The new Sonata .. and Korean cars..

Ok, we all remember hyundai at its beginning, but now, with the Tucson and especially the new Sonata, I have to admit that they are becomming a respectable car company.

According to industry news, the new Sonata will match or surpass the Accord or the Camry.

With the problems that american car compagnies run into, especially Ford, this must be bad news, as they dont have anything to match that car.

if all that is going to bring us better cars for lower price, then I'm all for that.

Wake up american car compagny! You were behind japanese, now you are falling behind Korean cars. And japanese compagny, better start having new idea because the Korean are coming at you fast!!



<font color=red>Sig space for rent. make your offer.</font color=red>

American made cars have gotten much better in quality. So much so that I would argue that they are comparable today for the same price.
It comes down now to style preference and price, most cars/trucks now will easily run 200k+ miles on same tranny and engine.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

Quality is really Kwaulity

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

oh.. In french it is Coréennes.. Bad translation..

Ok.. You told me!!

<font color=red>Sig space for rent. make your offer.</font color=red>

Holy crap you must've been thinking about Hyundai this weekend cuz I spent yesterday night checking their new stuff out, not believing it.

I did see the new Sonata preview many months ago, and today upon visiting the car dealership (lookin' for a car), I found it there, as a teaser display (they don't even have pricing yet, just a teaser car) and was surprised. And yes, it is unbelievably different, wider, huge trunk (bigger than all competitive mid-size sedans except the Camra, by ~.4 cubic feet), loaded like hell too and is supposed to be more spacious than the Camry too.
What most amazed me is the power. The Sonata that we have is rather weak, at 138HP. The new one will go up to 162HP with the inline 4C. The V6 one will jump from a weak 173HP to 235HP, surpassing the Camry. This is a serious jump there. Standard features will include ABS, power everything, probably remote keyless, MP3 CD player (they may add XM radio by the end of the year), most of what Camry had and much more. I am simply amazed how radically different it is.
Here are a few pics of it:
<A HREF="http://forums.autoweek.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/31-10281-201848-357/sonata_official_1.jpg" target="_new">Front</A>
<A HREF="http://forums.autoweek.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/31-10281-201942-380/Sonata1.jpg" target="_new">Back</A>
<A HREF="http://forums.autoweek.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/31-10281-201942-382/Sonata3.jpg" target="_new">Inside</A>
So yeah it looks a bit like a cross between the TL and the Accord, but hell, the thing will sell for 2000-3000$ less, and they're giving you a 5 year warranty on everything, so there is practically no more incentive for a Japanese alternative.

Check out also the new Azera they will launch this year too. It's their high end "luxury" line, and is supposed to be even spacier than the royal BMW 7 serie! And the standard features are simply amazing, with a 265HP engine (nowhere near what they used to offer, and competes with the Maxima from Nissan) and luxury stuff ya'd find on very expensive cars.

I wasn't ready to consider them again next year when we finish our lease, but what we saw was a whole radical change with value written all over it. Sorta like AMD, really. The salesman told us the Santa Fe will soon have 7 places instead of 5. That will allow the Tucson to have its own market and value.

Good times for car choices these days, I totally agree with ya there man. You oughtta check the Sonata 2006 if you haven't yet.

--
The <b><A HREF="http://snipurl.com/blsb" target="_new"><font color=red>THGC Photo Album</font color=red></A></b>, send in your pics, get your own webpage and view other members' sites.

I agree that car is impressive factoring in the price and warranty.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

I sell Hyundai and Honda for a living and I'll tell you right now that the ride and interior noise on the new Sonata is superior to the Accord. If you didn't drive it, you should. Hit the gas hard and wait for the shift up.... you won't feel it. Wind noise is non-existent before 90 mph. Also, don't forget to ask about the ESC system that is standard as well as 8 airbags. The V6 won't be out until December, but we've been told that in October, a Rear Park Assist system will be standard on Sonata as well. This is a helluva car. Sorry if I sound like a car salesman, I am, but this car is flat out great. If you need more info, I'm your guy.
-Brett

We rule.

<font color=blue>War</font color=blue> <font color=orange>Eagle</font color=orange> 13-0!

They said it was designed for the American public, and it shows.

Crazy rednecks in that plant...

--
The <b><A HREF="http://snipurl.com/blsb" target="_new"><font color=red>THGC Photo Album</font color=red></A></b>, send in your pics, get your own webpage and view other members' sites.

It's the auto one.

High 20s? What, MPGs? I don't quite know the US measurement method, so if you can provide the metric alternative, it would be appreciated.

I didn't inspect that yet, as I figured it'd cost way more anyways. The price did get rather too close to an unequipped Sonata though. (btw how much do the new ones cost? Same as before?)
In any case, any car I'd get, I would want AC and Auto at the bare minimum. The Comfort pkg. includes the AC at least.

What's A-tier?
I'm a student, 18 years old, in College, with an ok paying job at Staples. It's nothing big, so as you can see, I need a good budget management, and plan to go as high as 300$ CDN MAX per month to lease the car, pay the gas and the insurance.
Oh and as I said before, the new Sonata hasn't yet arrived at any of the dealerships, so no one technically can drive one yet, not a consumer anyways, though you can look at it and inside at the dealership.

I'm starting to catch that, as I've noticed it over time. Perhaps the first time is the real price given, but one that they will rarely deal unless the customer accepts, and afterwards the company does a concession for the customer. My dad likes to bargain when getting a car, so he often gets a good deal after a bit of "come oooooooooooooooooooon...!" .

--
The <b><A HREF="http://snipurl.com/blsb" target="_new"><font color=red>THGC Photo Album</font color=red></A></b>, send in your pics, get your own webpage and view other members' sites.

and 5 billion litres of petrol for that distance

if korean and japanese cars have anything for them, its their fuel efficiency.

p.s. just thought i would correct the spelling of the title back

Alltaken

<A HREF="http://www.mudpuddle.co.nz" target="_new">http://www.mudpuddle.co.nz</A> its where its all going on, oh and its also all going on HERE <A HREF="http://doug.mudpuddle.co.nz/gallery/" target="_new">http://doug.mudpuddle.co.nz/gallery/</A><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Alltaken on 06/07/05 05:50 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

Haha lmao, sorry, didn't know it was THAT touted over there.

--
The <b><A HREF="http://snipurl.com/blsb" target="_new"><font color=red>THGC Photo Album</font color=red></A></b>, send in your pics, get your own webpage and view other members' sites.

its like the biggest thing since sliced bread here man. nothing against the company; just against the friggin rednex who live here.

"Like a scrotum, there it is in a nutshell."
<font color=red>Roll Tide!</font color=red>
<A HREF="http://www.cameronwilliamson.com" target="_new">-={Psychotic Sociopath.}=-</A>

LMAO, now now, don't attack the family....

Yeah I did hear it was some big thing, because now the company is making American-made Korean cars. I don't see it as a big deal, just that it'll likely help them study the environments they are selling their cars in, and build according to that. For example Ford builds most of their cars up in Canada, (I think it was in Quebec too) because here we get the harsh weather, which allows them to study the extreme weather and yank out some kickass trucks.


Ford Expedition......*drool* arrlllll, gawd I'd choose that car over almost any other out there if I had the money....

--
The <b><A HREF="http://snipurl.com/blsb" target="_new"><font color=red>THGC Photo Album</font color=red></A></b>, send in your pics, get your own webpage and view other members' sites.

American cars got better a long time ago, and nobody cared. Buick LeSabre wone 1988 JD powers survey. So then when nobody cared that some 1988 American cars were good, American car companies tried to get cheap without giving up too much "good".

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>