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2013 Hyundai Sonata

29 messages,  Last post on Jun 12, 2013 at 1:07 PM

You are in the Hyundai Sonata Forum.

What is this discussion about? Hyundai Sonata, Sedan

Messages Page 3 of 4

#18 of 29 Re: Black Friday Sonata [ryster] by backy

Jan 05, 2013 (12:49 pm)

Replying to: ryster (Jan 05, 2013 6:19 am)
I probably would have put enough additional money down to just drive away payment free for 36 months.
 
I tried, in fact my position going in was a simple exchange of keys, nothing up front, no payments (I knew that was a big stretch given the condition of my trade, but figured what the heck, might as well try for it). But the sales manager said that Hyundai Finance would not do leases w/o a monthly payment. I was kinda surprised by that, as I've heard of leases with a single payment up front. I plan on calling Hyundai Finance in the near future and see if they'll accept payment up front now, for a little discount.
 
P.S. Residual is kinda meaningless IMO. If it's too high relative to the value of the car at the end of the lease, I'll walk away, or negotiate a lower buy-out (which I've done on leases in the past). I leased a Sentra nearly 3 years ago and at the time thought the residual was kinda high, about $11k, but the payments were only $179/39 months with nothing up front except first payment, plus they threw in a free DVD player and nav system. I figured I'd walk away at the end of the lease. But with used car values rising in the past few years, that $11k doesn't look all that bad now so I may keep the car when the lease is up in July.

#19 of 29 $50.00 thank you master card by oilmutt

Mar 10, 2013 (12:45 am)

I received a $50.00 Hyundai reward card in the mail along with athank you card for purchasing 2013 sonata. I actually leased one for 36 months. activated and spent it walmart today. anyone else get a reward card?

#20 of 29 $50.00 thank you master card by oilmutt

Mar 10, 2013 (12:46 am)

I received a $50.00 Hyundai reward card in the mail along with athank you card for purchasing 2013 sonata. I actually leased one for 36 months. Activated and spent it walmart today. anyone else get a reward card?

#21 of 29 Hyundai Reliability? by mani_o

Mar 14, 2013 (10:49 am)

I personally really like the look of the Sonata and congrats to Hyundai for breaking the mold on what a family car should like like.
 
My only concern with this car is will it be reliable in 10 years because I like to hold on to cars gotten all I can out of them. It seems like where I find looks reliability comes into question (Sonata, Fusion, Optima) and where I find reliability (Camry, Accord, Altima) looks go out the window. I have a 2010 Elantra and the engine idles louder than I'm used to and the transmission does not seem the best. But I like the look of the car and it seems reliable.
 
Most Hyundai reviews start off with it's a great car for the price, or the car has a good warranty. But you're not thinking about the price or the warranty when your on the side of the road. Likewise if the car runs great but is a boring to drive, who even would want to keep it for 10 plus years? It seems like Hyundai is stepping up and giving us a quality product and a good price. I might buy a Sonata next year for more room, 3-4 years should give us a good idea of how this 2011 design will hold up.
 
Warranties help with big repairs like engine and tranny issues, but with the random clunk, rattle and steering issues that plague cheaper cars the dealership turns a blind eye and says they don't hear it or it's normal - then you just end up living with it.
 
Bottom line I want a fun to drive, nice looking, reliable vehicle and I think for around the $25,000 most people pay for mid-sized cars, there is no reason we shouldn't get it.

#22 of 29 Re: Hyundai Reliability? [mani_o] by backy

Mar 14, 2013 (12:04 pm)

Replying to: mani_o (Mar 14, 2013 10:49 am)
The current Sonata design is over 3 years old now. Current Hyundais are higher quality than years past. Despite that, my 2001 Elantra GLS (purchased new in October 2000, one of the first cars of that new design to hit the USA) is still going strong (owned now by my sister), and my 2004 Elantra GT (purchased new 9 years ago) has done even better, with only routine maintenance, 1 brake job, new tires, and a few headlight bulb replacements over the nine years.
 
In my mind the only question mark on the long term reliability of the 2011+ Sonata is the new powertrain on that car: a 2.4L GDI engine, and a new (when the 2011 Sonata debuted) 6-speed AT. But with Hyundai's 10-year powertrain warranty, I really don't worry about costs associated with that, as I drive less than 10k miles a year.

#23 of 29 test drove a Sonata GLS today by fb400

Apr 05, 2013 (7:38 pm)

I test drove a 2013 Sonata GLS with PEP today. I have to say I am pretty impressed with this car. Admittedly I have been a Honda bigot for decades. That may be about to change.
 
You could accuse me of serial car shopping.. been at this already for a few months and probably won't buy until late summer. Not to say I enjoy frustrating sales people but I do have some fun with it. told then today oh yeah that Nissan salesman tried every trick in the book to get a sale!!
 
so to date have test driven the Jetta, Altima, Mazda 3 and today the Sonata. I wouldn't give the Jetta a 2nd look and the Mazda 3 I tried really hard to like but can't. I may give the Ford Fusion a spin next but that car would have to be beyond spectacular to match the Sonata.
 
What are all of you paying for the Sonata GLS with PEP car after all said and done?

#24 of 29 Re: test drove a Sonata GLS today [fb400] by backy

Apr 05, 2013 (8:04 pm)

Replying to: fb400 (Apr 05, 2013 7:38 pm)
FWIW if you are looking at the Sonata, Altima, and maybe the Fusion, you should try the 2014 Mazda6. From what I've read and seen, it's a great car--in the same size class as Sonata/Altima/Fusion. Mazda3 and Jetta are a class smaller. Might also want to try the Sonata's cousin, the Optima.

#25 of 29 Sonata annoyances by misterbill

Apr 05, 2013 (9:22 pm)

Replying to: fb400 (Apr 05, 2013 7:38 pm)
I'm actually disappointed in my Sonata GLS (and this is my 4th Hyundai in the family so it bothers me to have to say this). It drives very nicely, but there are enough annoyances that I would not recommend it.
 
The remote door opener has such poor range that I have to be maybe 3 or 4 car lengths away from it before it works. Forget about using it for finding a misplaced car in the parking lot (of course if you pay for the advanced Bluelink service, you can use their app to honk the horn and flash the lights). If you're used to pushing the door open button twice in succession to get all of the doors open, prepare to relearn this because you have to wait a couple of seconds before pushing it a second time to get rest of the doors to open.
 
I don't know whose idea it was to have radio and heat/cool controls each be a button that just cycles thru all of the choices, but it's a really poor design that I do not expect on a $20k+ car. I shouldn't have to cycle thru AM, FM1, FM2, and 3 XM settings to get from one band to the other. Similarly for heating/cooling. The button that looks like a person seems to have up and down positions but it took me a while to figure out that it was just always up. What ever happened to separate buttons for each function? The XM channel controls from the dash are beyond stupid (and useless). While AM/FM move up and down using your stored channels, for XM they just move to the next channel numerically. That means if you want to move between stored channels, you need to push the button on the dash. Oh, and if you are the sort who turns the heat/cool knob all the way to cool, be aware that this turns on the air conditioning (there is no separate button). And it loses the outside/recirculate air setting when you turn off the car, so it will be set to outside when you turn it back on, which is loads of fun when it's cold out and you don't want outside air coming thru until it can be heated.
 
The trunk and fuel door buttons are right next to each other and very easy to confuse. If you're just reaching for them. And one time I accidentally opened the trunk while I was waiting at a traffic light and trying to turn off traction control in bad weather before going up a hill. That was fun. It was obviously my fault, but maybe the trunk button shouldn't work when the car is not in park.
 
And the mileage is terrible compared to what I was expecting. If I'm lucky I get 28 with mostly highway, and often it's closer to 26. If I drive all highway, I may get to 32 until I do some real world driving.
 
Many of my problems with the remote/inside controls may not be an issue with the Limited because I think they have different options. But they certainly apply to the GLS and really annoy me.

#26 of 29 Re: Sonata annoyances [misterbill] by backy

Apr 06, 2013 (8:21 am)

Replying to: misterbill (Apr 05, 2013 9:22 pm)
Oh, and if you are the sort who turns the heat/cool knob all the way to cool, be aware that this turns on the air conditioning (there is no separate button).
 
There is a separate button for A/C. But turning the temperature knob all the way to "Cool" does activate the Max A/C setting--many other cars have the same feature.
 
On the trunk/fuel filler buttons... since you would be stopped when using them, it helps to look at them before pressing them. There's so many controls on the dashboards of today's cars, it's difficult to use any of them just by feel.

#27 of 29 Re: Sonata annoyances [misterbill] by ryster

Apr 14, 2013 (2:03 pm)

Replying to: misterbill (Apr 05, 2013 9:22 pm)
The trunk and fuel door release buttons are easily identified because the trunk release has a raised bump on it. The fuel door release does not.
 
The remote range on my GLS is quite impressive...approximately 100ft. Unlocking all doors with the double button hit is not an issue at all.
 
The temperature knob, when turned all the way to the left, activates Max A/C. You quickly learn to stop one notch before Max A/C to run at the coolest fresh air setting...and if you accidentally activate Max A/C you just turn the knob back up one notch and then press the A/C button to shut the A/C off. Not a big deal.
 
The climate control system is not intended to be run in recirc mode for prolonged periods which is why the system defaults to fresh air. When you want to use recirc, just push the button.
 
The fuel economy numbers you are getting are right on target with what the car is supposed to get. The car is rated at 24city, 35highway, 28combined. If you are getting between 26-28mpg in combined driving there are no issues.
 
You must change radio stations a lot while driving. I haven't ever noticed any issues related to changing stations or bands. I listen to XM 99.99% of the time and have 12 presets between XM1 and XM2...I don't even use XM3. When I want an XM station that isn't preset, I just turn to it using the tuning knob. On the rare times I want FM, I just push the FM button and tune to the station I want with the tuning knob. Works just like every other car I have had over the decades.

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