[vinny68]

Sonata-Accord-TLX Drag Race

Spoiler alert! The N-Line loses badly from a stop due to a very aggressive launch control that cuts power dramatically. The N-Line redeems itself though from a rolling start where preventing wheel spin is not as much of an issue. The TLX with its brand new platform was the biggest surprise though in how slow it was compared to the Accord.

 

[hochiinn]

this is the problem with fwd cars and power. wheelspin.

 

[Circuitsmith]

I could spin the wheels in my 1975 Civic with 53hp.

 

[Tom Byrne]

I could care less about jackrabbit starts, quite sure they will dial in the launch control later. I do like that it smokes the accord in rolling (much more likely scenario). My V6 Sonata already smokes most anything I drive with on my commute, this should be better, certainly should handle better. Definitely going to take a test drive to see

 

[12GLS3.5]

I could spin the wheels in my 1975 Civic with 53hp.

I had an '81 Civic! Great little car! It was a unicorn...no rust! I wish I still had it.

1.3L with 2-spd automatic.

 

[Acianci15]

Curious to see the sonata from a stop with a better driver. I noticed with the 1.6, even with the esc off, you need to ease off the line and then punch it.
Awesome to see it win rolling!

 

[mtbsteve]

Watched that video yesterday. Those testers are not my favorite. It seems that they jump in without any practice and expect great results in nearly any car they test. I have seen other reviews where launch control was difficult to engage and that the point of it is to smoothly accelerate without drama. Like any car, a few runs and you should get the hang of the fastest way to launch it. Another variable we are dealing with is that these 3 cars were on snow tires, no idea how performance oriented those tires were. The fact that the rolling start resulted in a win is the more important result.

 

[Circuitsmith]

1.3L with 2-spd automatic.

Mine was 1.5L CVCC with 4-spd stick.
I really wanted a motorcycle, but mother rejected that idea.
Civic was the closest I could come.
To get decent off-the-line performance with FWD requires limited slip diff.

 

[Big Country]

The thing I've been seeing in other reviews is what a good all around car it is. Handling is very good and much improved over the standard Sonata. I have no doubt if a person turned launch control off and learned how to launch it that it would be right with the Accord from a dig. But obviously would take practice and skill.

Back in the day I owned a 2004 SRT4 with the Stage 2 PCM and a few other goodies. It could obliterate the tires at will. It was probably putting down somewhere in the neighborhood of around 250hp to the wheels in a 29xx lb front wheel drive car. To this day it still holds the title of the most fun to drive car I have ever owned.

 

[vinny68]

I'm beginning to agree with those of you who say these testers didn't necessarily know what they were doing or how to get the best times from each car. Or maybe it was the snow tires that made such a difference. Either way, here's what Car and Driver said in their review:

"The N Line is easily the quickest front-drive family sedan we've tested, beating both the Accord 2.0T and Camry TRD to 60 mph by 0.4 and 0.6 second, respectively."

Car and Driver Sonata N-Line Review

 

[deadrx7conv]

Kewl... it'll beat the competition until the engine consumers excessive oil, carbons up, and then maybe seizes, and then maybe is class action'd for failures, finally giving the consumer a settlement and extended warranty....

For a lease, great car. I won't own a new Sonata.

 

[Eric2203]

Kewl... it'll beat the competition until the engine consumers excessive oil, carbons up, and then maybe seizes, and then maybe is class action'd for failures, finally giving the consumer a settlement and extended warranty....

For a lease, great car. I won't own a new Sonata.

This no longer has the Theta II engine that had all these problems.

 

[Garycrandall]

Sonata-Accord-TLX Drag Race

Spoiler alert! The N-Line loses badly from a stop due to a very aggressive launch control that cuts power dramatically. The N-Line redeems itself though from a rolling start where preventing wheel spin is not as much of an issue. The TLX with its brand new platform was the biggest surprise though in how slow it was compared to the Accord.

I saw the same video.

 

[deadrx7conv]

This no longer has the Theta II engine that had all these problems.

Issue includes the Smartstreams.....aka Theta3

 

[Eric2203]

Issue includes the Smartstreams.....aka Theta3

If you believe the one video that has been making the rounds on this forum, then sure...

It’s way too early to tell. It‘s a new engine that started being installed in cars in late 2019. There aren’t enough of them with enough mileage to say that these have design issues with any certainty.

Just because some incidents have been recorded isn‘t indicative of a design issue. Bad motors do happen sometimes, because of bad parts. Doesn’t mean something is inherently wrong with the design.

Like I said, way too early to tell.

 

[RAYMUND155]

Wow. The Sonata N-Line has that new 2.5 Turbo with 290 HP and 311 ft-lbs torque. There is an interview with an engineer that claimed nearly 300 ft-lbs of torque is available as low as 2,500 RPM! That’s huge torque down low!!! No wonder it blows away the tires and have no traction at launch!

According the German Auto News, their 2022 Tucson N-Line AWD dual clutch 8 sp, has over 330 HP 350 ft-lbs with huge torque number down low!!! They are competing with VW R-Line small SUV.