Last week we asked you which long-term car I should take on a road trip to San Fran and back. You overwhelmingly voted for the Infiniti M56, which is a great choice. But I've decided to take our Hyundai Sonata instead. Whoa, don't hate. I have two very good reasons for taking the Sonata.
One: Its 12 Month Test is over in about three weeks and I haven't taken it on a road trip yet.
Two: Its 12 Month Test is over in about three weeks and the Sonata is in danger of not making 20,000 miles. That's right, we've got some driving to do. This puppy needs some miles.
I hit the road north this morning. I'll return Wed. Hopefully I'll have something interesting to report when it's all over.
Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief @ 17,079 miles
banhugh says:
04:31 AM, 05/16/11
Well remember that the car's competitors are the Camry and the Accord. I hope you don't compare it to the handling of the GTI or the power of the M56. I guess the closest thing would be the Buick or the TSX or the VW Jetta TDI you have. Have a nice trip
wjtinatl says:
05:42 AM, 05/16/11
Give the segment's mission of providing safe, reliable, comfortable and economical transportation, it's likely you'll have absolutely nothing interesting to report!
jaeger1 says:
06:40 AM, 05/16/11
Happy trails. I'll be interested to see what the highway mileage is like as compared with my 2.0T. I suspect they won't be very far apart.
ed124c says:
06:42 AM, 05/16/11
I know that Hyundai/Kia are doing a great job lately, but I have to shake my head at some of their decisions. For instance, in the photo above, the NAV is shown to be an option on the base model GLS-- with the automatic transmission. The NAV is not an option on the GLS with the six speed manual.
This is pretty convoluted thinking, because Hyundai DID go out of its way to replace the previous 5 speed manual with the 6 speed-- which must have cost them a few bucks. The stick is only available on the GLS, which also, of course, comes with an automatic-- the LT car. But then they went out of their way by not offering any real options on the stick, while the automatic version gets the NAV system and other options. Why spend money on a nice stickshift if you don't want anyone to buy it?
To be fair, a lot of carmakers do this also. Of course, that doesn't make it right.
And a disclaimer: I would not buy a factory NAV system. My Garmin works quite nice.
I guess I will be arguing this case until my dying breath. Oh wait, the sticks will probably be gone by the time I die.
ed124c says:
06:47 AM, 05/16/11
By the way, the base model Optima goes even further than the Sonata: The base model Optima with the stick does not have cruise control-- and it is not an option, and it is not embedded into a package. No cruise. Do they think that those who drive sticks are retarded? Or what? They probably think we are a dying breed, and so they are trying to hasten the death. But, then.... why come up with new six speed manuals? Boggles the mind.
louiswei says:
07:11 AM, 05/16/11
Excellent, I voted for the Sonata.
adantium says:
07:19 AM, 05/16/11
The fact that you'd even consider taking this car over the M56 speaks to how much Hundai has improved the product.
hellishfiend says:
07:23 AM, 05/16/11
*commences hating* >:(
itbeatswalkin says:
07:42 AM, 05/16/11
Why do we bother to vote? This is the second ignored ballot in two months. Happy Trails!
hondanut says:
08:57 AM, 05/16/11
Are you telling me you don't know the way to San Jose?! ....see what I did there? (look at the nav)
clovism says:
10:09 AM, 05/16/11
As long as louiswei is happy, I am happy.
darex says:
08:52 AM, 05/17/11
@ed124c
This is in very large part the reason why I got a Nissan Juke SL and had to rule out 90% of all other alternatives (Sorry, I couldn't rationalize paying $11,000 more for a similarly-equipped Countryman, even though I thoroughly enjoyed 6 years with my MINI Cooper previously). I should mention that my requirements were: 1) hatch 2) manual-transmission (a good one) 3) flat-folding cargo area 4) superior ground clearance 5) smaller than a Mazda3 in length if at all possible. 6) Had to be spunky and fun-to-drive like my MINI (or at least approaching that vibe). DID NOT CARE ABOUT AWD.
Nissan offered its brilliant 6-sp MT on the top-trim SL. Hyundai only offers MT on its base-models, and I like my bells-and-whistles, including factory Sat-Nav always [theft concerns]. As you say, Hyundai aren't the only ones who do this, but it's so annoying. So, no Tucson for me. Likewise, I couldn't consider anything by VW. So, no Tiguan for me. Ditto Ford: No Focus and no Fiesta configurations were possible, except in base trims.
Really, there were next-to-no choices for me other than the Juke, so it won out by default, but it's not a sad thing. I rather like it. It's fun to drive, has all the features I was after, and has some that the Countryman doesn't offer (e.g. back-up camera -- I am now a HUGE fan of these!). I do not "LOVE" the Juke, but it's growing on me more and more the longer I own it. Even the looks have grown on me to the point that I even like the front now, especially the slick-looking turn signals. Amazing.