[Steeroid]

The roadholding of the Mondy is its only USP, and the new Sonata does not offer you that kind of chuck-ability but is not as ponderous as the Camry. On the other hand, the Mondy can NEVER isolate its occupants from the road as much as this car can.

I'm also not sure if the Mondy comes with a 3.3 V6. They have a 2.4, a 2.8 and a top-of-the-line 3 litre, but the 2 litre Mondy is the most popular.

[Abhay]

Nice pics + review Steeroid..
The car definitely looks good in the profile and I love that colour (mauve like)!
Backside is Accord for sure and when I saw the pic of the car in Chennai the thing I liked were the tail pipes (which was obviously the V6)
The front looks chiselled with nice set of lights, but the grill makes it look like a bigger Elantra now :-S
Its teh one thing I have yet to like on any Hyundai car...the front grill +light treatment

[lamborghini]

Dude,
during its hey day and even today, the mondeo offers one of the best driving packages and boasts of interiors and quality that is one of the best in its class.

[Beemer]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

The Tucson's pricing is probably a result of the high duties for a CBU, which is a mistake as far as Hyundai are concerned.

, but isnt the CR-V too a CBU ! And if you go through the pricing of Tucson throughout the Globe , you ll find atleast a difference of 1 lac(ind currency) , same specs/version compared to the CR-V .

Originally Posted by Steeroid

They've lost one customer - me.

And the other one is me . Yes , i did wait for this car for more than 3 months and liked it very much when i took the test drive(i still love it) , i was even on my way to book the car but somehow my frenz , family , none of them, not even a SINGLE SOUL felt that it justifies its high sticker price .

[revtech]

Originally Posted by Mpower

.too many influences for other cars. If you ask me, the old Sonata had a strong personality and looked better than the Jag it was inspired by.

totally with that its looks too mixed up and confused its got a blend of so many cars it doesnt know what it really wants to look like i mean.its not distinct like the older one.

i wouldnt mind owning one of those but given a choice i would definitly take the HONDA accord NOT the HYUNDAI accord




Rev

[cheatingdeath]

not neat ..... blended but very very tacky design

[CaliforniaKnight]

However hard Hyundai tries to promote the new Sonata..I personally feel, there will be the normal ,initial sales but the fututre could prove to be a suspect...see case of Elantra, Sonata (old). Buyers in the segment areBrand conscious and which is where Hyunadai lacks the Snob value/ image.

[adya33]

One thing I have never understood is that how does Hyundai gets away with such stuff?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Dude,
during its hey day and even today, the mondeo offers one of the best driving packages and boasts of interiors and quality that is one of the best in its class.

1. It never had a hey day and it bombed. It only did well in automobile magazine columns.

2. I dont find anything outstanding about the Mondeo.

[artofzen]

Hey,
I liked it.Maybe bcz i loved copying from shyam's(my benchmate) paper when i was in school

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

1. It never had a hey day and it bombed. It only did well in automobile magazine columns.

2. I dont find anything outstanding about the Mondeo.

1: Main reason for this is that people prefer prestige and go for BMW 3's, C class Mercs. BMW 3's outself Mondeos in the UK and Germany. One can get nearly near Mondys for 10000 pounds.

2: If the Focus is anything to go by, the Mondy handling was quite good (never driven a Mondy but liked the Focus)

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by ajmat

1: Main reason for this is that people prefer prestige and go for BMW 3's, C class Mercs. BMW 3's outself Mondeos in the UK and Germany. One can get nearly near Mondys for 10000 pounds.

The same logic should have applied to other cars with less prestige. How come they're outselling the Mondy too? I wasnt talking about worldwide Mondy sales anyway - they're quite popular in the UK where its a favoured 'repmobile' used by sales representatives as cheap and unexciting transportation. There was even an election coinage when the Labour and Tory parties went around looking for the 'Mondeo Man' - the term used to describe the average, unexciting Briton who prefers everything staid and 'normal'.

BMW 3 series outsells Mondeos in the UK just as the Corolla or the Octavia might outsell the Palio/Petra in India. Dont compare sales across different categories.

Originally Posted by ajmat

2: If the Focus is anything to go by, the Mondy handling was quite good (never driven a Mondy but liked the Focus)

Good, not outstanding. There is nothing outstanding about the car.

[ajmat]

[
BMW 3 series outsells Mondeos in the UK just as the Corolla or the Octavia might outsell the Palio/Petra in India. Dont compare sales across different categories.

.[/quote]

i beg to differ here, in terms of customer segment, market research has found that the BMW 3 and other prestige brands, as well as MPV's are stealing sales from the Mondeo/ Vectra. People want more badge value and are willing to go for a BMW318 instead of a fully loaded Mondy 2 litre available at a similar price. Basically the market is fragmenting.

I don't think the Palio/ Petra buyer would be looking at a Corolla / Octavia and vice versa over here

[Steeroid]

Hey Guys

Dont know if you've noticed the BS Motoring title for their test drive of the new Sonata:

"Meet the Hyundai Accord. Driving the new Sonata" (Under the title Short Shift)

Since we featured that term here sometime in April TBHP should claim rights over that coinage...

[Sid Schumacher]

Better car...with copied looks(i guess), better interiors...much more comfy than the previous one, it will have more demand than the old car.