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Consumer Reviews for the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
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Great commuter car, but read this first...
Mark S, 04/06/2016
2015 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid 6A)
Prologue: this is a bit long, but has a lot of insight into our 2015 Sonata Hybrid, I promise.
This is our second Sonata, and we're on our second Santa Fe. Let me start by saying I'm a car enthusiast. I'm also an engineer, and can tell where the quality was added or removed. That being said, overall, I think this is an excellent commuter car and good for long vacation drives with the … family. It's by no means very entertaining to drive, though.
Cons first:
Engine: I've also witnessed the good two seconds or so lag between my smashing the gas pedal to get 100% "go" mode and when the car finally wakes up it's lazy electric hybrid slumber and becomes motivated. [Insert brown stain joke here.] NOTE: by turning off the Hybrid system (the bottom button on the right side of the steering wheel), you will get immediate use of all the torque in the electric motor. So, you can correct this acceleration issue. But, there's also a braking problem (more than one actually), too.
When you smash the brake pedal for 100% stop mode, you get a full second of lazy hybrid regen braking before the system goes "Oh, is this a panic stop?". At which point, you get a brief 100% brake lockup (haven't seen those since the 90's), and THEN the anti-lock brakes kick in. [Insert second brown stain joke]. This is just inexcusable. Note to Hyundai: if the computer registers 100% gas pedal, or 100% brake pedal, override all gas mileage software and either stop or go immediately. (Simultaneous brake and gas application should yield to the brakes, so no runaway Prius events occur).
Also related to the brakes... In normal mode, I like the brakes. They slow better than those on my Santa Fe. BUT, it's really hard to slowly roll the car in/out of your garage, or out of a parking spot, at a nice 2 MPH or so. The brakes just don't want to let you roll under 5MPH or so. Expect a lot of fast stops at lights and stop signs at the end of your rolls, too.
Steering: Hyundai electric steering needs work. Yes, you can steer with one finger (if you like that), but both this and my Santa Fe have an issue both staying in a straight line down even the smoothest of roads and when (sloooowly) returning to center after a turn. No "hands slipping" on the wheel after the turn to have it all re-center. You need to very directly unwind the wheel. Using "sport" mode exasperates the issue -- now it drifts and then quickly darts when I turn the wheel a smidge. And the return to center issue isn't resolved.
Cruise control: what century is this? Hyundai cruise control, to put it bluntly, sucks. On GENTLY rolling (undulating) roads, set the cruise for say 45 MPH. The car will slow to 40-41, then quickly accelerate to 48. Then the next hill arrives and the process repeats. Constant 7-8 MPH speed changes to make everyone seasick. My 2005 Nissan Quest minivan was able to keep a tighter range. Hyundai: check out the 2016 Malibu. I don't care about the vacuum and other sensors needed for cruise. I want to set the SPEED (in MPH here in the US). On the Malibu, you hit the cruise 'set' button and the speed is displayed in the little center LCD screen. And darn if it doesn't move more than 1 MPH below on those same rolling hills. I rarely saw it overshoot the set speed at all when going down the hills. (I rented the Malibu for a month after Santa Fe #1 was totaled.)
Spare tire: none.
And finally, the suspension. Hit a small depression in an asphalt back-road at even 35 MPH and you'll bottom out the car. Sometimes this will even cause the cruise control to shut down after the suspension bumps up against the stops. I know there is a few hundred pounds of battery under the rear seats, but it doesn't take much shifting to bottom out the vehicle, really.
Now, here's the crazy thing: overall, I like the car.... for commuting and long open highways.
I'm not looking for excitement during my commute (it's nice, but one can't do much in traffic). My commute is probably the worst possible for gas mileage: 3 minute stop light, then everyone gets back up to 55 MPH just as we hit the next stop light. Repeat for an hour. With this scenario, I am still getting between 33 and 34 MPG. That's 10 MPG better than my previous non-hybrid returned on the same route. For pure open highway road trips we see ~37 MPG. Some people may point out a few vehicles with better mileage, but the Sonata is a decent size (mid-size) car. There's much more space in it than a Prius or VW.
The trunk does shrink a bit due to the batteries, but we can still fit three large suitcases, two dozen water bottles, and squishy luggage in the trunk during road trips. Back seat is plenty roomy for two teens.
The seats are comfortable, the car is very quiet (even with the gas motor running), and reliability for us has been very high (high, but not perfect) for Hyundai's since 2011. As for pricing, buy a gently used Hyundai or one with rebates for the best deal. End of my $0.02.
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