Used 2019 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid Consumer Reviews
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We have a limited number of reviews for the 2019 Sonata Plug-in Hybrid, so we've included reviews for other years of the Sonata Plug-in Hybrid since its last redesign.
Does Jason Cabot really own a 2019 Sonata Plug In?
Bud Allen, 02/16/2020
2019 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid 6A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I bought a 2019 Sonata Plug In yesterday. Hyundai is offering some good incentives now, and my Standard model was had for $28,500. I am coming out of owning a 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer, which my family had outgrown. We needed a bigger back seat, and when I saw the price incentives I was motivated to upgrade. This is a very comfortable car, and has a nice compliment of features. At the price I paid, there really isn't any competition. Nobody offers a full size plug in hybrid for this price. I live close to the center of my city and close to freeway access that takes me in any direction, so when I laid out a radius from my house I realized that the vast majority of the driving that I do is well within the 28 mile all electric range of this car. The back seat has ample legroom which was a large factor in my purchase. The drivers area is spacious and very comfortable. The infotainment screen is really nice. Here is what motivated me to write this review: The two star review from Jason Cabot on this site has some errors. The car does have Apple CarPlay, which Mr. Cabot says it does not. The car comes with a 110 volt charger, which Mr. Cabot says it does not. He states that the car is "extremely loud" when accelerating, when in fact it is astonishingly quiet. The quiet ride really makes one feel they are in a much more expensive car. He states that the Sonata plug in is "...just not competitive" regarding the all electric range of the vehicle. My question is "What competition?" There simply are no full size sedan plug in hybrids in this price range. The 2019 Sonata Plug In Hybrid is worth your consideration. All that said, the trunk is quite small for a vehicle this size, so Jason, you are right on the money with that one.
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Great Features - Horrible Reliability.
Disappointed Sonata Owner, 10/28/2017
updated 10/31/2018
2016 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid Limited 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid 6A)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
(1) Has been in for the check engine light 11-13 times. (2) Broke down on highway for a hybrid system failure and has been at dealer over 3 weeks. UPDATE at 37000 mi. The car was eventually recalled for the above two items and has not been a problem since.
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2019 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid for sale near you
3 of 19 listings
- Limited SedanMSRP: $16,300432 mi away
- Limited SedanMSRP: $17,495507 mi away
- Limited SedanMSRP: $17,950650 mi away
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Four Months In So Far So Good
Bob E., 10/03/2020
2019 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid Limited 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid 6A)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I just sold my 2011 Sonata Hybrid and decided to replace it with a 2019 Sonata PHEV Limited. I'd like to get an electric car eventually. But range anxiety made the plug in hybrid a better choice for me. Hyundai claims a 28 mile range on the traction battery before the car switches to hybrid mode. If you're running the AC that becomes 26 miles of range. However, I have exceeded this range every single time. I generally leave early when I'm going somewhere so there is no pressure to speed or drive aggressively. Being an experienced hybrid driver I know to accelerate smoothly and decelerate smoothly. Do this and you will greatly increase your range. Why the big rush to get to a red light or tailgate the person in front of you when it turns green? The Limited has heated and cooled front seats. This allows me to leave the heat/AC off at times when I may have turned them on in the past. This increases electric range. The car defaults to electric mode on startup. If I know that I am going to exceed the 28 mile range of the battery I manually switch to hybrid mode when I'm cruising and I switch back to electric for stop and go situations and uphill and on ramp situations. Those are the times that your gas engine gets the worst economy. So by doing this I get infinite MPG compared to 15-20 MPG during those times. I bought this car in Massachusetts and drove it to my South Carolina house. Hyundai doesn't sell the PHEV in the south. I averaged 48 MPG on the highway while cruising mostly between 65 and 75 MPH. (If you exceed 75 MPH the car will run exclusively on gasoline. At or below that and it will switch between gas and electric.) That 1,000 mile drive was nearly fatigue free thanks to all of the driver assist features. If you love to drive on cruise control, like I do, nothing is more frustrating than getting behind someone who is constantly speeding up and slowing down. But the Sonata's adaptive cruise control makes that frustration a thing of the past. It adjusts automatically to stay a pre-set distance (that you choose) behind the vehicle you're following. The lane keep assist is great for long drives where you might get distracted. It will gently, or aggressively depending on your settings, keep you in your lane. Blind spot detection is a nice little bonus even though I have always looked over my shoulder when changing lanes, and I'm too old to break the habit. The automatic high beams worked perfectly while driving overnight. In summary, the driver assist features automatically do a lot of the little things that you would constantly do on a long drive which greatly reduces fatigue. The seats are very comfortable with electronic adjustment for the driver and passenger and electronically adjustable lumbar support for the driver. There are two memory settings so all I have to adjust after my wife drives the car is the rear view mirror. You can set the climate control for driver only when you're the only one in the car. This saves a little electricity and extends the battery range a bit. The infotainment system is easy to use. And unlike what was erroneously stated in a previous review, it does include Apple Car Play and Android Play. Although you do have to plug it in the the USB port for that. I only use it for times when I want to use Waze (which is becoming pretty much all the time). Otherwise I drop my iPhone onto the wireless charging pad and let the Bluetooth do its thing. I don't understand people who buy a hybrid or plug in hybrid and then complain about its performance. The Sonata PHEV has plenty of punch when you need it for merging or keeping with the flow of traffic. The rest of the time it's plenty powerful to get you quietly, comfortably, and safely where you want to go. It's a near luxury mid-sized car that gets better fuel economy than a Toyota Corolla or any other econobox. It has a longer electric range than the Prius Prime at about the same price. The cargo space in the trunk is small. But this car is really just a roomy, comfortable commuter car. If you want to lug the kids' soccer equipment around or throw 4 large suitcases in the car on a regular basis get a Prius Prime. But if you just want something to drive the carpool to work and pick up groceries, and look good doing it, get a Sonata PHEV.
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Smooth, quiet, spacious -- love it!
Barry in Phoenix , 07/31/2019
updated 08/29/2023
2017 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid Limited 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid 6A)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
This is chronological. My opinion of the car has changed somewhat over time -- you might want to read the first paragraph here, then jump to the end! I have the 2017 Limited, and I've driven it for about 4 years in Phoenix. I typically get 21 electric miles (down from 27 initially!), which mostly covers my daily commute. Everything functions well, including the AC (critical here). It's cool to have the 'driver-only' mode to make the AC a little more efficient. The car is so quiet and smooth on all types of pavement. The back seat is also large and comfortable. It drives very nicely. I have never noticed that the brakes are 'grabby' (as the Edmunds reviewer says). I have noticed an initial lag when demanding 'hard' acceleration -- it takes a second for the gas engine to kick in, then the acceleration is good. In most city driving, including busy freeway driving, the gas engine stays off. But to accelerate aggressively on the freeway, you need that gas engine. As a freeway cruiser, it's great. Just engage the adaptive cruise and keep it in the lane. Obvious complaint: The trunk is small, due to the battery pack. UPDATE Aug 2022: At the 4.5-year point (around 45K miles), the electric range has dropped to about 21 miles. The car still drives great, and I've had no major issues. There was an engine-wear monitoring recall in 2021 -- I don't think it was specific to the PHEV. They installed some software which apparently can more-closely monitor for engine vibration. I have noticed no specific problem, but it is at least a theoretical concern. On two extremely hot (115 F) days in the summer of 2019, when driven hard on the freeway, I had a couple of instances where the car warned me about the heat, and started the gas engine while the battery still had plenty of charge. I took it to the dealer to have it checked, and they found no issue -- it's just the electric-drive system protecting itself from the heat. In 2021 (before that recall), my daughter was driving on the interstate between cities and got an error message and briefly lost some power. She pulled over and restarted the car, and went on her way. I took it to the dealer, and they were unable to find a problem. It has only happened this once. I did have several months in 2019-2020 where I had a longer commute that drained the battery every day. I would then put it on a level-2 charger at work. I think that this pattern of twice-daily full recharges in the Phoenix heat likely led to the battery-range-degradation that I have seen. Update (Feb 2023): After three instances of hybrid-system errors that forced me to restart the car, I took it to the dealer again. They have determined that the drive battery (the big one) needs to be replaced. It is under warranty, so there will apparently be no cost to me. The dealer is paying for a rental car while they wait for the battery to arrive (could be a month or more). I am hopeful that this will restore the original electric range (27 mi). It was getting fairly close to the 70% capacity level that is guaranteed for 100k miles in the warranty. Update (Aug 2023): It took SIX MONTHS to get the replacement battery. Hyundai did provide a loaner or rental car for the entire time, although not one that is nearly so fuel-efficient. And they required us to return and replace the loaner each month. And because we moved about 800 miles in the interim, they had to ship the car to us (which they did without complaint). The car is basically back to normal, with 25 EV miles indicated (but we usually get slightly better than that). All of that cost me exactly $0, and I got six months of free miles (no mileage depreciation). I guess I would say: Be careful about buying an EV or PHEV that has a limited production run. It can be hard to get that one critical replacement part that is generally made specifically for your vehicle -- the big battery. My guess is that they have to do special-order manufacturing runs or maybe just refurbish batteries that come back.
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Lyft/Uber Driver Loves It
Tim Larson, 01/02/2019
2017 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid Limited 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid 6A)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I am a 3 day a week Lyft/Uber driver and have put 40,000 miles on my Sonata limited hpev. Everything about the car is exceptional except for some of the luxury electronics. Car is 🤫, so quiet when driving electric mode there’s actually a noise generating system in front end to alert pedestrians to the fact that a car is coming! As driver I cannot hear the noise maker or any other noise when starting, idling, or slow driving in a parking lot or driveway. Eerily quiet on the first couple of drives , is the best way to describe this car. Driving 8 hours straight each night with only one bathroom/coffee stop, I have never experienced a single moment of discomfort. Front seats are completely adjustable in about 10!000 positions, and provide comfortable support including a separate electronically adjustable lumbar support. Rear seats generate constant applause from passengers for both comfort and leg room. “I didn’t order a limo !” is a frequent customer comment when first entering the car and sitting down. I didn’t say this, my “paying passengers “ did and do! Car is a joy to drive, and when you need speed, a firm push on the accelerator rockets you to 70 mph immediately! The combination of the gas and electric motors combine to feel like far more than the 202hp advertised. Sound system is great, with a joystick like control that allows you to find your perfect position with the single movement of one finger. Volume and bass are powerful enough to elicit compliments from a carful of millennials! Recurring problems with the auto dimmed headlights, and with the Blind Spot Detection system have yet to be remedied. I am extremely unhappy with this failure, but cannot say enough about my dealers’ service department. They always listen, and have gone to great lengths to find a solution which is still eluding us. Smart and diligent as they are, the electric luxury items continued faults are annoying enough to reduce a perfect 100% rating of the Sonata Limited edition to 95%. If the rest of the car were not “perfect “, perhaps the annoying headlights wouldn’t bother me so much. All in all the car rates a definite “buy”! Far outpacing the rest of the class.
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