[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Ok... Still that space seems too small to account for more than 5 small fuse Maybe i am wrong, but sure seems like a shoddy job underneath and look at those exposed wires.

They have more than 30 in the inner fuse box. Here is the full list.

[Jaggu]

Is this from the current model? And is it behind that wire thing?

EDIT: Seems like current model.

[Vid6639]

Samu is that the manual from the indian car. Somehow I am not able to figure out how 30 fuses will fit in that small space when all we can see is wires. Perhaps for a LHD the fuse box is on left side and in RHD also it is behind the passenger glove box but the RHD has a fuse box mentioned with lesser fuses?


Going by this discussion, why am I having a feeling that one of you guys is going to make me visit a Hyundai showroom on my way back home today. :P

I still remember the Eon review for which I had to go and check the air intake to see the material it was made out of!!!

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Going by this discussion, why am I having a feeling that one of you guys is going to make me visit a Hyundai showroom on my way back home today. :P

I still remember the Eon review for which I had to go and check the air intake to see the material it was made out of!!!

Actually good idea, ie if Samurai is playing the mystery games with manuals and all.

Here is what i want to know, where are the fuses? Are they away from the image angle (as you said) OR are they behind that wire jugaad (pluck them out to access fuse).

Former is little pain, latter would be royal pain to access.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Is this from the current model? And is it behind that wire thing?

EDIT: Seems like current model.

The current model was introduced in 2009. The owner's manual I am using is 2011 copyright. So, it is current.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Samu is that the manual from the indian car.

Isn't this a worldwide model? Why will they change the location of fuses from one country to another?

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Actually good idea, ie if Samurai is playing the mystery games with manuals and all.

What mystery games? I downloaded the Sonata owner's manual while writing the review. That way I could clarify some doubts, you know how much we value accuracy in our reviews.

Anyway, I have no access to Sonata anymore. So I can't take another peek into the fuse box.

[wildon]

Lets have a closer look at the Passenger Cabin Fuse Box of Sonata Indian Version.

[Jaggu]

Super thanks Wildon. Its a royal pain then! One has to remove the connector, then the plastic plate to access the fuse Is that right?

[ghostrider]

The Sonata's certainly come a long way, hasn't it?

It's well styled, and well equipped. Gripes about one-touch up/down power windows and auto-folding mirrors are going to make absolutely no difference to the target demographic of the Sonata because it's going to be a predominantly chauffeur driven set of wheels, which is why Hyundai's not equipped the MT model with climate-controlled front seats.

To me what's going to be a HUGE issue for them is the lack of a diesel engine. A 200bhp petrol mill if going to burn a pretty big hole in the pocket especially when you look at the fuel economies of previous Sonata models (there's a user on TBHP who has a V6 Embera that gives him 2 kpl!!!). The rich didn't get rich by spending their money foolishly, and most Accord owners I know are facing issues with the fuel costs they're having to cough up. Why should a Sonata be any different?

[Omtoatom]

Originally Posted by chevelle

I agree about Verna. I am sure most sales from Diesel in verna's case. But GTO sometime back wrote that sale of i20 consists more of petrol than diesel. And from what one can see on road, it seems to be true. I will see if i can find it. It must be somewhere in monthly sales figures and analysis thread.

I second that. Drawing and speaking largely from experience (we recently welcomed the fluidic Verna 1.6 CRDi in the family and are all set to add the FL 2012 i20 1.2 Petrol), that seems to be the general drift. In fact, the diesel Verna has heavily outsold the petrol one while the gasoline i20 accounts for almost 60-65% of its total sales. Nonetheless most dealerships were quick to acknowledge that since Q4, the diesel i20 has been steadily catching up.

Chevelle, it'll be awesome if you can mine that from the monthly figures although there is no filtering/statistics on sales by fuel type.

I would also think this is largely a segment-dependent phenomenon with the B+ being a clear differentiator. As you go higher up from there, diesel variants begin to rule the roost. Down below would be petrol all the way.

[wildon]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

One has to remove the connector, then the plastic plate to access the fuse Is that right?

No need to remove the connector. only remove the plastic flap which samurai shown in the picture then you can access the fuses as well as connector plugs. But the fuse picker is located at the Engine Bay fuse compartment.

So the procedure for removing replace the fuse in passenger compartment is

1. Open the bonnet
2. Open the Engine fuse compartment box
3. Take out the Fuse picker
4. Open the Passenger compartment Fuse box
5. Remove/ replace the fuse by using the fuse picker.

[bigbadwolf]

I went and checked out the new 2012 Hyundai Sonata today at the Hyundai Motor Plaza in Lower Parel right before Phoenix Mills. I wanted to replace the family Honda Accord V6 Automatic which we've had since 3 years and which in spite of being extremely comfortable and spacious, supremely powerful and luxurious is an absolute gas guzzler and even expensive for a Sheikh to run and maintain with the current upward spiraling fuel prices.

I personally use the Mitsubishi Outlander and my mom the Nissan Sunny, hence the car is primarily for my dad to use as his city car and he prefers to drive himself which is why we got the V6 to enjoy the daily commute a lot more.

I was a bit mindful and skeptical of replacing my Honda with a Hyundai at the same price range though I loved the exterior styling and would not mind incase they offered a superior product and hence went to check it out. Sadly, as per my opinion, quite the contrary in reality.

Firstly the sales representative I fixed an appointment with to meet had left on a test drive in spite of being told I would be there exactly at the scheduled time. Secondly extremely surprised that they are selling a car in the 25 lakh premium segment and didn't even have a vehicle for a test drive and expect people to fork out the 1 lakh booking deposit without even getting a feel of the engine or sense of ride quality and handling.

I rejected the car out and out for a number of reasons:
Firstly the car is nowhere close to the Accord in terms of feel and quality, fit and finish. Everything feels a bit lower grade, like the sound and feel of the doors when you shut them are extremely light. At the end of the day I guess Korean quality finds it difficult to measure up to Japanese or German standards.

Secondly forget the Accord or the Superb even my mom's Nissan Sunny has far more rear legroom and knee-room, my Honda City easily seats 3 abreast in the rear which the Sonata would not manage successfully or comfortably. The car is esentially a 4 seater, the middle rear seat is too high and redundant, with the center tunnel being too intrusive, not only for a person like me with a 6'2" frame but even for moderate height individuals. I like the way Samurai put it in his review on Page 1 : "That luxury does come with one major compromise; the car is strictly a 4 seater. The rear bench is optimised for 2. If you put a 3rd passenger here, you might earn an enemy for life."
The driving position is also off-center, plenty knee room to the right and none to the left, where the knee constantly hits the dashboard curvature.
Hence ergonomics are not really those that inspire confidence.

Over and above I didn't get to test drive the car, though as mentioned in the official "team-bhp" review on the first page by Samurai, the engine is also not a peach to drive and the handling leaves much to be desired, he even termed the drive in the MT as "unexciting" and the AT as "downright boring", which means drive and handling also don't score too well.

Thirdly and most importantly from an Indian standpoint the car price on-road Individual for the Automatic in Mumbai is 24.3 lakhs. The Accord 2.4 Automatic and the Skoda Superb are both around 23-24 lakhs!!! For a "Hyundai" I'm NOT paying more or even as much as a Honda which anyway is a superior product. Also I don't want my dad to go from the Honda to a Hyundai, had it been a better car then maybe but now definitely not. Additionally Honda is currently offering their new Accords with touch screen DVD player/Navigation and a rear view parking camera.

These are strictly my views and in my honest opinion in spite of sleek exterior styling and svelte looks the car does not have enough going for it on all other fronts to challenge the competition especially with the petrol engine and current uncompetitive pricing. The dominance of the Honda Accord and Skoda Superb will continue to reign in the premium saloon segment.

[Omtoatom]

Mod Note : As per the recent mass PM, please do NOT use acronyms when referring to cars. You are ONLY permitted to use the full Make & Model name. Any further usage of acronyms will invite severe Moderator action on your account. Thanks

You've almost echoed my thoughts to the T Bigbadwolf. I looked up the Sonata myself yesterday and gotta say, came away disappointed. I was a little lucky in managing to extract a shortish TD and wasn't impressed by the ride at all. Just doesn't feel premium. This one's clearly for being chauffered around, not to be behind the wheel. For that I'd pick the Superb any day of the week. I had a lot of expectations from this car and although HMIL has loaded her to the gills, you still feel shortchanged because Hyundai has skimped on the build quality and the fit and finish. Not worthy of a 23L car. It's almost ditto the fluidic Verna - big on features, low on ride quality and high speed handling. The 160 horses of the Superb feel much more engaging than the near 200 of the Sonata. Boo!

Samurai in his offical T-BHP review has captured the gist perfectly when he says (verbatim): "the rear bench is optimised for 2. If you put a 3rd passenger here, you might earn an enemy for life."

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Omtoatom

It's almost ditto the fluidic Verna - big on features, low on ride quality and high speed handling.

Are you sure about the ride quality? In our 250km long drive, I couldn't find any fault with the ride comfort. I sat in practically every seat during the drive.

[VW2010]

In our 250km long drive, I couldn't find any fault with the ride comfort.

Could it be a(your view) absolute view on the car while others are presenting a comparative view where they have felt better in other cars.

Many of us end up comparing any new car with everything we have driven or even sat in and end up making a judgement call.

Ride quality on Sonata as an absolute review may be good but on comparison it may fail is what i feel.
My two cents.

[Omtoatom]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Are you sure about the ride quality? In our 250km long drive, I couldn't find any fault with the ride comfort. I sat in practically every seat during the drive.

@Samurai: I'm reasonably sure the ride quality wasn't superlative by any stretch of imagination, although I gotta say, mine is a relative observation and not an absolute one. Also it's quite possible that the car I drove had more than ideal tire pressure (which tends to happen with test cars) and that might have directly compromised the ride comfort. Besides I drove on a bumpy stretch of road specifically to test that aspect of the car out. So there you go...