[jessepaws21]

Was going thru my Google feed today and hot off the presses, the 2018 Hyundai sonata was announced. Even better, it will offer the pano sunroof, full led lighting and a new hate or love it font for the hybrid badge. Link to the roadshow article below:

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2018-hyundai-sonata-hybrid-pricing/


Here's the gallery as well
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/pictu...he-2018-hyundai-sonata-hybrid-plug-in-hybrid/

What are your thoughts on this?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[JKK]

I don't really care for the rims, but they are a slight improvement. I see the battery gauge is manual, not sure I like that but the main power gauge looks good just no % power any longer?

 

[dougary]

If you're serious about a hybrid why not go for the Ioniq?

Besides, I get 40mpg with my '17 Sonata 2.4 anyway. Not sure the extra 5 mpg is worth the extra complexity and higher initial cost.

Also of note... I just heard on the news that gasoline prices are going to rise dramatically by summer. So an efficient hybrid Ioniq makes good sense right now.

 

[MButkus]

I sat in the back seat.. hope you have small people. I'm 5' 11" and bumped my head getting in the back seat. Not much overhead room either. I guess great for kids. My tall son has no problem in the back of my HSH.

 

[NXR71]

Looks like a minor upgrade although I'm glad to see the heated steering wheel is back. My '16 has that but it seems to have been removed on the '17. The dash looks more spartan and low-tech, though. And if I was taking the shots I would have filled the gas tank so the range was not showing 325 miles; it would be showing 600+. Same with the MPG shot. Why they decided to show mileage in the mid-30's is a mystery to me.

All things considered, I am very happy that the product line is being continued.

As dougary noted, gas prices are rising. We're around $2.60 in NE Ohio. Interestingly, when I was in Hawaii earlier this year the gas prices were about $3.25. We met a fellow from San Francisco and he said he was glad it was so cheap; he had paid more than that a week earlier at home.

 

[mogelijk]

I sat in the back seat.. hope you have small people. I'm 5' 11" and bumped my head getting in the back seat. Not much overhead room either. I guess great for kids. My tall son has no problem in the back of my HSH.

Yes, the size is one reason -- the Sonata has a much more spacious interior. The other reason is power, the Ioniq is pretty anemic, even in Sport mode. The Sonata makes a much better touring car, or even just multi-purpose; whereas the Ioniq seems to be much more of a commuter car.

Looks like a minor upgrade although I'm glad to see the heated steering wheel is back. My '16 has that but it seems to have been removed on the '17. The dash looks more spartan and low-tech, though. And if I was taking the shots I would have filled the gas tank so the range was not showing 325 miles; it would be showing 600+. Same with the MPG shot. Why they decided to show mileage in the mid-30's is a mystery to me.

All things considered, I am very happy that the product line is being continued.

As dougary noted, gas prices are rising. We're around $2.60 in NE Ohio. Interestingly, when I was in Hawaii earlier this year the gas prices were about $3.25. We met a fellow from San Francisco and he said he was glad it was so cheap; he had paid more than that a week earlier at home.

At least, if people look, they can notice that it is over 300 miles of range on half a tank. I almost suspect, at least part of the reason they don't show the 600 mile range is many people would think Hyundai is "lying" about it. As for the 36 mpg, I'm guessing that is on the photographer; who likely spent a fair amount of time during the shoot with the car idling, so the gas mileage dropped.

 

[NXR71]

I almost suspect, at least part of the reason they don't show the 600 mile range is many people would think Hyundai is "lying" about it.

Agreed. I think Hyundai is a bit gun-shy about their mileage claims after that lawsuit. It seems most people here are in fact getting the claimed or better mileage than the ones on the sticker.

My '16 is supposed to be 40/44 and the '17 is supposed to be 39/45. During warmer weather I'm seeing about 43-44 combined and sometimes as high as 54 on the highway.

 

[FuelSolGood]

Ioniq and Kona are on different rungs of the ladder than Sonata. So may not be fair to compare.
Ioniq is Hyundai's challenge to Prius. I think it is a serious contender.
But every aspect of it's design is to lighten weight, increase efficiency and utility and drive up MPGe. It tries to appeal to more than greenies.
Right now, buyers are being lulled back to the comfort zone of cheap gas, so even the Prius sales is suffering (-19% yoy).
I will stick my neck out, gas wont be cheap for too much longer.
Petro to me is a precious commodity, no matter the price.
It has never been "cheap" for most rest of the world.
Today, I pumped wife's CR-V a full tank and paid over $45 at Costco in CA at $3.5/g, not even Chevron price.
The guy in front of me had a Ram v8 fullsize pickup.
Did he take a long time! we came in after and left before him. Ouch.
Ioniq is poised to win market share when we hit $4-5/gal.
Sonata's design balance is tilted much more to comfort, space, pace and ride quality.

Latest generation Sonata did not offer a V6 engine, unlike Accord, Camry.
It was a reasonable tradeoff. By not having to accomodate the larger engine, more space can be allocated to the interior volume. It is near full size for a mid size sedan.
Otherwise, only 20% of buyer would choose the V6 but 80% who would have to endure a smaller cabin.

 

[NXR71]

Good comments, FuelSolGood. When I bought mine two years ago there was precisely one in the state configured as I wanted it and very few others. The dealer said they weren't selling because of the price premium and the lowering gas prices. People do have short memories but still take long car loans.

Except for during the winter I can go two weeks between fill-ups. In the winter I can go about a week and a half. I could barely squeeze a week out of my previous car, an older V6 Accord. The HSH's better mileage coupled with the larger gas tank were the deal-maker. My kid has a Civic and can almost go non-stop from NE Ohio to Washington D.C. and that car gets about 42 MPG on the highway but has a small gas tank. On my last trip to D.C. I had half a tank left when I arrived. According to the range calculator I could have made it back as well but it would have been very close. So I leisurely filled up when I got there and had half a tank when I got back.

 

[Mortimerr]

Well I got a chuckle out of one of the pictures. Slide 39 of 59 in the gallery shows the fuel economy graphs in the hybrid section of the infotainment system. There's another post in this forum talking about how the electric motor use graph never has any bars showing. Looking at this photo, notice anything?

 

[MButkus]

36 MPG...even at 5 degrees for a week in Jersey I was getting 38 mpg !

They are showing the GPS with HD radio traffic / radar.

According to ht tps://hdradio.com/sites/default/files/toolkit_asset_pdfs/oem_automotive_0.pdf both are free.. Is that on my 2016 ? ?

After checking into it, you must have a broadcasting HD station, there is ONE in NJ.... and you must be in their "listening area", so back to satellite and paying $3 month for traffic or use Waze.

They show a screen of Data Services, that is no where on my GPS screen.
It also looks like they put the back-up lights under the tail-brake lights rather then the tiny ones below the bumper on my 2016.

I fill my car up and get 650 miles to empty ..... (at 47 mpg), even at half a tank it's 340 to empty at times.
The other thing, my car does not look like a wimpy hybrid.

 

[deadrx7conv]

Wimpy hybrid??? I too prefer normal cars converted into Hybrids... Camry/Accord/Sonata/Rav4/Highlander/MDX.... are all excellent in their vehicle classes. I don't care for the look of electric cars and hybrid only models. I probably won't ever own a Tesla, Insight, Prius, Ioniq, Volt....
I just don't like the complexity of a hybrid. I tend to keep vehicles far beyond when the warranty expires. And, repairing a Hybrid can be an expensive nightmare when out of warranty.

I hope that the new Sonata Hybrid is a home run. I see plenty of the earlier ones on the road.