2008 Hyundai Sonata User Reviews

I-win —

I've owned this car now for nearly two years, bought it brand new. The major problems with it during that time have both been limited to two things and both happened during the cold (-10 f) degree winters it endures. The transmission needed to be replaced (Warranty covered) and the car would not allow me to turn the key (passenger seat belt monitor). Performance wise, it's crap under 3000 RPM. It hits it's prime at about 4000-4500. This car is brilliant at accelerating 55-80. From 35-55 the car leaves something to be desired however. This is mainly all because of it's 4-speed transmission, as the dealer had no 5-speeds at the time I bought it. I am not in Love with the interior style. The dials and controls all glow lime green, which while alright is not my favorite. The new 2009 / 2010 models have a great looking blue, though Hyundai also made them cheaper leaving out several features that are on this car. The features left out on ALL 2010 Sonatas are: the ability to unhook the middle rear seatbelt for folding down the seat. The ability to slide a hidden piece of the sun visor out behind the 3rd mirror. The ever convenient storage nook on the left of the steering wheel. is absent in the '10. Also there is no way to cover the cup holds in the front. There is an poorly places 120V adapter in the '09 & '10 because it is in the way of the shifter. There is a problem with the storage directly infront of the shifter because if you store things in it, they could fall into the bottom of the container, nearly impossible to get out. Go with the V6, you might lose up to 2 MPG and it's much quicker. The 3.3 V6 from Hyundai is a fantastic engine. The 2.4 L I4 is a Lovely engine also, but it's murdered by the 4-speed. The '09 and '10 have a 5 speed standard.

Primary Use: Sport/fun (spirited driving, track racing, off-roading, etc.)

An Alright Car, Overshadowed By The Face-lifted Version — The 2008 Sonata is an alright car. This is a much better car than either the Accent or Elantra. The problem I have with it is that its bland. The 4-cylinder moves the car alright. The handling is alright nothing special. In terms of performance its actually decent. The interior is very similarly designed like the Elantra's and thus looks very similar to that car's interior. The problem with that interior is it looks very bland and uninteresting. Otherwise there is little fault to it. The car has no reliability faults and its rather inexpensive for a mostly fully loaded mid sized car. This car does have one big problem, the 2009 Sonata is far better than this version and I consider this one not worth the money after driving that one.

I Love Sonatas. — I own a sonata and the body and look of the vehicle keeps getting better looking every year.

A Good Car — Good acceleration for a four cylinder engine, good braking, handles like a compact sedan, side mirrors seemed to be misplaced. Plastics feel cheap, hood release broke after three months. Large amount of trunk space, headlight bulbs were a pain to change. No fold in mirrors...?

A Good Value — We really like our Sonata. It has been totally reliable and still looks great after 40000 miles. The gas mileage is very good, being near 30mpg. It handles the road quite well. The Sonata fufills it's mission in life very well. It is a competent family hauler that will last as long as you want it to. My wife has worn out the tires in 30000 miles, but other than that, it has required nothing but oil changes. We had a 2007 Elantra also with manual transmission and both had no clutch pedal feel and much too light of pressure is required for the throttle pedal. We find ourselves regularly killing the engine when moving from a dead stop.

Primary Use: Family transportation