Affordable and high quality Hybrid
The Sonata Hybrid is a great value for what I consider a full size car. I was able to get a comparable Hybrid to the competitors at a much lower cost. The model had already been available for over a year, so I knew from my consumer magazine that the quality was very good. I wanted a quiet ride in a car with basic amenities and comfort, that was very reliable, has a great range, and around 40+ MPG. The entry level I ended up purchasing didn't have all the wonderful conveniences that were on the Limited version, but at $7,000 less, I was happy to make that decision. The plug-in version that goes around 25 miles on EV alone was my first choice, but at a minimum of $14,000 more (or 9,000 more if you count the Federal Rebate), it would have taken me about 30 years to save the increased cost of vehicle, compared to gas savings. The mileage on the regular hybrid is so good, you only spend a little over $1000 per year on gas anyway! The only comfort I really miss is the heated seat option, so I bought a quality aftermarket heated seat skin to use and pocketed the $7,000 difference from the Limited. Hyundai was really great about keeping their word on the incentives and discounts, including $500 on top of the other discounts, with proof of Veteran status. I get real world 39 mpg in the winter mixed driving and am looking forward to how the summer mileage will improve.
Big pluses are the quiet ride, comfortable seats, visibility, rear seat leg and head space, 600 mile range, 5 year/60,000 mile bumper to bumper, and reliability.
The hybrid function is mostly seamless and sometimes you don't even notice the engine cycling on/off with charging level of the lithium battery. I like that it will run in EV mode for slow or highway driving, at times. The feature allowing seemless change between the eco, regular, and sport mode is really nice to use allowing faster responsiveness of the gear change according to what you are comfortable with.
The only real negative was my attempted use of the BlueLink navigation which is given as a short trial for free. I tried it since I didn't buy the car with the Navigation feature built-in. It was not accurate for me and I have reverted to using my own iphone with google maps that is flawless. It is odd since the BlueLink uses Google for this function! No problem, I just use my smartphone for nav as I always have.
I've owned the car just over a month and have 1200 miles driven, and would buy this car again if I had it to do over again. I highly recommend it for the first time hybrid buyer or someone that wants to move up in space compared to a Prius. Your decision on base model versus a Limited model is a personal decision and even paying the extra can be a great value for all the extra features, and at significantly less money that the cost of the main competitor.
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