New Hyundai Sonata up close

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Quite a striking car in person.
But I still think the wheels are a bit small. At least on the 2 cars that are at the Auto Show.

Interior is extremely well done. Even quite original.

Conversation 21 comments

  1. "But I still think the wheels are a bit small."

    It's the oldest trick in the book. Cheap out on the tires& wheels and 80% of your customers never know the difference. Honda & Toyota have been screwing customers like this for years.

  2. It looks like the fit and finish is perfect.

    My girlfriend has a 2009 Sonata Limited with the V6 and it is a very impressive vehicle, especially given how much we paid for it (23K OTD).

  3. I really like the Sonata interior, but seriously, they are all starting to look alike. This could easily be a new Buick interior…

  4. How the hell is the interior original? The HVAC controls are copied from Volvo, the Nav. layout is copied from Infiniti, the vents are copied from Cadillac, and the stack design is copied from Lexus.

    They're successful in duping people into thinking its original design language.

  5. I don't think there are too many original elements at work here – but I'm not complaining.
    Let Volvo, Lexus, Infiniti, and Cadillac do the stylistic heavy lifting, and let Hyundai pick and choose their favorite elements.

    The problem I see, is their cars have no historical consistent look – i.e. look at the 3 prior generation Sonatas and they bear no resemblance.

    Worse yet, look at say the Accent (really needs a redesign too)….

    Not complaining, I'm content to accept this design, but not sure how it will work out for Hyundai long term.

  6. "Anonymous said…

    "But I still think the wheels are a bit small."

    It's the oldest trick in the book. Cheap out on the tires& wheels and 80% of your customers never know the difference. Honda & Toyota have been screwing customers like this for years.

    December 7, 2009 3:39 AM"

    Really?

    I hadn't noticed a problem from Honda's camp.

    GTFO.

  7. In the 3rd pic it looks like the tiny little window behind the rear door window pops out to open. Can anyone confirm?

  8. When a car like this impresses people, clearly the expectations aren't high enough. This is another me-too carbon copy car that will compete with the Camry and Accord. Fat suburbanites will love it.

  9. "Can someone tell me, except for the bottom one, what the hell these up close pictures show anyway?"

    Obviously, those details, textures and materials are not something matter in your case… every car might be the same for you… except if the color change !

  10. What's wrong with tiny wheels? Honda's always have them smallish wheels & they work just good enough for me!

  11. I was longing for a thinner, slicker design.. But it turned out to be such a fat, clumsy looking car.. what a dissapointment. well. they say the performance + interior is superb.. hope that will lessen my pain from dissapointment.

  12. i don't know why, but this car makes me happy. i'm glad to be able to watch such a positive learning curve from the start. i knew an old lady that bought a new Excel back in the mid 80s, and to watch Hyundai grow into such an international brand, with world-class styling and engineering and build quality, has been great. so many cars have gone downhill in ways, or aren't even around anymore. not sure if i've linked to this here before, but here's a small Hyundai i've done using a new Sonata-hence the name Cantata…
    https://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/artandcolour2006/Photochops/HyundaiCantata.jpg

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