REVIEW: 2007 Hyundai Sonata

[SVT666]

Currently I am renting a 2007 Hyundai Sonata.  I am pleasantly surprised by how good this car is.  I knew it was good from reviews and such, but I didn't realize it was this good.

Pros:
The seats are fantastic.  Very supportive, very comfortable, and the frames are very stiff. 

The steering wheel is very nice and has very nice leather that feels so good in your hands. 

The interior materials and finish and finish are top notch. 

The transmission is a little slow to shift but it's smooth and has manumatic shifting and you would never know it was a 4 speed unless you try manually shifting into 5th and it just won't go. 

The handling is very good.  The car tracks straight, corners flat with very little body roll and the brakes are strong.  Acceleration is brisk and even under full throttle the engine is fairly quiet. 

It's a good looking car inside and out.


Cons:
I took it out for a spirited drive on some twisty blacktop in the mountains above my new office and no matter how well it handled, how flat it cornered, how hard it braked, or how fast it accelerated, it left me somewhat...bored. 

The steering is direct and accurate but it offers little feedback. 

The brake pedal has no feel at all and is too soft. 

The manumatic shifting takes a full second to actually make the shift after you tell it to.  The tranny won't obey your manual inputs unless it thinks the situation is right.  I tried two quick upshifts and it would only go up one gear so I had to hit it again.  The manumatic feature is only good for two things, engine braking and holding a gear...that's it. 

My only complaint about the interior is the location of the clock and the stereo controls.  The clock is too low and is not where I instinctively look for it and the XM controls on the stereo are impossible to figure out.

Verdict:
It's a car that I would consider if I was int he market, however I would buy the Fusion I drove last winter over the Sonata.  The Mazda6 was more fun then either and is available with a manual transmission but the Sonata and Fusion are both bigger and offer more room.  Of the three I would take the 6, but if this was going to be our primary car I would take the Fusion.

[Vinsanity]

hey, sounds better than the Camry