2011 Hyundai Sonata: The Value Of The Dollar

If the equipment is identical, then a $1000 difference is pretty significant. If the more expensive car has less goodies... Then I feel like anybody buying one didn't do any research or is ignorantly brand-loyal *cough* carmy & accord buyers *cough*.

The Optima beats the Sonata in nearly everyway if you ask me... though both are very good, top 2 of the class.

And Warren, I can forget the "lively Mazda6" because it's more expensive, gets worse MPG, worse power, and only has a 5 speed with the 4 cylinder, and I can't get a V6 until I'm up in the very high trim levels. I wanna like it, but I just can't.

"The Sonata (along with the Optima, another strong candidate) is thousands cheaper than a comparably equipped Kizashi, the car that's my fave in this segment"

Minimum list price for a Kizashi with a sunroof: $24K. Minimum list price for a Sonata with a sunroof: $26K. True, since you insist on "comparably equipped", Hyundai's required bundling gets you an automatic transmission and either leather upholstery (Limited) or navigation (SE). Some people might consider the Kizashi's 6-speed manual an advantage, but an automatic and either leather (SLS) or navigation (GTS) bring the price up to a range even with to $300 more than the Sonata. I despise leather upholstery (and the Sonata's dimpled but not perforated hide is particularly unattractive) and I don't want navigation, so the Kizashi actually runs $1000-2000 cheaper at list--even more if Edmunds' True Market Value® is to be believed--and is equipped almost exactly as I prefer. The Mazda6 i Touring Plus and the Fusion SE with Monochrome Appearance Package and Sun & Sync Package also come closer to what I would want at lower cost than the Sonata, especially considering TMV®.

The Honda Accord should remain in all mid-size conversations, and I doubt that Hyundai would shy from the comparison in 2011. Can any competitor approach a base Sonata GLS automatic or a base Optima LX on value? In fact, none of the other "base models" offer its array of standard features at all. Matched feature for feature with an Accord, Fusion, Suzuki, Mazda 6, or Camry and the pricing gap of the base GLS is several thousand dollars favorable to Hyundai. Chances are that you can walk onto a Hyundai lot with $19 K and ride home in a 2011 Sonata GLS. For some of the others that you mentioned you will either leave the lot empty handed , directed to the used lot, or drive home in a Civic, Corolla, Fiesta, or Mazda 3.

If all options and performance are about equal, and a price gap of a thousand or more dollars still exists, style becomes the deciding factor. In my book, Hyundai destroys all it's competition in that department, Kizashi included.

Why do you guys talk about the Optima and the Sonata like they're two completely different cars? Six of one. Half dozen of the other.

Philosophically speaking, price is not just one factor out of several other equally-weighted ones; it's more like a window.

We've all got our own budgets, and they define which vehicles we look at. If I want a family hauler but have less than $20k to spend, that's a clear boundary that only a limited number of vehicles in that class would fall into - used or new. It doesn't matter if, or why, the 2011 Odyssey or Sienna is the hands-down best hauler on the market; because I can't possibly afford difference between my $20k budget and the price of either vehicle. It's simply not on my radar.

So I don't see price so much as a factor, but the 'first cut'. If a vehicle doesn't make it over that hurdle, none of the other aspects of that vehicle matter.

For me, fun to drive is the most important factor.

In this segment, however, the biggest purchase criteria are: 1) price, 2) styling, and 3) colors available in stock.

A couple hundred won't make a difference to me. A couple thousand probably would get my attention. My Sonata 2.0T is a couple thousand cheaper than the Altima 3.5SE it replaced. Price wasn't the deciding factor, but it was a very nice bonus.

@clovism: because physically the Optima and the Sonata are very different. Yes they share the same drivetrain, but they look entirely different.

Off topic, has anyone else found that the shifter boot gets in the way when you try to downshift in manual mode? My parents just traded in their 2009 Sonata for a 2011 a couple weeks ago and I drove it for the first time over the weekend when they came up for a visit. When I put the shifter into the manual gate, it felt like the boot would get all bunched up between the lever and the edge of the hole in the center console whenever I tried to pull it back.

$3K price difference to consider it, which equates to around 10% assuming a loaded up vehicle.

I've always questioned why small cars like the Corolla, and Civic are even considered when the street price difference to an equivalent Camry and Accord is around $3K and the combined fuel economy only differs by 3 mpg.

To me, that $3K price difference (much of which is recouped in resale value) is worth the extra utility, comfort, room, and superior crash test results.

a difference of over 10% in price should always factor in to a financial decision.

for me, it's more about value than money. i think the Hyundai/Kia sedans are attractively styled, good performers but more importantly to me, great value. i have a 2010 Genesis Coupe and for the money, there's not a thing that can touch the style and the features. when i travel, i head for a Hyundai or Kia cuz i know i'll get bluetooth, sat radio, power everything, etc. i'm just real impressed with "value for money".

however, i'm also a huge fan of the Fusion. always have been. it too is a great lookin car, great value, fairly good features. for me, it's a tossup between the Optima and Fusion. i like the Sonata, but the looks throw me off a bit.

@gsarngad

I have a 2011 Sonata and yes...the "leather" boot around the gear selector bunches and makes a poping sound. I thought I was the only one. I may have to go in and have this checked out because it is quite annoying.

ON TOPIC- For me at 26 nothing else was even on the radar. The camry is boring, accord looks like it doesnt know what it wants to be, the mazda 6 lost its sporty looks and Suzuki has not impressed with reliablity. The only other car that came close was the VW CC. But again...VW reliability and repair prices are crazy.

I am going on one full year with my 2011 Sonata GLS. If I had it to do all over again, I would NOT purchase the car. I would gladly take a Mazda6, Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy, Ford Fusion, or even Chevy Malibu over the complete disappointment the Sonata has been. In fact, I am hoping to trade out of the Sonata in the next few weeks for something else. At the time I bought my 2011 Sonata, the dealer also had 2010 Sonata leftovers. Even one of those would have been a better choice than the 2011.

I have 14,000 miles on my Sonata and it is chock full of rattles. They all started after about 500 miles, and it seems I get a new one every couple of days. From the door panels, to the rear parcel shelf, to the dashboard, to the center console, even the sets themselves vibrate/rattle. The build quality on the car is just not there. The dashboard rattle is the worst of the bunch, and the dealer has indicated they would need to pull the whole dash out of the car to try and eliminate it. Yeah, no thanks.

There are literally dozens of used 2011 Sonatas showing up around here with less than 20,000 miles on them. That is not a good sign, nor is it good for resale value.

I have owned a lot of cars in the past 20 years, and my 2011 Sonata is easily one of the most disappointing.