Long-Term Road Test
In our ultra-luxurious Hogback Road offices—featuring gray outdoor carpeting from Home Depot—there's a big sign-out board that identifies the test cars in our custody and shows which staffers are driving them. When our long-term Hyundai arrived, an "r" somehow got inserted into its model name. Why should automotive journalists know how to spell, right? After that, we referred to our "Sonatra" as Frank, who went on to spend 16 months with us.
During that spell, the silver Sonata LX V-6 averaged 23 mpg (versus EPA ratings of 20 mpg city and 30 mpg highway) and even after 40,000 miles was capable of galloping to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds, making it as quick as the last Honda Civic Si we tested. Frank wasn't as flashy as most of his other long-term stablemates and thus made fewer major treks, although he did wind up in Patrick Bedard's Arizona garage for a few months, made three trips to Wisconsin, and was twice in Florida, including spring break in Daytona. After that, the cockpit smelled as if it had pulled an all-nighter with the Rat Pack—we were afraid to ask for details—and a thorough disinfecting was ordered.
What's hugely endearing about the Sonata is that it's such an honest product—no electronic gimcrackery, controls that are straightforward and easy to understand, a low cowl that engenders visibility, a cushy ride, and that old Hyundai fallback: a whole lot of stuff for not much money.
We ordered our LX V-6 with exactly zero options, because its standard equipment included stability control, a five-speed automatic with manumatic, a CD/MP3 player, cruise control, fog lights, electric seat adjustments for the driver, heated front seats, 17-inch alloys, a tilting-and-telescoping wheel, and a five-year/60,000-mile warranty buttressed by a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.
Then there's that aluminum 235-horse, 3.3-liter V-6, which is as quiet at 70 mph and at wide-open throttle as a BMW 335i's and is way, way quieter at idle. It performs other BMW-ish feats, too, such as pulling the Sonata all the way to 144 mph or, if you're caught on photo radar in Scottsdale, 147 mph [Car News, C/D, April 2007]. All of that for a paltry $23,495 in 2006 or $23,645 today.
After 40,000 miles, everything still operated as advertised, zero repairs required. The turn-signal and wiper stalks still moved with silky ease. The leather looked fine—even the leather on the steering wheel hadn't become shiny. And the vinyl and plastic trim pieces, previously a Hyundai weakness, showed few scars or scuffs.
