In August of 2016 my wife and I leased a 2017 Hyundai Sonata SE (that’s the base trim). Typically we get a new car every three years. It’s always been my practice that, upon bringing home a new car, i check all fluid levels and tire pressures. I’ve never gotten a car that had everything “spot on” until this one. I don’t know if that was a function of attention during manufacture, or extraordinary dealer prep, but it was impressive. The other thing that stood out during the first few weeks of ownership was the oil consumption. I’ve never had a car that didn’t consume some oil during the first 500 or so miles. This one didn’t. The oil level stayed at the full mark as if it were painted on. The car has a smooth, quiet ride, with adequate acceleration. The automatic transmission is excellent, with one exception. In the interest of gaining maybe a tenth of a mile per gallon in fuel economy, the engineers programmed the transmission to shift into 5th gear at 30 mph under light throttle. At that point the engine is turning 1,250 rpm and lugs a little bit. What makes it worse is that the torque converter clutch engages in both 5th and 6th. Interior room is amazing for what I consider a compact car. The EPA classifies it as mid-size, but i think they are nuts. The car has been totally trouble free except for the infamous Knock sensor update. When we brought the car to the dealer for its February oil change this year, they informed us that Hyundai had a campaign going to update the software at no cost to us. I said go ahead. On the way home from the dealer, the car went into limp mode. Drove it back, and the whole story is detailed in the Hyundai Sonata Wiring Issue thread. Not the fault of the car, and the dealer treated us perfectly. The infotainment system is excellent. My wife and I each get a new smartphone every two years, and pairing the phones to the car’s bluetooth system is important to us. It works seamlessly. Also, Hyundai’s implementation of Android Auto is excellent. I can’t comment on the entertainment side of the system, as i don’t think we’ve ever used the radio. Fuel economy has averaged 23.6 mpg for the 14,000 miles we’ve had it in strictly city driving. I have no idea what the highway mileage would be, as the car has never been on the highway, strictly short trip stop and go driving. I don’t know what the long term reliability of this car would be, as we’ll only have it until this coming August, when it will likely have less than 15,000 miles on it. If we were replacing it, I’d definitely get another Hyundai, but i’m trying to convince my wife we don’t need a car anymore and should simply depend on Uber.
Informative info there OP, thanks. So you weren’t turned off from Hyundai due to the “wiring harness goes bezerk - after software update” problem? Did you lose use of the car for any length of time b/c of that?
they had the car for 2 or 3 weeks, but provided us with a rental from Enterprise the entire time
That’s not much of a burden then. Good for Hyundai to treat their customers w/respect.
George i must apologize, i picked on your Corolla in the upgraded headlight thread. All in fun.
Since 2013, this model has been trouble free.The 2012 model year is the one to avoid because the engine was defective.
OK, i’m replying to myself. I seem to recall my father saying that would make me go blind. Anyway, I couldn’t convince my wife we no longer need a car, so we went back to the Hyundai dealer today. We’re going to lease a 2019 Elantra. I’ll do a review after we’ve had it for a few weeks.