Any of the 2006-07 forum members had a chance to test drive the new 2009?

How did the ride,handling compare to your Sonata? your thoughts!

I haven't had the chance yet. I've been waiting for my local dealer (about 1/2 mile from here) to get a V6 Limited. They were the first dealer in the area to get the 09 models. They got 10 I4 Automatic GLS's in February and haven't gotten another 09 since. All the other dealers in DFW now have a full line of 09s, but I'm too lazy to go to a different dealer to drive one.

Question....why would we? To see what we "could" have? No offense. I plan on driving mine until it's worth $1000 (american) in trade. Then I'll buy another, 2015. Pay it off then retire. :banana: Hopefully. :grin:

So you're only planning on keeping it another few weeks? LOL!

I'd love to but my local dealer has none at all---side note he said he will not have the a genesis until late July!

I drove the 08 and 08 back-to-back and there were differences, but not really anything terribly positive. The $4000 difference in price for the identical car made the decision a no-brainer.

hear hear... i agree fully...

i wouldnt test drive a car unless I was planning on buying another one... i hadnt test drove a car in 6+ years before we drove the Tucson (the one my wife bought) and my Sonata since both our old cars died at the same time....

We are in agreement concerning the price difference. Will add that driving the '08 Limited is most satisfying and leaves me with no desire for another car.

I won't drive a newer Sonata till I'm ready for another. I fear I'd like the 09 a lot better..... even though the 06 is still great. Seems most of the fixes for 09 address things I didn't like. (Dash, seats, better suspension, some engine upgrades that don't hurt) Honestly I still like the exterior styling of the previous Sonata better though. Not a fan of all the chrome. The front looks a little less aggressive too. The Sonata is still a great value but I think with the rebates the 08's would still be compelling too.

Yeah, but did you drive an 09 ? :whistling:

No offense, but I can't wait to get an 09. I've sat in (not driven) several V6 limiteds and done some Wheelin" and Dealin". I've come within about $1200 of what I want to keep payments the same, just extend the loan. Waiting for better rebates!! I may try selling my outright first.
:grin: Anyone need an 06 LX pearl white with 21,000 miles??? :grin:

I've driven 06 sonata both 4 and 6cyls that my fiance owned. Now im in the market for 09 v6 limited myself. I drove the limited v6 yesterday and what a difference.. Interior is no worse looking than one of bmw, navi is outstanding, very fast and the best part, its a hard disk based navi, not DVD based like Mitsubishi has for example. Controls are simple with advanced features. The power is unbelievable. I own bmw 325xi and audi a6 2.7t and the 09 sonata in my opinion keeps up with both of them. Suspension is also much better on 09 that 06. The only thing that pissing me off, the stiffer suspension with stabilizer bars are only available on the SE model.. WTF? I have to have leather seats so SE is not an option for me unfortunately.

Overall, 09 is 100x better than older models..

P.S. not sure of an older v6 models, the new v6 has a steel maintenance free timing chain, not belt. and never has to be replaced.

Yep, all the NF V6's have chains.

Oops...fat finger. Yeah...actually 2 08's and 2 09's...I4 and 6 in both years.

Went with the I4 08 limited. Very best bang for the buck. And that was 3 months ago when gas was only like $3.50!

That would be a V6 right? uh NO. :grin:

This post has been edited by craigbrooks: May 22 2008, 10:56 PM

Only?! HA!

Gas was $3.849 when I filled up today. I think it's gonna be funny in 6 months when gas drops back down to $3.79 (from about $4.15, just my estimate) and people are happy about the LOW price. That's how it's worked for the last several years. Then the new LOW price becomes the baseline for future prices and increases.

Five years from now, we'll all be saying, "Remember when gas was only $4 a gallon?" That's a sick thought. I still remember (and dearly miss) $0.75/gallon gas. And I'm only 28!

[/rant]

This post has been edited by SonataRobbie: May 22 2008, 10:59 PM

Wow, that just brought up another thought.

On June 7, 2001 (almost exactly 7 years ago), gas in my area was $0.999/gallon. Today it's $3.849. That's a 285% increase in only 7 years. :w00t: HOLY SHIRT! Now I'm depressed.

I wouldn't pay $4K more for the 09 either. Wait a month or 2, and most of the $4K difference will go away.

The interior looks nicer than the 06-08, and the suspension has been quieted down, but the 09 is only marginally better than the earlier cars. Certainly not 1000x better. Maybe 10% better, which is a nice improement in an already nice car.

This post has been edited by bobad: May 23 2008, 06:27 AM

the interior is certainly an improvement on the 06-08's, but i like the exterior on the 06-08's better... if you could combine the 2, you would have a SuperSonata.. :beer:

$4.05 = Cheapest regular octane around me... Probably jacked up to around $4.15 for the weekend.

I remember, perhaps 4-5 years ago I rented a dodge neon and the thing couldn't take 20 bucks of fuel....