| + Used Car Home + Used Cars for Sale + Car Reviews + Auto Repair |
| 2006 Hyundai Sonata Review | |||
| Whether you're about to spend $40K on a brand new car, or half that on a used car, it is always important to learn as much as you can about the used car. Read these car reviews to learn about all aspects of the vehicle. Each of the usedcar reviews cover interior and exterior features, options, road tests, and more. | |||
|
Introduction
| Road Test
| Inside & Out
| Other Thoughts
| Last Word
|
|||
| Inside & Out | |||
If designers wanted to copy the best of the Accord, they should have used the tracing paper on the interior. Drab styling and upholstery patterns, oddly conflicting dashboard cut-outs, soggy door locks, and cheap-feeling door assist grips dampen the joy of sitting in a Sonata. There's enough gray/black/silver to make anyone monochrome-phobic (it helps to select beige, the sole other interior choice), and Hyundai has succeeded in making an even more obnoxious chime than Honda's. At least the steering wheel is wrapped in nice leather on all models, and I'd say most tangible items feel of high quality. Half of them, anyway.The Sonata is harder to fault functionally, with a clear gauge cluster (laid out Accord-style, speedo in center), nice consoles and compartments all around, radio and climate controls mounted where they belong, dash-mounted ignition, and just good standard Eastern ergonomics aside from slightly deviant A/C controls. The only two goofs: a missing preset station changer on the steering wheel controls (really now, what do radio listeners fiddle with most?) and a two-slot cupholder with too little shape to keep a hold of any cup. Stereo performance was an unexpected surprise, with a pleasingly full sound stage, MP3 capability, and pretty much perfect ergonomics. Accord and Camry don't give you any of those, either. And trip computers are always cool. How's driver treatment? Mostly positive, with a few footnotes. This is the second Hyundai in which I sat with the seat slammed to the back of its track. And while the height adjuster is nice, a separate adjuster for cushion angle and an overall longer cushion would be nicer. Lastly, the telescoping steering wheel on Sonata LXs should be extended downward in the range. (Unlike in the Accord, long-legged drivers can at least compensate by making the Sonata's backrest more vertical.) But the majority of normally-proportioned humans who are free of these issues should find a good fit in the captain's chairs. And there's no flying coach in the Sonata. If you want to know where this car leaves every competitor for dead, look behind: there's more space back there than in any rival. Room is fine in all directions, for all body parts, for up to three people (if you must), the windows go all the way down, and it's shaped fine. If the padding is a bit mushy, Hyundai at least resisted the temptation to drop the seat too low - inflating numbers at the expense of support - like so many others do. But the center position has no head restraint (finally, a flaw!). Don't think the engineers simply stole that space from the trunk, either, because 16.3 cubic feet means the Sonata has the biggest back seat and trunk (and it's a nice trunk with full carpeting, a power outlet, a fuel-filler release, and a child escape handle). How the hell Hyundai managed to stuff 121.7 cubic feet of space into a 188.9-inch long, 72.1-inch wide, 58-inch tall body is a mystery that may baffle scientists for years, but the EPA had a more decisive opinion, punting the Sonata into the Large Car class along with such giants as the Ford Crown Vic, Chevy Impala, and Toyota Avalon. There's more than one way to get more bang for your buck. |
|||
| UsedCar.us.com - Copywrite - All Rights Reserved |