by "Amoore100" (amoore100)
Published 06/23/2017 at 16:36
by "Amoore100" (amoore100)
Published 06/23/2017 at 16:36
Tags: Rental Report
; Hyundai
; Sonata
STARS: 4
Hyundai is the new Honda. It’s been said time and time again. And this time, I’m inclined to believe it.
For several years now, South Korea’s been pumping out relatively remarkable yet ordinary cars—essentially making them the Japan of a decade or two ago. Meanwhile in Japan, Toyota’s still making a four-speed auto and plunging along sans-direct injection, putting them in the malaise of the American brands in the late ‘90s and early 2000's. That makes the American brands the Korean brands of a decade ago, still trying to prove themselves, but pushing relatively decent products. How true is this reversal of roles? Very, as I discovered through a humble little red Hyundai this past weekend.
In the past, the only Korean car I’ve ever experienced was a last-generation Kia Sedona rented in 2013. That car, just like this Hyundai, made a positive impression on me. Perhaps it’s the notion of rooting for the underdog or something along those lines, but both that Sedona as well as this Sonata were incredibly endearing in my eyes, offering a bit of charisma against the blandness of the Nissan range or Dodge Grand Caravans.
It helps, too, that at least in my eyes, this Sonata is a very good looking car. Much, much better than the catfish-faced last generation and more elegant than the overdone Altima or Accord. That elegance extends to the interior, where it is more aesthetically thought-out than the Camries, Altimas, or Malibus that were on offer at the rental lot.
At first, the Sonata was just like any other generic car, but as we spent more time with it, little quirks came up which endeared me to the car itself. The (very Korean) startup and shutdown chime; the somewhat esoteric blue dashboard lighting; the fact that the valet key looks like it belongs in a 1998 Accent; the mildly muffled horn when you lock it that sounds a bit like the eager bark of a puppy; all these little things that give a car just a bit of character without making it hard to live with.
Helping the little Sonata’s case was the fact that we took it everywhere, beat on it pretty hard, and it still ticked on cheerfully and dutifully, even at a (comparatively) high mileage of 35K on a rental. Through miles of dirt and dust and 124 degree temperatures, the red Hyundai never even broke a sweat, even keeping the interior perpetually icy cold.
Compared to the last family sedan we had as a rental, a loaner top-spec Accord , the Hyundai felt a lot more real, more livable, and just more likable. Sure, the reliability of Hyundai’s GDI engines is yet to be fully discerned, but the little four was plenty punchy while returning 30+ mpg. Who needs Earth Dreams anyway? Moreover, the transmission was on point for the most part, giving punch when needed but keeping revs down while cruising (unlike certain FCA gearboxes...)
Essentially what I’m getting at is that as a regular car, this beats the Accord (and of course, the Camry). The interior is more livable, the car is eager and enthusiastic, and it is visually appealing, at least to me. The Accord and Camry provide a badge and perhaps more reliability, but the cars just aren’t as user friendly with confounding infotainment, technological overload, and half-hearted mechanicals (bog-standard four-cylinders and CVT gearboxes). I’m sure the manual Accord solves much of that, but that’s but one star in a rather dismal fleet.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that the Sonata feels honest. It is a sedan meant to be a family transportation device, not a pseudo-sports/luxury saloon. Yet, despite that, it demonstrates some level of thoughtfulness and attention to detail throughout that jazzes up its character a bit and makes it more interesting. Sure this was a base model and a bit of that honesty may go away as you go up the line, but fundamentally it is a good car, just like the Mazda 6, and I would proudly own one myself. It may have taken a while to say it, but I like Hyundais, and this little red Sonata is living proof.
So if you’re looking for your next beigemobile, perhaps stray away from the malaise of the Japanese (except Mazda), consider the advancements made by the Americans, and appreciate how far Korea has come in automotive quality and refinement. The Sonata of ten years ago was a cut-rate Camry. The Sonata of today is a role-model for the Camry.
Farewell little red Hyundai; you have forever changed my perspective on Korean cars, and I think all the better for it.
"mazda616" (mazda616)
06/23/2017 at 17:07, STARS: 0
This seems to be the rental car of choice these days as I see plenty of them on the Enterprise and Hertz lots. My friends have one they bought new and have put a ton of miles on (over 50k) in a short period of time and they haven’t had any issues.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
06/23/2017 at 17:50, STARS: 1
I think Hyundai more resembles 90s peak Toyota than anything else.
In the 90s both Honda and Toyota were selling over-engineered, fundamentally good regular cars. The Toyotas were more comfy and the Hondas had an inherent sportiness thanks to their double wishbone suspensions, awesome steering, and slick manual shifters.
Toyota started cheapining their mainstream models earlier than Honda. They got a lot of flack when the 1997 Camry was noticeably cheaper feeling and less refined than the car it replaced. The styling was more boxy basic than the early 90s jellybean.
Honda never really cheaped out on their cars to the extent that Toyota has been doing for the last 20 years. They do cost-cutting for sure. The Accord has got big and heavy and soft, but the current, soon-to-be-replaced model is less boaty than its predecessor. The 2012 Civic was a misstep, but they fixed it up for 2013. My wife leased one from 2013-16. It was fine but it was nothing like the great steering and suspension in the EF/EG/EK generations.
Honda’s problem nowadays is that their cars don’t have quite the same inherent goodness, where everything from the Civic on up to the top of the Acura lineup had that great refinement of suspension, steering and controls.
Hyundai does a great job of building comfortable, commodity cars. I had a fine experience with a rental Sonata myself. It was quiet, a great highway cruiser, and got awesome mileage. But it’s much more of a really big swoopy modern version of a ’94 Camry than anything Honda made back then.
"Your boy, BJR" (jerseyshoreben)
06/23/2017 at 18:57, STARS: 0
“Unlike certain FCA products”
My 300 cruises 1700rpm at 80.
Fuckin come at me.
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
06/23/2017 at 20:07, STARS: 2
That’s not a “certain” FCA product. This FCA product has a transverse V6 mated to a transmission probably controlled by an ant’s brain that does absolutely nothing for 75% of an incline, then slams it down two gears to skip the powerband entirely and continue to do nothing but make noise.
Granted, it’s still not a Nissan/Infiniti CVT. Gawd those are annoying.
"wafflesnfalafel" (wafflesnfalafel1)
06/23/2017 at 22:23, STARS: 1
How’s the handling/brakes of that current version? That’s the one area that was a bit disappointing on previous Hyundai/Kia products I have driven. Good power, nice looking, decent interior but a bit floaty, slow turn in and only marginal brakes. Nice highway cruisers but not quite a fun as some other offerings.
Incidentally I saw my first NIRO tonight in a beautiful metal flake blue - that is one solid rig, perfectly placed to steal a bunch of Prius sales.
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
06/23/2017 at 22:31, STARS: 1
No idea as I didn’t drive, but my father reported it to be pretty direct but a bit overboosted like most contemporary electronic steering systems. We used it mainly as a highway cruiser, but it did see some mountain action and it performed well in both areas if not incredibly. Somewhere between a Camry and an Accord I’d assume.
Both the Niro and Ioniq are pretty promising, and I hope they do much better than the sad-sack second gen Insight. Currently only the Volt has tried to compete against the Prius and it hasn’t a chance sales-wise (despite being a much better car) so hopefully Hyundai Kia break into Toyota’s margin. The new Prius is ugly as sin, and Toyota needs to be put in its place by some stiff competition.
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
06/25/2017 at 13:05, STARS: 0
Indeed; I simply make the Honda comparison since we’ve had an Accord of this contemporary before and because others have said it previously. In truth, Mazda today is more like Honda of the ‘90s with a bit of fun built into all their models which are centered around a great line-up of four-bangers. Mazda of the ‘90s was overreaching itself a bit, like the Honda of today; quite a few great cars (Miata, etc.), but just as many forgettable ones (626, Protege). Anyways, I digress. As you say, Hyundai today is totally the Toyota of the ‘90s, offering well-engineered, well-built, and well-thought out cars across an extremely varied range. In my mind, they deserve all the praise that they have been getting, and perhaps the new Kia GT will be their Mk4 Supra, so to speak, especially as Genesis is poising itself to become Lexus all over again.
It’s interesting to pin-point the exact moment that the Koreans and Toyota crossed paths. Though Toyota quality dropped off after the ‘90s, the XV30 Camry was still a very well-built and honest machine. In my eyes, it was the overstyled and plasticky XV40 that signaled that Toyota had lost the way, along with the arrival of the XV30's rightful successor in the form of the NF/5th gen Sonata. That Sonata may not have been exciting, but it continued the Camry’s honesty and reliability while Toyota went in pursuit of something or other.
You’re right about Honda—they never really cheaped out their models, but they didn’t put as much thought into them as they used to. Again, the mid 2000's were the timeframe when that occurred in my eyes as well because the third-gen Odyssey was a revelation as a minivan that was a decent drive, and that was because everything from the Fit to the MDX was engendered with pretty nimble handling. The cab-forward eighth gen Civic was the last good Civic in my eyes, but perhaps Honda is making a comeback today.
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
06/25/2017 at 13:06, STARS: 0
That’s good to hear. It’s probably not as good as a Mazda 6, but at least the issues with the early GDI engines have probably been sorted, one hopes.
"RT" (rt-p)
06/25/2017 at 18:52, STARS: 1
Korean cars have made leaps and bounds of progress of the last two decades, becoming credible alternatives to most rivals.
Not sure they’re up to the level of 90s Honda though.
https://driventowrite.com/2015/01/02/honda-european-woes-analysis/
I was reading this article earlier about Honda in the late 80s (arguably the early 90s too). It made an interesting point: Hondas were so well-made and sporty at that time, they were on their way in becoming part of the ‘upper echleon’ - or at the very least provide luxury on the same level as Volvo and Alfa Romeo.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/albums/72157644496651549
In this 1991 road test, the Accord is even considered a BMW rival, and holds up remarkably well against this crop of compact executive cars. It’s just the cheapening of Honda later in the 90s (perhaps due to the burst of the bubble economy, the change in leadership or the simple desire for profits) which took them away from that path - the same can be said about many Japanese car brands, but that’s another story for another time.
Point is, Hyundai isn’t really renowned for making F1 winning engines, world-beating transmissions or cars that last forever. The Japanese car industry’s rise to success was more of a revolution, while this is an evolution. They are doing a very good job though, so it’ll be interesting to see where they go next.