[ThePill]

I can appreciate the honest comments and feedback on the Sonata. First, let me say I was not a fan of the redesign starting in 2006. I thought that the exterior was vanilla and the interior was just ho-hum. The 2011 on the other hand is another story. I would agree that it is not perfect like some have pointed out, and does have some design compromises, (what car doesn't?) but it sure is a lot better than some of its competitors.

For one thing, I remember when the all new 2007 Camry went on sale the first major problem to occur was tranny issues, followed up by several minor fit and finish issues. Yes, there are little annoyances about every car, some more than others but Hyundai's mechanicals have been very solid overall. The level and severity of recalls for major mechanical issues are virtually non-existent for this brand when compared to say Toyota, the number one auto brand.

I do agree there are areas in need of improvement when it comes to any car model but I have yet to visit any forum, whether it be BMW, Ford, Honda, Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, etc. where the members there continue to comment on issues that to some, detract from the ownership experience. Once again we are talking about the level of severity and the enormity of the issues that may detract from the ownership experience. But since there are no "perfectly" built machines, I suspect that there will always be flaws exhibited in one form or another.

The Sonata is not 100% perfect, maybe 90 percent and 10 percent annoyances. Those are acceptable trade offs to me within the price point I am looking at.

 

[ThePill]

QUOTE (midas69 @ May 23 2010, 10:30 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=325530

So, despite my criticism I'm still a fan of the car. I don't regret my purchase at all. But I think Hyundai does need to know about things they can improve.

Midas, I agree with your last comments completely. Let me state for the record that I have test driven several Hyundais in the past, but I have never felt that I wanted to own one until the 2011 Sonata. I do have members in my family that currently own a Hyundai product, namely, new Santa Fe. I have driven that vehicle several times and think it is a solid performer, although I have noted some areas that could be improved, but for the price point, in my opinion, that vehicle succeeds on all the touch points that really matter. But since this is a Sonata forum, I will argue that our critique of the short comings of the Sonata is more driven by our desire to see the model not just succeed but set the standard for other makes to follow.

The other aspect to this discussion is that there are trolls with agendas who will see our comments here as ammunition to fuel and promote their disinformation campaign, by taking out of context, our comments and suggestions for improvements and use this as a wedge against the Sonata at sites like edmunds. Yes, we know who they are.

 

[ThePill]

QUOTE (bobad @ May 23 2010, 06:40 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=325625

I agree with you on this. Great post you big mutt! :grin:

There has to be balance. A few folks are hyper sensitive about criticism of their cars, a few
seem to relish bashing them. Unfortunately, problems in cars are normal, and not a taboo subject.
Much can be learned from the discussion, and you meet some great people along the way.

Two things: 1. I never stated that owners should not discuss issues with their vehicles on this forum. 2. If you go back and re-read that last line that I wrote about the "disinformation" campaign against the Sonata, you would know that this is real and not borne out of any over sensitivity to any critique or short comings of this vehicle. Also, I did not state that anyone here is doing this on this forum but I do know it happens elsewhere.

I have seen comments posted on other forums by some who have visited this forum and claimed that they have read that there are so many rattles on the new Sonata, that the owners are majorly upset about their Hyundai Sonatas. That is what I meant to the reference of taking things out of context.

Far from being over sensitive to criticism about the Sonata, I am in fact opened to learning the pros and cons about this vehicle for myself.