HYUNDAI SONATA SALOON 2005-2009 Review
Good Points
- Spacious interior
- Very reliable
- Five year warranty
Bad Points
- Poor on-road performance
- Poor quality trim compared to its rivals
Engines
The Sonata was originally launched with a 160bhp 2.4-litre petrol. This was replaced though in 2006 by a 165bhp 2.0-litre which was followed by a 232bhp 3.3-litre V6 and a 148bhp 2.0-litre CRTD diesel.
All engines come with the option of either a manual or automatic gearbox, apart from the V6 that only has the option of the automatic.
Performance & Economy
The original 2.4-litre was a good all-rounder achieving 33mpg and was fairly swift at 8.5 seconds to 60mph. The 2.0-litre that replaced it was more economical at 37mpg, but was slower by just over a second. The 3.3-litre V6 that is the quickest engines in the range going from a standing start to 60mph in 7.6 seconds, but as you would expect the fuel efficiency drops down to 28mpg.
The 2.0-litre CRTD diesel engine is the slowest in the range taking 10.4 seconds to get to 60mph, but it is by far the most economical achieving 47mpg and offering good low down pull which is a good mix for cruising speeds.
The manual gearboxes are the ones to go for as the automatic gearboxes are not particularly smooth and take an age to change up or down.
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Introduction
The Hyundai Sonata is a vast improvement over its predecessor with more space, comfortable interior and improved handling. However, compared to its rivals it is still a dull looking car with a forgettable driving experience. This is largely due to its cheap quality interior and lifeless steering. It does come with plenty of kit as standard though, there is a good choice of engines and it is extremely reliable. Services will set you back a lot more than you would expect.
Exterior & Interior
The Sonata is Hyundai's attempt at entering the four door saloon market. However, the outside styling is nothing to write home about and the interior feels and looks cheap. It is an improvement over the older car though with plenty of space inside for five adults to sit comfortably. It comes with a fairly large boot too that can be increased by folding flat the split folding rear seats. The grey plastics provide a dull looking interior although the dash is well laid out and you do receive plenty of kit as standard including leather seats and climate control. The build quality is excellent with everything feeling solid and robust. Hyundai have made the choice of trim easy providing you with only one option, the CDX which has sat-nav, alloys, six airbags and an alarm on top of the leather upholstery and climate control. The bigger V6 comes with a CD changer, an electric sunroof and parking sensors.
Drive
The Sonata is a much better drive than its predecessors, but that isn't really saying much and when compared to its rivals as it is found lacking. The suspension is good ironing out the bumps in the road, but this allows plenty of body roll in the corners. The steering is poor as it feels lifeless in the drivers' hands and isn't likely to fill you with confidence. Overall it makes for a fairly forgettable driving experience.
Faults & Repairs
The Sonata is fairly reliable with no major problems cropping up provided it is serviced regularly. When looking at a vehicle make sure it has a full service history as there are plenty out there that have been well looked after.
Service costs are ridiculously expensive for a car of this caliber coming in around the same price range as the BMW 5-Series, but when it comes to repairs it is thankfully they are cheap to fix.
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