[beerman]

Have been in the Sonata since the good people at Right2Drive came to the rescue after my i40 was brutally assaulted on the M1.

I have been getting around on about 6.7l/100 which isn't bad for a petrol. The summary at the end of the drive tells me that I have got as low as 6.4/100 on a night run to work. A quick run to the shops, however, will nearly double that at 12/100. So for highway work, she goes ok. Driving around (in the economy setting) she seems to hunt for power. Selecting the sports setting makes her much more responsive.  Watching, I realised this is because the economy setting lets the revs fall to 1500 or below where as the sports will keep the revs at 2000. I wonder if allowing the revs to fall is false economy though as the response to even the slightest hill in economy is to kick down a gear. Even my wife commented how it was gutless compared to the diesel.

Like the i40 the boot is deep, but the access is restricted by the small opening. The fold down seats are released from inside the boot area unlike the i40 where they are set into the seat within the cabin.

The cabin is a nice place to be, with icy cold air (even on the hottest of days). The radio reception is miles ahead if the i40 for distance and reception in built up areas. The reverse camera is choice too. I really dislike the foot handbrake for both operation, and the fact that the 'resting' foot sits below it. In a front on smash your foot could get caught under the pedal.

Driving around I wonder how the Sonata makes inroads in the Camry's market. It is a nice compliant car, but so is the Camry. It has 2 years more warranty as a selling point, but that's it, they are much the same car, and the Camry has the runs on the board. I would expect the Sonata to have more goodies to entice the Camry buyer, and I don't see it. Even at $27,990 drive away with free servicing to 75k as I saw recently, I don't know how many Camry buyers would be tempted to go to the darkside. Perhaps the critical mass of a couple of big fleets will help to bring the price down or the options up.


 

[Aussie Keith]

I think that those that must have a Toyota will have one. But I have found them to be wanting compared to Hyundais when I last looked.  Tinnier, plasticky, adequate drivetrains but not nice to drive, wonky handling, good to hand back. Hire cars admittedly but the differences are noticeable in my experience.

Recent experience, RAV4 vs Nissan cashcow or whatever its called.  RAV 4 as described above. This was one with lots of stuff too, not a pov pack. Scared the sh!t out of me with its vague and unpredictable handling on more than one occasion. Handling was so scary I pulled into a service to check there was air in the tires. Buffeting from trucks was a wild ride every time.  Also, needed to send up a flag to let people know you were planning to overtake and to give the mice time to get the treadmill moving. Not a thing I would even consider based on about 3000km in that vehicle.

Nissan cashcow, went like a rocket, handled like it was on rails, very reassuring to drive. Less fruit, but a much better driving experience.

Suspect Camry vs Sontata back to back might be similarly revealing.

[Dazzler]

Interesting comments @Aussie Keith

I agree about the Qashqui (or whatever it's called) I quite like them looks and drive. I considered one, but was leaning towards the diesel with goodies which jacked the price way past the SR and still lacked a couple of key features.

With regards to the Toyota, the Camry Hybrid was always a good thing apart from slightly floaty suspension, vague steering and questionable styling. However, the 2018 model looks heaps better and has been improved a lot apparently with regards to steering and handling. It is now rated for low 4's combined and is slightly quicker than the outgoing model so not far short of a V6 Commodore. I would quite like one! 

[beerman]

It was the new model I was comparing it to, but that is a bit unfair, given there is a new Sonata too. Which looks a much nicer car.

I've put about 4k on the Sonata now, best economy has dropped to 6.3 though I got 6.6 the other night with e10 which I was impressed with.

The vehicle seems to have gotten used to my driving, and seems less vaigue in my economical style.

Apparantly my i40 is coming from SA so if you see a light silver (no dark ones in Australia) on a truck give it a wave. The dealer has told me I'm also getting the 75k free servicing which is a nice bonus. 

[Dazzler]

It was the new model I was comparing it to, but that is a bit unfair, given there is a new Sonata too. Which looks a much nicer car.

I've put about 4k on the Sonata now, best economy has dropped to 6.3 though I got 6.6 the other night with e10 which I was impressed with.

The vehicle seems to have gotten used to my driving, and seems less vaigue in my economical style.

Apparantly my i40 is coming from SA so if you see a light silver (no dark ones in Australia) on a truck give it a wave. The dealer has told me I'm also getting the 75k free servicing which is a nice bonus. 

Wow! That's a great bonus! 

[beerman]

Well the Sonata goes back tomorrow (someone has put 4k on it and it needs its 15k service  )

In its place I get its non identical twin the Kia Optima. Shoud be interesting given they are 80% the same product.

As for my car it's still on the docks apparantly. They are talking 23/2 as a delivery date.

[Lakes]

beerman , interesting you get 6.7/100k  , 6.4 /100k computing in briz.
my fathers 2016 130 petrol auto always shows 10 /100k  , 9 /100k on the computer he only drives in Sydney . has never reset p c trip average has less than 10k I think.

will be interesting to see how the kia goes think bigger motor than i30?

[beerman]

I do mostly highway miles so it isn't working that hard.

[beerman]

So the Sonata went back yesterday having done about 4400k with me. As a goobye treat she achieved a record 6.3/100 on the trip home. As I gave her a tub before collection I noticed a few stone chips on the paint which indicated to me that it might be thinner than the i30/40 given my experience of both on much greater distances along the highway, but it could be bad luck too.

So I had just waved goodbye to the Sonata when I went to put the Optima in the garage. Some initial observations:

Whoever washed it did a crap job
It has about 37k on it and whoever has driven it has done a crap job.
There is a lot more goodies on this bad boy and it is the pov model.
Bye bye foot hand brake hello the little switch I am used to in the i40.
The mirrors fold up when you lock the car

So I took her for a run last night.
The headlights rock, Hyundai should raid the Kia parts bin here the projector headlights are awesome. I dont really care about the auto high beam and wipers I can do this myself.
The rear view mirror auto dims
It has that auto brake system to stop you hitting cars when perving (though I haven't tested this)
It has front park sensors
Smart cruise control that moves with traffic (Though I tried this last night and the fuel economy was 8/100)

So she is packed with kit. If you could get one for close to the same coin as the Sonata with 2 years extra warranty it would be a no brainer.

It is rated as better in the fuel economy (but not much) so perhaps as the car recognises a more conservative and economical driving style it will come close to the sizzling effort of the Sonata on the final day.

[Dazzler]

Great. Thanks for that. They are quite popular in WA. I like the styling.

DOn't under rate the Auto wipers. Probably the best feature of them is automatically adjusting speed to the intensity of the rain. 

The Auto wipers in my SR are better than the ones in the Calais.

[beerman]

It rained last night and they didn't turn on.....It is too hard to play around with stuff at 110 km/h.

The Kia's ears must have been burning last night it turned in a 6.3/100 on the way to work 

Still really like the headlights....