After struggling of a week I finally bought a Prius V instead of Sonata Hybrid, because of the larger storage, better mpg and also a better dealer. With this decision I gave up the much cooler look Sonata and also a stronger horsepower. This is one of the most difficult dicision I ever made and hopefully it is a good choice .....
Same here but I choose the Camry Hybrid for extra room and quietness. Still on first tank but getting 43mpg in metro Atlanta. I actually put money on the Sonata but canceled the sale the next day. My wife had serious issues with it. I am glad we switched even though it cost me more money. The Sonata was in the national news the other day for runaway acceleration complete with video of a terrified driver smashing into a station wagon in city streets at 82mph. It appears a number of reports are being made of the Sonata acting like the run away cars of 2009. Hyundai says they are looking into it. The other issue I had was the terrible hybrid system is flaky as implemented in the Hyundai. Try parallel parking one of the of those hybrid korean cars or try backing out of a tight garage which makes you back slowly for fear of scrapping something if the alignment isn't perfect.
It's always a tough choice to make a large investment. It's hard to say if it is the right choice for you because I don't know you or your needs from a car. For me I had goals of safety, reliability good gas mileage, and cargo space all at the top of my list. The v checks those boxes and then some. I don't think it's as attractive as the Sonata but then it depends on priorities. On my list exterior styling was far down my list but I do understand not everyone feels that way. What were your goals for your car purchase? From an mpg standpoint the v is stronger f you check Fuelly.com where owners of all sorts of cars record and track gas mileage. The standard warranty appears better on the Sonata. I think someone here actually traded one of these for a v but I could be wrong. If so perhaps they will chime in. Welcome! W
Motor Trend was unimpressed with the Sonata hybrid. "I wish I had better news for Hyundai, but its Sonata Hybrid, EPA-estimated to return 35 city/40 highway, mustered a disappointing 27.0 mpg observed, almost 10 mpg less than its hybrid foe from Toyota. What gives? "Both the gas engine and electric motor really need to be wrung out to even keep up with the Camry and Passat," judged Kong. "The poor electric motor, which serves as the six-speed auto's torque converter, is overworked, and, as a consequence, the car really struggles under high-load conditions and overall integration is not smooth. If the electric motor were more powerful (it's outpaced by the Camry Hybrid's primary tractive motor by 101 hp), it might help." Not only did the Sonata's fuel economy suffer, so did its track performance, trailing the Camry to 60 by a monstrous 2.3 seconds--and Hyundai claims 6 horsepower more than Toyota with similar weight-to-power. Hyundai also touts its use of a conventional automatic and lighter lithium-polymer batteries, both of which are supposed to work better than their CVT and nickel-metal hydride/lithium-ion counterparts. But the net results say the opposite. Making things worse, we rated the Sonata's steering too rubbery, the brakes too grabby, and the throttle too jerky." Read more: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid vs 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE vs 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE Comparison - Motor Trend Personally, I think the Sonata Hybrid is hilariously goofy looking with the unibrow and mustache.
I am sure there were other factors besides space. I know for me, being a big guy and also tall, I didn't want to go with a sedan after being in a Nissan Sentra GXE... I wanted more room, but also from past experience with really bad parking type people, squeezing into a sedan with small room made it difficult to really get into the car.
Hyundai high speed crash could be accelerator fault\ "The South Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs is now investigating the incident. Spokesman Sohn Young-sam told CNN that since 2003 there had been 80 such claims of unintended acceleration." :scared:
The main issue for me is reliability. Toyota has a 14 years plus track record of reliability with the Prius. It's been refined to the level of the Generation III. Hyundai is still on their first generation, with it being out just a few years.
"The South Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs is now investigating the incident. Spokesman Sohn Young-sam told CNN that since 2003 there had been 80 such claims of unintended acceleration." Seems I made a right choice.
I think you will really like the v. If you want the feeling of power try power or normal mode. Eco is pretty anemic. My gas mileage didn't change going from Eco to normal(normal being no mode chosen) my next tank will be in power. W
Wilsonauy... I too was faced with trying to decide between the V and the Sonata. I loved the sleek look and greater 'car feel' of the Sonata but could not argue against the roominess of the V (fold down rear seats) and the better mileage of the V. I also got a better deal for the V as compared to what they were asking for the Sonata. I don't regret purchasing the V... averaging 50 mpg and most recent trip averaged 56 mpg. Hope you enjoy yours.
Is that in miles per US gallons or miles per Imperial gallon? Don't want to set expectations too high of US buyers of the v wagon since Imperial gallons are meaningless here.
Nope. Using US gallons in my conversions from Litres/100 km to miles per gallon. 1 US gallon = 3.785 L whereas 1 Imp. gallon = 4.546 L 1 mile = 1.6 km 4.2 L/100 km = 0.042 L/km = 23.81 km/L = 14.88 miles / L = 56.3 miles/gallon
I saw a loaded red Sonata Hybrid in the wild today and it looked damn good! I love the Prius and all but if it came down to just gas mileage and style the Sonata wins hands down!!! the Camry is a great buy but it is so bland in comparison. It looked like this although the picture doesn't do it justice.
I have a colleague that has a Sonata Hybrid and although a nice looking car for sure with some good features, I did not like the very low seating position. The window line seemed very high on this car.
They have you sitting low so your friends dont know you bought one I considered one until I read about the jerky tranny issues and the poor mpg's. The regular Sonata drove real smooth and would get me mid to upper 30's mpg but... The Elantra would get me 32 city & 49 mpg on the Interstates averaging on a tank but then thinking of the possible mpg of a Prius made me wake up to reality that gasoline will never be cheep again. Some day Hyundai will get their Hybrid sorted out and it will be a nice car but at the moment it has some issues. Mike
OP- Congrats. Look at it this way - there used to be a saying that no one got fired for choosing IBM. With the Prius you have a car with a terrific track record and proven dependability and performance. The Sonata could prove itself as worthy competition to Toyota's hybrids, but that determination is still years away.
