2006 Hyundai Sonata SE review from North America

At about 7k miles, I had some sort of drain plug for the cooling system in the engine block replaced. It had apparently been leaking coolant slowly whenever the engine was running and I had to fill the overflow reservoir twice with coolant. No problems since.

The check engine light has illuminated 3 times in the last 3 months for a day or two, then goes out, but I figure I'll have it checked out at the dealer next time I'm there. Then engine is running fine.

And the paint is beginning to chip off of the inside of the passenger side mirror. Again, I'll have that taken care of next time I'm at the dealer.

Before purchasing this car, I test drove the competition - Camry, Accord, and Altima - and while those are all fine vehicles, I believe I got more for my money with the larger engine, ESC, 6 air bags, etc.

After reading some of the prior posts, I do agree with the gas sloshing around in the tank, but when this happens, I merely turn the radio up a little bit until it goes away. And unless I'm driving on an unpaved road, I really don't notice the noise coming from the rear shocks. With these 2 comments, I think others are being a bit picky. After all, it's not a Lexus or Mercedes you're driving here - it's a Hyundai and you get what you pay for. If I paid $70k for a Lexus, I would expect it to be flawless.

I'm curious as to why this vehicle does not have daytime running lights. I guess I just assumed it would. And the driver seat could use more padding and lumbar support.

I am getting the advertised mpg so far. It's rated at 20 city/30 highway, and I'm averaging 25 mpg overall, so I'm happy.

It is a fine vehicle inside and out for the money I paid.