ABG: 2013 Hyundai i30 plug-in hybrid to undercut price of Toyota Prius Plug-in

It's not whether Hyundai undercuts Toyota ... it's whether what you get is worth what you pay. Again, Honda insight undercut the Prius. Big deal. They got their work cut out for them.

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Well, the more the merrier, I say! If it offers a lot, range, standard luxeries for a significantly lower price, it may do well. Of course, I would certainly wait a year or two and watch its reliability before ever considering it!

 

It took Hyundai 10+ years to get their act together for conventional cars; I hope it takes less time for hybrids but I personally would not touch them with a 10 foot pole for *at least* 3 or 4 years

 

Hmm... Rented a new Hyundi and was impressed with the car. Rented the same car, but with 25,000 miles on it and NOT impressed. Rented a Camry with 30,000 miles and would have sworn it was brand new...there are lots of us who are not only attracted to shiny objects.

 

Sonata hybrid undercuts Camry hybrid by $50. With the reliability track record, it is an easy pick. With that said, I am excited to find out more about this i30 PHV.

 

IMHO the sonata/optima competition got Toyota to greatly lower the hybrid premium on the TCH. This is a good thing. The lower pricing is going to get a much higher percentage of camries to be hybrids. Some like the looks of the sonata better and the feel of a traditional 6 speed transmission. Its a great first gen hybrid from Hyundai, but the camry is based on a more popular sedan and a more refined hybrid drive train. The new fusion looks like it will gain from the competition too, and hopefully all these cars will gain market share.

Now I'm confused on the i30 phev, has there been some news to resurrect this zombie thread?

 

there have been 10+ recalls on Sonata Hybrid in first year, last 2 last month.

So, i wouldnt really call it good first effort... It is probably worst hybrid ever made. With so many problems in first year, i wonder how it will stack up after 5-6 years.

Their other engines are usually fine so too bad.

 

Anything serious in those recalls? I don't follow closely

The sonata/optima sold 3300 last month, tiny compared to toyota, but more on this one variant than all the honda hybrids. That is a good start.

 

shutting off during drive, etc... not good. but this is only with less than full year and 10+ recalls. makes you wonder what happens after several more years when things actually start to wear.

It sells all right, people are not aware of the issues of course. Sonata is a nice car overall, but that 2.4l GDI is much better option. Most reviews and CR mentioned getting poor economy from hybrid and excellent from GDI engine.

 

Well if the ever increasing base prices of the Prius are any indicator, it will be more than this year.

 

Lifetime warranty on hybrid batteries, 10 year 100,000 mile warranty on hybrid components and the fact that Hyundai's quality is progressing while Toyota's is regressing. Might want to shorten your pole.

 

Toyota has recalled almost 700,000 cars so far this year.