Rented a Sonata

Flyn

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Amy's Santa Fe broke down in Daytona Beach (alternator) while she was on the way home from seeing our girls in Georgia so I had her rent a car and leave the Santa Fe to be fixed. We drove up there today to return the rental and pick up her car. The Sonata was a bargain basement, 2019 SE.

Plusses: The car used a quarter tank driving for 3 1/2 hours. Great mpg. The motor is a 4 banger with 185 hp but it was sufficient. Smooth ride and more features than you would expect in a base, $20K car.

Minuses: The transmission is tuned for fuel economy. Drops into top gear at around 40 mph and lugs big time. The cloth seats are sweaty and garbage. The base stereo sucks.

All in all, I could see buying one of these for Amy since she has a long commute to work. I'd skip the SE and get the SEL or better. More options would have made for a better car and the Sonata has a lot of them if you go SEL or Ultimate versions.

The new Hyundais also have the N Line which is the "performance" version with around 300 hp. It's still front wheel drive and reviews have it wheel hopping so it's sort of a fake sports car. Still, it has a turbo with a lot more power.


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Fish

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My 18 SEL was nice for what it was. Ill echo Ton and say in sport mode it at least merged and passed with a bit of confidence. In normal it wasnt too terrible, but was just kinda meh. I for sure missed it when I went from that to the base engine Tucson and then missed it even more when I switched to the base engine Kona. LOL!! It got great MPG when we drove to NY and did our Smokey Mountain trips.

Cars are getting more options in base form, but the SEL is the lowest Id go in a Hyundai IMO. The N Line looks awesome and would be a great family car with some umph. The new design (20+) Sonatas look better in darker colors IMO. The red really pops. The 18-19 looks the best in white.

I am curious as to the engines in the trim choices of the new Sonata. The base and the SEL have a 2.5 now with 191 HP, but the SEL Plus and Limited gets the 1.6 Turbo with 180HP. Dafuq? Id still assume the 1.6 would be better overall due to the low end grunt, but Id like to be in that meeting where they decided this to get perspectives.
 
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Flyn

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Yeah, more torque in the optional engine but not a lot more. Doesn't seem like much of a gain for the money AND you lose some horsepower.

So, sport mode fixes the trans lugging? Every time it did that, I was thinking Hyundai made a mistake with the tuning since it can't be good for the engine. All for a fraction of a percentage point better fuel economy?
 

Fish

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So Iā€™m at the dealer getting my car looked at since itā€™s tracking left a bit and I hear what I can only describe as Sebulbaā€™s pod racer between 20 and 40 mph. :rofl:

I took a look at the meager selection of new cars. So insane. This lot is usually full. They did have a N line Sonata though. Snapped a few pics next to a white Hybrid to see the subtle differences. Couldnā€™t get the interior well since itā€™s obviously been sitting for awhile since they have the sticker price of $35K. Itā€™s basically a Veloster N engine in the Sonata.

I also will change my stance on the colors for this body style. I didnā€™t even notice the slope of the rear end until I looked up and saw the silver one. Reminds me of a Model S or a baby Panamera.

I also saw a 2020 Sunset Orange Veloster Turbo with 300 miles. $30K. :bowrofl:

Thatā€™s more than a brand new N. I love my white, but that orange is a strong runner up. Doesnā€™t hurt itā€™s an ultimate with heads up display.

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Fish

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What kind of mpgā€™s was it telling you on the lie o meter
I didnā€™t even look to be honest.

I know if I stick to the streets I get more mpg than the highway. One night I drove like a grandma since I was still half asleep to work and it said 40.7 mpg average. Yet if I touch the highway I will be in the low 30s, with that one night of 28 when a fusion decided he wanted to fuck around and we ended up running into a hellcat.
 

Fish

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Did an oil change with only 3900 miles in between. Only 2 qts oil came outā€¦. Smh here we go fellazā€¦. 44k 2017 NA. Did a quick search and apparently dealers and Hyundai is saying oh well. No leaks or lights nothing.

Is it burning oil? Thats weird. I thought I heard there was a TSB or something for the 2.4s. That was towards the end of my ownership of one so I couldnt tell you for sure.
 
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