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Midsize Sedans 2.0

18428 messages,  Last post on Jun 17, 2013 at 6:28 PM

You are in the Sedans Forum.

What is this discussion about? Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Volkswagen Passat, Mazda MAZDA6, Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu, Kia Optima, Car Comparisons, Sedan

Messages Page 1684 of 1843

#16829 of 18428 Re: Altima's attraction? [stickguy] by cski

Aug 17, 2012 (1:14 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (Aug 17, 2012 12:31 pm)
Yep. It is worth checking out now that it has been redesigned. It is Nissan's bread and butter, and they really listened to the market. I think it is a top pick.
I wish there was a 6 speed auto, but Nissan chose to offer only a CVT. It does have a manual-shift mode that holds "gears" for spirited driving.
 
I have a relative that works at a local Nissan dealership. I would like to drive this newly designed vehicle before I pass further judgment!
 
One of my friends works in the design portion of the industry and said the mid-size sedan is the hardest car to design. It HAS to be ALL things to ALL people.
 
My top picks for mid-size sedan are as follows:
Optima
Altima
Sonata
Camry (yawn) (new design is "chintzy" looking, inside and out. Legendary reliability, space, comfort and safety features save it as a top pick)
Accord- wait for 2013
Malibu (Malibu's make me yawn almost as much as the Camry)
Fusion -wait for 2013
What happened to the Taurus? It grew like two feet and I see very, very few of them. I had a 1994 SHO and loved it till the engine exploded. 224k might have had something to do with it.
 
-Chris

#16830 of 18428 Altima vs Sonata, also Chevy commercial about Camry by misterbill

Sep 03, 2012 (9:29 pm)

I just bought a new Sonata. I would definitely have looked at the Optima but there is no KIA dealer anywhere near me and I'd rather be able to service it locally. Test drove an Altima a few months ago and when the dealer asked what else I was looking at I told him the Sonata and that I preferred it's look. He said "it's just sheet metal". I guess he was tired of people telling him that the Altima was ugly. I was not aware of the redesign for 2013. Just looked and I still like the Sonata better (but the Altima is not as ugly as it was).
 
I am not a big fan of Chevy but I love their new commercial where the dealer asks the Camry owner if he is ready to trade it in, and is shocked when the guy tells him that he just bought it new. The dealer still can't believe it and looks for a cassette deck.

#16831 of 18428 Congrats by benjaminh

Sep 03, 2012 (11:05 pm)

Replying to: misterbill (Sep 03, 2012 9:29 pm)
Congrats on your new Sonata! What options did you get? What kind of price? I assume yours was made in Alabama?
 
I like the looks of the Sonata too....Hope you'll give us a report with what you like, as well as any items that annoy you.

#16832 of 18428 Re: Altima vs Sonata, also Chevy commercial about Camry [misterbill] by cski

Sep 04, 2012 (5:44 am)

Replying to: misterbill (Sep 03, 2012 9:29 pm)
Altima was boring and the warranty wasn't as good. My mother in law Works at a local dealer and has worked there for 31 years.
 
 I asked her about the Altima and she said they were "iffy" on quality. She doesn't say much...so when I heard that I took it seriously. The other reason is that they look dated and I see thousands on the road. Also, the only transmission offered is a CVT, hubcaps, manual A/C, 20 less horsepower, older design, etc.
 
I wanted more of a 4 door sport sedan. I wanted alloy wheels, dual exhaust, fog lights, HID's, leather, dual-zone climate control's, and 35mpg! Lastly, it;s made in Georgia in a brand new factory employing 2,000 Americans. Oh...I almost forgot the leather wrapped steering wheel, 17" alloys, push-button start, key-less entry, free service, free 60k roadside assistance, Bluetooth, IPOD, MP3 and Sirius, and voice-command functions.
 
The EX is just slammed with features.
 
The Optima had all of that, AND sticker-ed at $24,265. I got it for $21k and paid only 4% for 5 year financing, and I put nothing down.
 
I think it was a no-brainer.

#16834 of 18428 Re: Congrats [benjaminh] by misterbill

Sep 04, 2012 (7:45 am)

Replying to: benjaminh (Sep 03, 2012 11:05 pm)
I got the GLS in black/grey with PEP and floor mats and mud guards. This is the first car I've bought without a sun roof, I am debating having the dealer install it, they claim that it gets the same factory warranty if the dealer does it as if it came with the car. They want $1200. I decided to see how much I miss it. I would have liked the keyless ignition and other features with the SE, but they seem to be hard to find (my dealer only has one in stock and it had lots of other stuff). The only thing I really required was Bluetooth and that is standard on all Sonata models. I paid $21.6k less $1500 in rebates and 0.9% financing for 36 months. It was within a hundred dollars of the Edmunds TMV and they must have caught me on a bad day because normally I would have walked out and said "See you Monday" but I decided to just give in.
 
This car purchase was way different for me than my previous purchases. Normally I had either thought about it for a long time or had to get a car quickly because my old car died. This time I really only started thinking about it a couple of days earlier when I got email from Hyundai about rebates this weekend. And I mentioned it to my wife when we were near the dealer (we had only gone down there to shop at a nearby supermarket). I actually wanted to get another Elantra Touring, which has been discontinued for 2013 and which I figured the dealer and Hyundai would be deeply discounting to get rid of. Much to my shock, there was only a $500 rebate on it and the dealer, while he had 7 in stock, was not willing to give me much of a deal. However the salesman (who I had bought my original Touring from) said the best deal was on a Sonata, and they gave me a decent price, including the $1500 rebate. I had not been thinking about a Sonata, I thought they were more money but I always liked the way the car looked. It reminds me of my 2004 Mazda 6 hatchback (also black), which met an untimely demise due to a collision with a deer (that was when I bought the Touring). I think it probably cost me less than a regular Elantra as well. Apparently those are so popular that some are sold before they even arrive at the dealer.
 
Of course, you might think my wife would not be as excited as me about this. However, she has been driving a 1997 Buick for the past year, which she got from her mother. It has a dented door (from the accident my mother-in-law got into when she decided to stop driving) and no airbags. While it served her purpose (driving 2 miles each way to and from work), it was time to get something better, especially since the Touring has 44,000 miles and I'd like to cut down on the mileage so I get close to the 5 years/60k miles of warranty. So I get the Sonata, and my wife gets the Elantra Touring, so it's a win-win. The dealer is taking the Buick off my hands for a decent (if not great) price so I save on sales tax and don't have to get a new registration.
 
I'm picking it up tomorrow night.

#16835 of 18428 Re: Congrats [misterbill] by imidazol97

Sep 04, 2012 (7:28 am)

Replying to: misterbill (Sep 04, 2012 7:45 am)
>1997 Buick...no airbags
 
What Buick model from 1997 has no airbags?

#16836 of 18428 Re: Congrats [imidazol97] by misterbill

Sep 04, 2012 (7:46 am)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Sep 04, 2012 7:28 am)
It's a Century. I don't see anything on the steering wheel which indicates that there is an airbag. I could be wrong.

#16837 of 18428 Re: Congrats [imidazol97] by cski

Sep 04, 2012 (9:52 am)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Sep 04, 2012 7:28 am)
I think it was the Buick LS. (Less Stuff)??

#16838 of 18428 Re: Congrats [misterbill] by imidazol97

Sep 04, 2012 (12:38 pm)

Replying to: misterbill (Sep 04, 2012 7:46 am)
The owner manual says there's an airbag in the steering wheel and one in the dash for the passenger in the front seat.

Messages Page 1684 of 1843

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