2009 Hyundai Sonata Limited V6

Summary:

Great car for the money

Faults:

Trouble free!

General Comments:

Fit and finish is what you would expect from more expensive vehicles.

Plenty of leg and head room for drivers over 6', and still leave enough room in the rear for passengers to sit comfortably.

Instrumentation is good and easy to read, A/C controls easy to use and understand. Controls on steering wheel are too easy to accidentally change.

Steering is not as responsive as I like. Brakes work very well. Door remote needs to be redesigned; it's way too easy to open the trunk without knowing.

Tilt on steering wheel feels cheap and is awkward to adjust.

Fuel economy is good, over 25 mpg combined, and have gotten as high as 33 mpg on a trip.

The cloth seats have leather on the sides, which we do not like. Would prefer all cloth.

Fuel door VERY cheaply made (worried about breaking it each time we fill up).

Fold down rear seats are nice to have when carrying longer items.

The headlights are GREAT, does a very good job of lighting up the highway, especially when brights are on.

Radio is very annoying when the free satellite stops, because the steering wheel controls still go to the non-functioning stations.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th November, 2009

9th Mar 2010, 07:21

I own a 2009 Sonata V-6 and this is my third one. I had the 2003 and 2006 of the same models. I never had to take the 2003 to the dealership for warranty service. I took the 2006 for a recall on the passenger airbag sensor. The 2009 has 10,000 miles and yesterday, the engine light came on. I'll have it checked today.

You can't get a better car for the price. Smooth ride, excellent gas mileage, I get 33 mpg on hwy and some 30 mpg combined. Very comfortable... I make 500 mile trips regularly.

2009 Hyundai Sonata GLS 2.4 gas

Summary:

If my fiance is satisfied, Hyundai has created a repeat buyer

Faults:

Haven't owned it long enough to give a good review on things that have gone wrong. So far everything is operating the same as the day we drove it off the lot.

General Comments:

My fiance and I bought this car to replace her '91 Escort. It is a beautiful car with low miles, an excellent warranty, and we got it for a killer price. We spent about 3,000 less than KBB price, and the Toyotas and Hondas in the same category were priced about 2-3K dollars higher than this vehicle.

I really enjoy the ride of this car, and look forward to having it for a long time. On the next oil change, I will be running Mobil 1 5W-20 Synthetic Oil. Dealer told me this should improve the mileage from an already great 35mpg, to a stellar ~40mpg, all while quieting the operation. Looking forward to that. Will update this review once we have driven it through a MN winter.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th September, 2009

2009 Hyundai Sonata

Summary:

Second rate garbage

Faults:

Very poor gas mileage - below sticker minimum; service manager says this is normal for Hyundai due to ethanol in all gas - so much for the warranty and federal disclosures!

General Comments:

Car is uncomfortable and heat/air controls unreadable without causing an accident.

No miles per gallon indicator.

Gas door is cheap plastic and almost came off when I first opened it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd August, 2009

29th Aug 2009, 22:11

I don't know what car you are driving, but the Sonata I own could never be described in the manner of your review.

6th Sep 2009, 08:28

I have a 2008 V6 Sonata fully loaded - and love love love it. I don't have a bad thing to say about this car. It is the best car I have ever owned.

Aren't the things you complain about, things that you would have noticed prior to purchasing the car? I'm just saying.

View 19 more comments

2009 Hyundai Sonata SE 3.3 V6

Summary:

A fantastic buy!

Faults:

No problems at all so far.

General Comments:

So far I'm more than pleased with the performance, comfort, and economy. Hwy mileage averaging 32, above the EPA estimate, and 27mpg over all.

The interior is much bigger than my previous car and very comfortable. The upgraded stereo system (6-disc in-dash, 7 speaker, MP3 & USB adaptive, and satellite radio) is awesome.

A lot of car for $22k out the door.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th August, 2009

8th Dec 2009, 11:46

Sonata by far the best car I have ever owned, but the honeymoon is over. The car is wickedly fast for the 28 mpg I average, and I get 31+ on the road. I am a car guy, and I am telling you that this car is uncanny quiet, until you hit the afterburners. I don't know why the aftermarket tuners aren't all over this car.

HOWEVER, in their quest to make it a smooth luxurious ride, the engineers have specified the softest bushings on the planet for the control arms. They are so soft that this car is not safe for the average driver at speeds over 60mph. My wife says the car is "squirrely" on the freeway. (Now I know how fast she drives.) ON ruts or irregularities on the road it will take the car away from you. Adrenaline will be with you after the first harrowing surprise. I have had it aligned four times and the hot rod alignment guy who has and academic rather than vocational approach found the issue. There are aftermarket kits from Korea, but it's not my problem anymore. Unsafe no longer resides at my house. Alas the car is gone.

Don't ever expect warranty work on this car either. Hyundai and Kia both have a blanket declination policy for big ticket warranty repairs. Check the blogs. I experienced this first hand even with all the maintenance tickets.

60,000 mile maintenance demands a $750.00 timing belt replacement. What's up with that?

Now I own a Toyota.

8th Dec 2009, 12:22

I believe that as with most cars, your previous Sonata was "tuned for American tastes." The Sonatas in Europe, while being no Audis, have reasonable or predictable handling, and motorway speed limits in Europe vary anywhere from 75 MPH (UK) to 140 km/h (87 MPH, in France or Italy). I wonder if it is really so necessary to Malibuize everything that gets to America.

8th Dec 2009, 17:27

"60,000 mile maintenance demands a $750.00 timing belt replacement. What's up with that?"

If you have a car with a timing belt, than you should expect to have to replace it every 60,000. A belt can seem like a pretty small deal right? I know it can. But the timing belt is CRITICAL ENGINE PART. If your timing belt were to break, you would be looking at up to a $3000 repair, or perhaps even more if the damage to your engine was serious enough. Be thankful for the belt replacement now, and not the engine replacement later.

In reply to 8th Dec 2009, 12:22

8th Dec 2009, 17:30

I'm an American and wonder that myself. I hate marshmallowy, zero road feel driving. I like to know what my car is doing and know how it is going to react to certain conditions. I like to know that I can make that corner in excess of 30 MPH without worrying about sliding out of control like I would in a domestic. I drive Honda's, and while I'm sure they have been softened, at least I can still get some road feel out of them.

In reply to 8th Dec 2009, 11:46

21st Dec 2020, 03:45

$750 to change timing belt. Dude, he got taken. The Hyundai Theta II (2.0 and 2.4) as well as the 3.3 V6 have timing chains designed to last for the life of the motor, defined as 300,000 miles, starting in -2006-!