Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-53
Nothing.
Great car! I looked at many different cars and the Sonata offered far superior features, excellent build quality, a quiet ride and great warranty. All this at a fantastic price. So far, I have had absolutely no problems with the car at all and am delighted with it.
I am getting about 26 mpg in city driving and 30+ interstate (75mph). The 4 cylinder/manual transmission has plenty of power and performance.
The ride is very comfortable even for four adults and there is plenty of trunk room for luggage. This is a wonderful car and I am very pleased that I purchased it.
I suppose the main problem is that it is a hyundai! This is a stumbling block that I don't think I could ever get over. Call me a badge snob I don't mind.
There were times when Toyota was a bad word also. However, once Toyota's quality improved and prices remained low, as I believe Hyundai's has, people were actually selling their used Toyotas for a price that was greater than what they had paid for it new! Of course this only happened during a short window of opportunity when Toyota's quality was finally recognized by the general public and greater demand for Toyotas caused a steady increase in their prices.
Toyota is in a different league to the hyundai/kia group.
Toyota is a mainstream car manufacturer alongside chevrolet, honda, nissan, ford etc.
Its true that toyota was viewed with some caution when first arriving in the usa, but they never seemed to suffer with a poor image.
Hyundai and kia are well known as budget car manufacturers for people who can't (or won't) afford to spend much money on a car.
Of course this is my own opinion as an Optometrist who drives a Chevrolet.
The Hyundai/KIA bashers are people that have never been within 10 feet of one. It seems these people know more about the reliability of my cars than I do. Stick with Optometry, you're not a car expert.
I didn't make any comment on the reliability of hyundai/kia. In truth I couldn't claim to be interested in whether these type of cars are reliable or not.
A couple of years ago I did momentarily look at a hyundai car, but the quality was so far off mainstream manufacturers.
I never claimed to be a car expert and certainly don't believe you could be much of a car expert since you have purchased a hyundai.
Doc, what did you look at, a 1986 Excel? I have owned several cars over the years, mainly GM. As far as mainstream, I suppose
that exploding Pintos and blazing Aerostars and Rangers with faulty ignitions were quality bets and along with "mainstream" Toyota and their V-6 oil sludging problems. Another great product in the mainstream arena is the Buick Lesabre and its problematic window regulators reviewed so often here. No, I am not a car expert, but my "non-mainstream" Santa Fe and Sonata have never let me down. I can, by the way, afford more. I'll stick to what has worked for me.
Hmmm, Optometric salaries do not reflect in a purchase of 1986 hyundai excelle, I can assure you of that. I don't know anyone within my own profession who drives a hyundai. Surely if I were to drive one I would need a large scarf in case I saw someone I knew!
If I saw a supposed Optometrist driving a Chevrolet, with the exception of a Vette, I would have to laugh. Business a little slow, "Doc"?
Hyundai: the perfect car to get to your $6/hour job. And best of all, you can still brag about how it's a 2007, and feel smug that it's newer than the "old" '05 BMW that your physician (or divorce lawyer) is driving.
I would think that an optometrist would not need to be told to take a closer look at something (get it), but apparently this is the case.
OK: look carefully at the panel gaps (symmetry and consistency) of your Chevy, or even a new one, any model. Now, take a close look at the assembly of the panels on a new Hyundai. What's the difference? Now sit inside a new Hyundai (even the Accent, their most inexpensive model, I believe) and look at the quality of material used on the interior of the car. Shake the steering wheel, turn the knobs, move the levers, etc. Do the same thing in a Chevy that costs twice as much. What's the difference?
Now start the Hyundai and hold the accelerator down until the tachometer (if present) reads 4000 rpm's. Listen to the engine. Now do the same thing in any Chevrolet and listen to the engine. What's the difference?
I would think that you would not need to be told about paying attention to the finer details. If you were to actually do this little experiment of mine, you would clearly see that the Hyundai is better built, inside and out, right down to the last detail.
And if you want to go another few steps up the ladder, try owning a Toyota for 10 or 12 years. A 10 year old Chevy is generally just a collection of rattling, loose, and nearly worn out parts. A 10 year old Toyota will feel tight after all that time, and run just about the same as the day you bought it.
14:56, I do not need the likes of ppl like you questioning my "supposed" optometrist status. Go back to your mcdonalds job.
Many professionals will tend to invest their money more heavily into property which appreciates in value, as opposed to a car which will depreciate in value. Chevrolet is middle of the road. Incidentally "business" is not slow, in fact I don't work in a business, I work in a practice.
16:54, yes I do tend to agree here.
19:35, My chevrolet is 2005 and does not require comparison to a hyundai.
Not speaking about anyone in particular, I would just like to know what kind of poor souls define themselves by what kind of car they drive?
Cars are transportation, people, nothing more. If you have even a vaguely interesting life, you use the vehicle to get you where you need to go. That's the extent of my love affair with vehicles.
If you think that driving a Mercedes will get you any more respect than driving a Hyundai, then you need to start cultivating some kind of personality.
Hyundai's are just fine with me. They're inexpensive, get great gas mileage, rarely break down, and get me from A to B with no trouble. Why exactly would I want to spend another $40,000 on a BMW? Seems kind of dumb to me. Do they fly or something?
It's laughable to see someone drive something they bought as a 'status' symbol. Their 'status' is usually having a shallow personality, and way more money than brains.
I enjoy driving, but not enough to spend 50 or 60 thousand dollars on a CAR, when I can buy a Hyundai that will last just as long for $15,000. Maybe I'm deluded or something, but I'll save the extra $50,000, and take a couple of month long vacations to Italy or something, and still have plenty left in the bank.
Just my opinion.
12:08 What you mean to say is that you refuse to compare your Chevy to a Hyundai for fear that the obvious will finally occur to you; you wasted your money on a Chevrolet when you could have bought a better car for less money.
By the way, Chevy's are not middle of the road when it comes to how much they depreciate. They are near the bottom, if not dead last. Get yourself a Kelly Blue Book. Read it. I'll be glad to name a few that hold their value better: Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda... I could go on, but really, why bother?
I do not compare my chevrolet to a hyundai because it is like comparing apples with pears. As I replied earlier chevrolet is middle of the road and is not competing in the same market segment as hyundai. Hyundai compete in the budget car segment alongside kia and any possible future chinese car manufacturers.
Re: depreciation, I believe hyundai and kia cars the world over are the worst depreciators. Since they cost very little to purchase in the first place, this would mean that hyundai's and kia's on the road are worth next to nothing.
Oh yes, they are such desirable cars, I wish I had one, lol.
12:54 What they cost new has nothing to do with it. It is the PERCENTAGE of value that the car holds year by year. A new Chevy priced at $16,000 dollars will be worth $9000 dollars after x number of years, and a comparable Honda of the same model year that also cost $16,000 new (and yes, Hyundai also) will be worth 12 or $13,000 in the same condition and with the same mileage. The Chevy will lose a greater percentage of its value, and there are very few auto manufacturers who do worse than Chevy does in that area. Your point isn't valid.