do you get that little twinge of excitement when you see one drive by?

No of course you don’t. Show the world you’ve failed at life..Buy a Hyundai.

Wait.
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Did someone actually say the Accord looks sexy?

Rover: Oh no, I just thought you must have lost a lot of sleep fantasizing about your Alfa Romeo. How often do you have to go cleaning the cum leak from its muffler?

So, no chance of getting full leather seats on the SE?

Wow, LLN has truly lost its way when people are saying this is the best interior on the market.

I think LJ’s experience perfectly sums up where Hyundai cuts corners: the hardware. They load their cars up with nice features, and sell them at a cheap price. They’re able to do this because they cut corners where you can’t see them in the showroom and the first few thousand miles of ownership. But underneath all those fancy features and nice stereo is a crappy car with substandard parts. Those parts end up breaking quickly and frequently, and even though the warranty covers *most* of them, bringing your car back to the dealer for repairs every month is no fun.

My uncle came to the same conclusion LJ did, after his ‘01 Elantra gave him numerous problems including leaving him stranded once due to a faulty wiring harness. The warranty isn’t enough to offset the hassle of being unreliable. When he first got the car, he thought Hyundai was the best thing ever, and even bought his wife a new XG350. But as the car hasn’t aged well, and has given him lots of problems, he says he won’t buy another Hyundai. He had fewer problems with his last car, a Dodge Neon, and that car was a POS.

I just can’t understand how anyone would be excited about this thing. WHY???

Its still a Hyandai!! They continue to chase the Lexus brand with styling…and now price. Go rent one of these cars sometime. The noise, vibration and harshness of the ride will drive you crazy after a few days. This will probably be a little better than the previous years model, but it was fugly too. This one is bland and wait for the price…way too high for such a low build quality car.

^^ If you’re a mexican in LA with minimum wage income.

==========>>only one problem wit LJ’s experience: all of his models mentioned were older models. My brother brought an ‘06 Sonata top of the line version wit 3.3V6 17″wheels sunroof n all back in Jan06, and i must say….I own an ‘04 Stage1 SRT-4, and i was apalled at how strong the acceleration was on that sonata. The ONLY nit pick WHATSOEVER about that car was that i never understood y tha driver seat was fully electronic but everything on the passenger seat was manual, on the top of the line version. But other than that, everytime i see him i straight race n dogg tha piss outta that car and he aint had a problem yet….

==========>>and the sound system in that thing was ROCKIN’!

In my opinion this is one of the best cars you can buy for the money considering the level of equipment and performance your getting. I liked the previous years styling better, was more sporty and aggresive, this new exterior looks more bland and reserved. And why did Hyundai downgrade to narrower tires? Last year they hand 225/50 17 tires on some decent looking 5 spoke wheels. Reducing the tires to 215 width and adding those ugly wheels is a bad choice. The interior is very nice for a car in this price range. I hope they add a sport model with 18″ wheels and a beefier looking body. I drove a V6 sonata before and its a fast car, this one is now a little faster, but looks alot slower.

That dash design is nicer than teh new Accord. I sat in a new Accord for a second this weekend – the dash is hideous.

Looks like a Taurus form the side.

Of course its a great deal they use child labor to build them and throw their waste into the sea.
Way to support the planet_dive.

The latest Sonata came out in 2006 with exactly three problems:
- soggy suspension
- crappy interior
- questionmark reliability (brand new Alabama plant and all)

Well, this 2008 update nails the first two points with one blow, and the latest issue of Consumer Reports shows the Sonata scoring a perfect 5/5 in reliability, just like the last-generation (which in 2005 was declared the most reliable vehicle — that’s VEHICLE — on the market).

A toast to progress!

vLane, please tell me people don’t still listen to Consumer Reports? That farce of a magazine has been stripped of its credibility for years.

Rover3500- “Show the world you’ve failed at life..Buy a Hyundai.”

G.O.A.T. quote.

Overall, nice car.

Vlane- Wait till you drive in one first. They’ve made changes to numerous vehicles, Toyota Camry, Ford Taurus, etc.. and people have still called it soft.

Look at all the haters…shame on you! This car is brilliantly placed in its market. It shares the the market with the big guys: Accord, Camry, Altima, and now Malibu.
It looks classy, in and out. It’s priced slightly below the others, and it’s got a great warranty. Hyundai is on a roll. It could not have made a better decision for the mid-cycle freshening.

This is too bland, especially after having seen the genesis.

One of Hyundai/Kia’s selling points us that you get a lot of stuff in their cars. Looks like that’s gonna continue here.

RicardoHead: I find the Camry Butt-ugly, but not the accord (but it ain’t sexy). Though it looks better in magazines than in person. The coupe is the opposite. I’ve now driven the new accord, and I’ll have to say it exceeded my expectations. It’s much better than a previous accord, though there was just a feeling of cheapness upon closing the door, and the damn thing vibrated more than I would’ve liked. On the latter point, I’m sure I just got a bad tester.

So, The Accord goes in my estimation from being an also-ran to all but Camry, toward the top of the list. The Malibu is marginally better, but my preference among all of them would probably be a Mazda6 or Aura. Sonata’s not bad, though.

LJ: the Malibu 4-cylinder is quite competent.

Rover3500: funny stuff at 230a on the 4th.

Comment by SSEAN54: “I just can’t understand how anyone would be excited about this thing. WHY???” Good point. Midsizers are not “exciting,” although I might make an exception for my brother’s Altima coupe.

vLane: don’t cite Consumer Reports, it makes you look soft-minded. Like those who think George W. is doing a good job.

Ray Sinclair: You’re probably more right than wrong.

I look at this car and see a 5 year old Accord. It has the simplicity and stats that made those cars great. but still this is a car that being sold on price 1st. And well I guess. . . thats the whole thing with this car. Its here to make things tough on the Chrysler Sebrings of the world.

I liked the Sonata I rented two years ago.. plenty of power and comfort, the exterior was inoffensive and somewhat distinctive with its chromeless grille, and the interior seemed OK if nothing special. The restyle is much better inside and much worse outside. To my eyes, the weak point of the Azera was the bland, 90s-Acura-like front end that actually looked OLDER than that of the Sonata that debuted just a year earlier.. and now, several years later, the Sonata gets a nearly identical overchromed facelift that is hardly an improvement! Thankfully, the interior seems to have had a much better result.

I like the car, but I always kept distance from Hyundai. I would like to see some proof of quality, before I drop my coins. Also, could not stomach their dealers and sales staff. Bunch of pricks or convicts (rehabilitated if such thing can exists). But motor shows definite improvement.
BTW, jjt & Ricardo, I took Malibu on test drive right after Honda Accord. You got to do the same to feel the difference. They are in different league. Looks are subjective, and probably the feel of the car, but you cant compare acceleration and handling.

The exterior is not offensive, but it is bland, derivative, and forgetable. Most of Hyundai’s recent products have suffered from this same issue. If Hyundai could really find its own distinct styling language to make it stand out, then I think it could make more of an impact on the market.

The mid-cycle interior upgrade looks to be a definite improvement.

Why are we arguing about something as bland as this car or the Camry, Accord, and Malibu. The Genesis is the game changer. Even if you’re not going to get the Genesis, if they can truly pull it off, the germans will have to really improve on their next gen cars or at least add more standard features which can only mean better deal for us consumers.

autonut: I drove the Malibu right after I got back, and the Acoord last week. The accord is bigger, and exceeded my expectations. The Malibu felt like a marginally better car. Quieter on the inside, and it didn’t vibrate as much, but I think the Accord was just a bad tester. I imagine if I drove another one, it’d feel more solid

Veda: The genesis is a winner, if Hyundai gets some salespeople who exude the class the car is trying to project. Sell tyhe genesis in the far corner of the showroom, and keep the accent buyers away.
Lane Pratley will have an Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeasy time moving the Genesis.

Its interesting that Hyundai got the interior right with this on ebut now the exterior needs an update Either way a great choice over the Malibu Fusion and Sebring Speaking of Sebring Chysler can learn a thing or two about interiors by looking at this car

Yikes. In this class the Malibu rules. And the Aura and Mazda 6.

ZZZZZzzzzzz.
Why would anyone pick this snore-mobile over the new Malibu?

I hate Korean cars, I think I hate everything Korean.

^^ Luckily it’s the korean, if it’s the chinese you wouldn’t be able to live normally in your everyday life.

I would either get an accord or altima over this and the malibu anyday.

I just heard Hyundai will be raising the price on this car. The base model will cost hundreds more than the base Malibu and it will even cost slightly more than the Camry. If this pig flies, it certainly will slam the door shut on some of your arguments, that’s for sure. Hyundai’s balls are getting bigger everyday. We shall see if it works.

Isn’t the H supposed to stand for Hyundai?…not Honda? So stop ripping this off (the back, elements of the interior)

No Hyundai should be mimicking designs from Honda Honda’s actually sell ! What should they do mimic an American design and have it sit on the lot ?
The interior is a blatant Honda Acura rip off and the back looks like the last Accord and the front is the TL but they have the right idea
Cant wait for the redesign I think this looks dated

Pray no one was killed in the wreck.

Crappy little beaters made for morons………catchy isnt it? It should be in Hundai/Kia’s theme song. Maybe they could get Joe Isuzu to sing it for them, I am told he is out of work and could probably use a few bucks.

Veda, thanks God it’s not Vietnamese. some folks would be shooting at it and I probably would join.

Well surprisingly some of the more famous names in the computer industry are owned by viets (american viets that is) but I forgot which ones. I know Linksys and Tripath are owned by asians. I mentioned that Lamborghini used to be owned by an Asian dictator’s son. It’s really impossible to hate a company based on who owns it anymore.

R-Head: You’re dead-on.

Veda: There’sa difference between “viets”and americans of vietnamese extraction.

This car looks great, especially the interior. The Accord, the 6, the Camry, and the Altima still look better but are also alot more expensive. But at least you can still get a nice car for under $20K.

I’ve been driving the 2009 Sonata GLS Sport V6 around for the last couple of weeks and HOLY F@#$! The simplistic styling of the interior and exterior are simply put, smart ergonomics. There is absolutely no confusion about where the controls are placed. The engine is smooth and quiet. The power is sublime until the pedal goes down, and then, with minimal torque steer the car absolutely stands and delivers beyond any Pony-hater’s wildest imaginations. With the ESC disabled the car loves to smoke tires, but never feels too close to the edge of control. 220 km/h (140mph)on the highway is no difficult feat to attain, and the stability of the vehicle is incredible. Highway noise is practically non-existant at any speed, and long hauls are easy and comfortable.

I spent two weeks looking at cars mostly reading reviews on sites like this. In all the reviews that were written by the experts Hyundai if not judged the best was judged a good car and reliable. The reviews that were written by drivers and owners were very high as a rule. To me it all starts with reliability. I don’t have money to throw away. After that comes all the rest. I bought the Sonata SE with the V-6. I’m not here to say its better or worse then the contenders. I saw it as a fine looking car which had the appearance of quality. I then had reviews showing reliability and I observed quality. I found that the motor was powerful the transmission very smooth and quiet. The interior is comfortable for me at 6′2″. On driving the car there was no ROAD noise very quiet interior. Most of the reviews I read about the Accord said it had road noise and has for years. That was a no starter for me. There are two reasons I would have bought another car and they are if the car was sure to be better and near the Hyundai price. Obviously that didn’t happen.