Faults:

Nothing special to say:

- Hyundai chrome trims are cheap, an exterior chrome trim ($50) and a door handle ($50) had to be changed. Door handle was really sharp; my girlfriend cut herself on the chipped chrome.

- The key cylinder of the trunk doesn't work either, I have to use the inside pop up button.

- Speakers are really great, but the radio unit is really cheap. Low power and broken when I bought the car.

General Comments:

It's a brilliant car that offerings high end feature for low price, the V6 version offering decent performance.

I had previously driven a 6 in-line Supra powered Cressida, and I found the same great performance in the Sonata (even better, top speed and acceleration).

This FWD car has a good balance between stiff handling and smooth ride. In case of a sporty ride, the car is really predictable. The Shift-Tronic system provides strong and precise shifting; in < drive > you've got a normal hesitating automatic transmission.

The interior is enough comfortable for long rides, and it’s well equipped. Power windows, power doors lock system, enough passenger lights and 2 well made cup holder in front. Fabric and mats are well made and quite resistant. The trunk is accessible and the spare tire is well placed for a big trunk capacity. The car is easy for basic maintenance $$$.

Faults:

Worn CV drive shaft.

Blown plenum gasket/plugs/wires 50,000 miles before tune up was required.

Replaced all struts and had numerous diagnostic checks for check engine light.

Constant electrical problems - power locks will not communicate with each other or with the remote.

Currently needs a new air bag computer and steering rack.

General Comments:

Looks can be deceiving.

Faults:

Fan for the climate control stopped working... turns out it was a loose wire under the "fuse box" in the engine bay... not an easy fix because it was hard to get at.

General Comments:

I loved this car... it handled well, and was very reliable for the short time we owned it.

The car was rear ended on the highway by a guy doing close to 200km/h (we were doing about 115km/hr)...the car was totalled front and back and we managed to walk away from it (back seat occupants may not have been so lucky... it was quite the impact)...anyway, Hyundai did something right. This car definitely saved my life.

I would recommend this car, and would buy another one.

Faults:

Paint has begun to chip and peal on side mirrors, hub caps, and door handles.

Fog lights burned out after 3 years and are expensive to have replaced.

General Comments:

Very reliable car. I have only replaced tires (at 55,00) and front brakes (60,000).

Only set back is leg room in the back seat if front seats are all the way back...BUT, back seats do go back quite a ways to fit taller drivers. I could not fit into an d accord or a Camry.

Faults:

The Front Brake Rotors haved failed three times.

The car was recalled for check engine light problems.

The car was recalled for wrong spare size.

General Comments:

I purchased the Sonata new in mid-2002 and overall it has been very reliable for 66,000 miles except for one annoying problem. The car vibrates due to warped rotors. The dealer has turned the rotors twice and replaced the rotors once, all under warranty. Now the vibration has returned and the dealer refuses to repair them under the 6 year 72,000 mile bumper-to bumper warranty, which I have because of the special offer made by Hyundai for listing the engine horsepower incorrectly. I actually fault the dealer more than Hyundai, but still it must have been a problem with this model since it is recurring.

In my opinion, Sonata is a pretty good car, but next time I will go back to Honda for a new car. Based on experience I think Honda is manufactured and designed to a higher quality level than Hyundai.