New Sonata review

[crv16]

http://www.freep.com/money/autoreviews/phe...1e_20050721.htm

Despite upgrades, Hyundai's all-new Sonata still trails rivals
July 21, 2005


BY MARK PHELAN
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST


BEHIND THE WHEEL  
2006 Hyundai Sonata
Front-wheel-drive five-seat large sedan

Rating: TWO STARS out of four

Reasons to buy: Many standard safety features, interior room, price.

Shortcomings: Handling, interior fit and finish.



With the all-new 2006 Sonata sedan, Hyundai has made a billion-dollar bet on American motorists' desire for space and safety.

A 2006 Hyundai Sonata LX in downtown Grosse Pointe. The family sedan offers a V6 engine, a large interior, better styling and many standard safety features. The LX V6 has a suggested retail price of $22,895.

It's too soon to tell if the bet will pay off -- the car just went on sale -- but the Sonata delivers on both counts, and puts a bow on the package with a low base price.

I tested a well-equipped Sonata LX V6 with a suggested retail price of $22,895.

The base model is the GL, which has a four-cylinder engine and manual five-speed transmission. Prices for the GL start at $17,895. The base V6, called the GLS V6, starts at $20,895. All prices exclude destination charges.

Hyundai hopes the Sonata's size, standard equipment and radically new styling are the first step to giving the brand a more sophisticated, upscale image.

The 2006 Sonata is a step in that direction, but not the leap Hyundai must make to be fully competitive with leading automakers. The car's impressive interior space and many standard features are not quite enough to offset shortcomings in interior refinement and road manners. I spent a week in the LX V6 and drove a GLS V6 briefly. Hyundai did not provide any Sonatas with the four-cylinder engine or manual transmission for test drives.

Standard equipment on all models includes antilock brakes, electronic stability control and six airbags -- the mandatory two front bags plus seat-mounted front air bags and side curtain air bags for front and rear passengers.

That's more standard safety equipment than you'll find on any competitive family sedan. Hyundai considers the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Five Hundred, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Mazda 6 and Toyota Camry to be the Sonata's main competition.

In addition to the extra safety equipment, the Sonata's 105.4 cubic feet of passenger space beats all those models but the cavernous Ford Five Hundred and the hatchback Malibu Maxx model.

The LX V6 I drove featured Hyundai's 3.3-liter 235-horsepower V6.

That's more power than V6 models of the Camry, Five Hundred, Malibu and Mazda 6, but less than the Accord and Altima. The base 2.4-liter four-cylinder develops 162 horsepower, more than the four-cylinder Accord, Camry, Malibu and 6, but less than the Altima. There is no four-cylinder version of the Ford Five Hundred.

The Sonata LX's standard equipment also includes a five-speed automatic transmission. The less expensive V6 GLS comes with a four-speed automatic. By comparison, the Altima, Malibu and the 6 have four-speed automatics, the Accord and Camry have five-speed autos and the Five Hundred comes with a six-speed automatic as standard equipment.

The five-speed automatic helps the Sonata LX V6 achieve respectable fuel economy ratings of 20 m.p.g. city/30 highway. That's better than V6 models of the Altima, Five Hundred, Camry, and the 6 but not as good as the Accord and Malibu.

The Sonata looks good on paper, but there's nothing so far that lifts it above the crowd of midsize and large family sedans.

It is far more attractive than the previous Sonata, an odd-looking midsize sedan that sold mostly by virtue of a low price and long (10-year/100,000-mile) powertrain warranty. The new Sonata also comes with that warranty.

It's a very good thing to be confident enough to guarantee your engine and transmission for that long. However, it's not good at all when consumers are so wary of your quality that they won't buy your car without a 10-year promise signed in blood.

Hyundai's reliability has improved tremendously from the days when pieces fell off as cars pulled out of the plant parking lot. That actually happened to me with an earlier version of the Sonata.

Despite that, the company still dwells in that netherworld of brands that draw customers with low prices rather than heritage, desirable features, performance or winning styling.

The 2006 Sonata, product of a sprawling new $1.1-billion manufacturing complex in Alabama, clearly has some desirable features.

The styling is also a vast improvement from previous Hyundais, which often seemed to be cobbled together from scraps of designs found in the trash bins of other automakers.

The new Sonata doesn't break new ground or create an alternative aesthetic for automotive design, but its vaguely Acura-like looks are easy on the eye.

The interior is not quite as well realized. The pieces generally fit together well, although there's a distractingly wide gap between two pieces of plastic curving down from the dashboard to the center console.

However, there's a wide variety of different colors and textures in the interior that gives the car a cobbled-together feel, and the carpeted floor mats are just far enough from the color of the carpet beneath them to suggest they belong in some other vehicle .

The leather-wrapped steering wheel was a bit slippery and would have benefited from some texture for grip.

The cloth for the headliner also felt cheap and poorly fitted, and there were see-through gaps in the plastic shroud around the steering column.

The trunk, however, was very large and practical with a useful handle to allow you to close it without touching the dirty outside metal.

On the road, the Sonata is capable but uninvolving. The steering felt very numb, providing almost no feedback, and steering effort was too high at low speeds and over-assisted at 50 m.p.h.

There's not much wind noise, but road noise was very audible, particularly going over bumps and expansion joints.

Despite the engine's good output, acceleration is only adequate, and engine noise is intrusive at wide-open throttle. The five-speed transmission shifts very smoothly.

The suspension absorbs bumps well, but it's soft enough to produce a lot of body roll in quick lane changes and on twisting roads. The handling is competent, but it doesn't inspire eager driving or confidence.

Brake feel and performance were good, stopping the car confidently and predictably.

The 2006 Sonata is much better than the car it replaced, and its many standard safety features set an example other automakers will have to follow, but it lacks the character and refinement Hyundai needs to cross the gap that separates it from brands with longer -- and better -- traditions.



SPECS  
2006 Hyundai Sonata LX V6
Vehicle type: Front-wheel-drive five-seat large sedan

Base price: $22,895 (excluding destination charges)

As tested: $22,895

Standard equipment: Electronic stability control; antilock brakes; front-seat side air bags; curtain air bags; front active head rests; keyless entry; power windows, locks and mirrors; AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo; cruise control; leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls; power driver seat with lumbar support; leather seats; heated front seats; automatic temperature control; auto dimming rearview mirror; tilt/telescope steering wheel; automatic lights; fog lights; floor mats; dual chrome-tipped exhaust; Home link universal remote control for garage door, etc.

Options: None



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifications as tested
Engine: 3.3-liter DOHC 24-valve with continuously variable timing V6

Power: 235 horsepower at 6,000 r.p.m., 226 pound-feet of torque at 3,500 r.p.m.

Transmission: Five-speed automatic

Fuel economy: 20 m.p.g city/30 m.p.g highway

Wheelbase: 107.4 inches

Length: 188.9 inches

Width: 72.1 inches

Height: 58.0 inches

Curb weight: 3,458 pounds

Where assembled: Montgomery, Ala.



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Comparative base prices
(not including destination charges)
(All-wheel-drive models)
Chevrolet Malibu LT V6 $20,865

Ford Five Hundred SE $22,230

Honda Accord LX V6 $23,950

Toyota Camry LE V6 $22,530

[ifcar]

As to the interior complaints, it looks as though he just got a bad example. I've personally been in three 06 Sonatas (GL, GLS V6, and LX models) and noticed no such quality lapses, and neither did any other reviewer. And to the handling, I have to strongly disagree with him again. Unless he was holding it to the standard of the Mazda6, the Sonata is a very impressive handler, at least on par with the Accord. And "merely adequate" acceleration? C/D got 7 seconds flat in their 0-60 tests.

He just comes off as looking for something to criticize in the vehicle.    

[ifcar]

Oh, and those price comparisons? A top-of-the-line LX V6 loaded with everything but the sunroof is still comparably priced, sticker, to a base Accord, Camry, and Five Hundred. And it only looks like it has no price advantage.  

[Raghavan]

He just comes off as looking for something to criticize in the vehicle.  

Probably the H symbol.

I think this is the first Sonata review that didn't praise it. maybe it was just teh car or he  really hates hyundai.

[TBR]

I don't trust newspaper reviewers, never have and probably never will.  

[ifcar]

I usually find them over-complimentary more than anything else, but uninformed and biased would be the runner-ups.