2013 Hyundai Sonata In Detail

Published on Jul 25, 2012 by Miguel Caparros Many of you are not aware that Hyundai first came to the US market in 1986 with a model named the Exel. It was not. The only car worse was the Yugo. Both the Yugo and the Hyundai were aimed at the bottom of the market, first time buyers, people with little or no credit, buyers that for the first time wanted to buy a new car instead of a 7 year old used car. Some think that they would have been better off with the used car. With a price of $4,995 and not looking cheap while on the showroom floor, the cars were flying out the door, The closest Made In the USA car was the Chevrolet Chevette at $5,645. The unfortunate thing was that the brand became synonymous as a poor persons car. Lets face it, no matter how inexpensive the labor was then in Korea, to build a product and send it 1/2 way around the globe and sell it for $600.00 less than the least expensive North American car, something has to give. That is enough on the history. In 2009 Hyundai opened up the wallet and hired key European BMW people to turn the image of reliable but boring, to the cars that are now at the top of style and reliability. What should make the competition even more nervous is the fact that with Hyundai's growth, they are attracting top designers such as Chris Chapman. Chris has been in the industry for 22 years and after leaving BMW, now stands to lead Hyundai's design center in Irvine, California to bold new heights. The Sonata was the first product of the reformatted Hyundai line up. The new Sonata SE $23,345 MSRP does not have to make any apologies. This is now a world class car, the direction that Hyundai is taking has served notice that even Mercedes better pay attention. We had the Sonata for a 5 day weekend that found us driving to Florida to visit friends and family. The 198 HP engine felt a little soft on take off but it came alive the higher it revved. The 6-speed automatic transmission gives you the option of manual shifting when you are enjoying your favorite twisty road, The SE Sonata comes with everything you need. Here is the equipment list for the SE 198-hp 2.4L GDI 4-cylinder engine 6-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC® Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with Traction Control System (TCS) and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Brake Assist (BA) Daytime running lights Power door locks, windows and outside mirrors Remote keyless entry and alarm Six airbags - includes driver and front passenger, front seat side-mounted and front and rear curtain airbags Tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel with audio and cruise control functions Blue Link® telematics system Bluetooth® hands-free phone system Pod® / USB and MP3 auxiliary input jacks Advanced trip computer with custom settings On the highway the tall 6th gear gave relaxed cruising by providing relaxed engine RPM's. The slippery shape contributed to low wind noise and fantastic gas mileage. One leg of I 75 for 200 miles we averaged 40 mpg! The 1500 mile trip including cruising South Beach and dealing with Atlanta traffic returned and average of 33 mpg Category: Autos & Vehicles License: Standard YouTube License