[chevelle]

Awesome review and hats off to all mods for consistently maintaining the quality and quantity of the review and at times surpassing it like this one.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Hyundai must learn from their lesser variants. The i20 and the Fluidic Verna are known for their brilliant diesel engines. Look at the numbers it has managed, as opposed to the numbers that the petrol variant has.

If i am not wrong, most sales of i20 is 1.2 petrol rather than diesel because of its high price. No doubt the diesel is very good but 1.2 petrol sells more. This shows that general public will accept a car even if its petrol, does good numbers monthly and still comes from a Hyundai. Hope sonata follows that trend. Otherwise, 6 months down the lane, Hyundai may launch a diesel version if sales are not good.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by chevelle

If i am not wrong, most sales of i20 is 1.2 petrol rather than diesel because of its high price. No doubt the diesel is very good but 1.2 petrol sells more. This shows that general public will accept a car even if its petrol, does good numbers monthly and still comes from a Hyundai. Hope sonata follows that trend. Otherwise, 6 months down the lane, Hyundai may launch a diesel version if sales are not good.

Are you sure? I was told by a reliable source that the i20's sales largely constitutes of the diesel. Ditto the Verna. I have seen maybe one or two petrol Vernas. the rest of them are all diesels.

The 1.2 Kappa in the i20 is good. But it isn't as refined as it should be, and drinks fuel a whole lot more than the other 1.2s out there.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by arjab

Is this is a tow hook or a lashing hook??
This looks like a lashing hook (to keep the vehicle tied down when it is under transportation).

Even I was confused at first, but I feel it is tow hook considering the depression right above the hook. A tow shackle should be able connect to it. I could be wrong though. I didn't see any other hook.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

I fail to understand the Affinity to Diesels in the D2 segment. Even when you consider Resale value, still the Petrols make tremendous sense for people with low running.

As a petrol SUV owner I can understand that point of view.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Secondly, if we consider a Skoda Superb which, by the way, is waay less powerful (on paper) than the Sonata, The price difference between the manual Petrol and the AT Diesel(Since there is no MT in Diesel) is > 5 Lac! A 5 Lac difference in OTR prices is equivalent to a EMI difference of over 10k! Even if the Petrol Superb owner spends Rs. 9/10 per km, and the Diesel Superb owner spends Rs. 4/5 per km, the 10k Difference in EMI can be covered only if the car is driven over 2.2k km/month!

Think on these lines and the 2012 Sonata Suddenly makes a lot of sense.

Going by the same logic, won't Kizashi make even more sense than Sonata? Kizashi has almost all the feature of Sonata. The Suzuki horses are more real than Hyundai horses, and it handles better. The interiors look better than Sonata. The Kizashi MT is 2L cheaper and Kizashi AT is 3L cheaper. I did test drive the Kizashi a year back, not this extensively, but I remember having similar impression as the Sonata.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2310035

Anybody who seriously considers the Sonata, should definitely compare it against Kizashi.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Are you sure? I was told by a reliable source that the i20's sales largely constitutes of the diesel. Ditto the Verna. I have seen maybe one or two petrol Vernas. the rest of them are all diesels.

The 1.2 Kappa in the i20 is good. But it isn't as refined as it should be, and drinks fuel a whole lot more than the other 1.2s out there.

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.

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Going by the same logic, won't Kizashi make even more sense than Sonata? Kizashi has almost all the feature of Sonata. The Suzuki horses are more real than Hyundai horses, and it handles better. The interiors look better than Sonata. The Kizashi MT is 2L cheaper and Kizashi AT is 3L cheaper. I did test drive the Kizashi a year back, not this extensively, but I remember having similar impression as the Sonata.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2310035

Anybody who seriously considers the Sonata, should definitely compare it against Kizashi.

Quite Ironically, Kizashi, the only one in the segment with the USP being "Drivers' Car" does the worst in the monthly sales charts. This is probably because a buyer from this segment is probably looking for a different kind of "Driver's Car". What this also shows clearly is how literally small this "enthusiasts" community of ours is compared to the entire car buying population.

There are many reasons why the Kizashi Doesn't do very well and that is topic for another thread. But just looking and comparing pictures of interiors from

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2255395

with

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post2711684

All I could say looking at Kizashi interiors was 'Yuck'. Seriously these 2 cars are not from the same segment as far as interiors and rear seat space are concerned. (No offends to Kizashi owners *if any* . We all know it is a brilliant car to drive).

So, finally, for the self driven, Kizashi it is. But for the rear seat preferring seth, Sonata is a better bet. If you have no affinity towards a Sunroof, it is a better bet than even the segment topper, the Superb Petrol.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Going by the same logic, won't Kizashi make even more sense than Sonata? Kizashi has almost all the feature of Sonata. The Suzuki horses are more real than Hyundai horses, and it handles better. The interiors look better than Sonata. The Kizashi MT is 2L cheaper and Kizashi AT is 3L cheaper. I did test drive the Kizashi a year back, not this extensively, but I remember having similar impression as the Sonata.

Anybody who seriously considers the Sonata, should definitely compare it against Kizashi.

Very true. But I guess the problem with Kizashi is the positioning. Size-wise it looks closer to the C+ segment (Jetta, Corolla etc.), but Suzuki thinks (and have priced) it in the D-segment, and compete with the likes of Passat and Accord.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

All I could say looking at Kizashi interiors was 'Yuck'. Seriously these 2 cars are not from the same segment as far as interiors and rear seat space are concerned.

You are judging the photograph or have you sat inside both cars? If it is the former, I suggest you see and compare in person. Kizashi dashboard is cleaner design, with large buttons.

[SmartCat]

Technically, going by the length of the car, Kizashi belongs to a segment that is lower than the Sonata. It belongs to Laura/Civic/Jetta/Elantra (4.6 metres) class rather than the Accord /Superb/Sonata/Passat (4.8 plus metres) class. Being a CBU and loaded with equipment to the gills, it is priced close to the Sonata though.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

There are many reasons why the Kizashi Doesn't do very well and that is topic for another thread. But just looking and comparing pictures of interiors from

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2255395

with

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post2711684

All I could say looking at Kizashi interiors was 'Yuck'.

hehe! The difference is probably because of better camera (and to some extent, better photography skills) put to work in the Sonata review.

[rrsteer]

I will be going against the general trend when I say I don't like the design.
There is something about this 'fluidic design' which strikes you early on but you get tired of it very very soon.

Ex: The verna when launched looked great, but now I don't like it at all. Its just not pleasing

Similarly the old CLS even to this date looks alluring. But since the time the new Sonata (inspired by CLS) has been unveiled, I have steadily grown to dislike it.

[Durango Dude]

Got this mail from HMP, Chennai. These are OTR prices of the new Sonata in Chennai. I think buyers wouldn't be in a tearing hurry to book, if it fails one will be saddled with a depreciation disaster, just like the previous Hyundai D-segmenters. Car looks like a million bucks but will it crack the segment, here in India, just as it did in the U.S? Remains to be seen. May be "hit ya miss", without a strong diesel engine. Plonking the Santa Fe's diesel into the Sonata shouldn't be all that challenging.

[LP640]

[quote=arjab;2723551]Very nice and crisp review. The views on handling are spot on. Had the opportunity to drive a test drive vehicle and my experience echoes your's.

Rear tow hook is located centrally, under the car:


Is this is a tow hook or a lashing hook??
This looks like a lashing hook (to keep the vehicle tied down when it is under transportation).

By the way i have the same hook/eye in the same location on my 2005 Elantra! As i know, my car was from the very first lot, in which some parts were from korea. My be the the later Sonatas, when they are 100% made in India will not have it. Dont know about the later eg 2007 Elantras though. Also i dont know what it is used for! May be for attaching caravan in other countries. Never seen anyone using this hook in India!

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by arjab

Is this is a tow hook or a lashing hook??

Had a look at the Sonata Brochure. This is indeed a towing hook. The two lashing hooks or tie-down hooks are located below the rear doors.

[Caramelo]

aaah they launched it finally,

i agree 100% with GTO on autoboxes and foot thumping indian driving style!

OTR 25 lacs in chennai, tell me whats the price in bangy so that i can faint without any hesitation.

ventilated cool seats is a better feature than a sunroof imho, what say people?

i think they didn't launch the diesel, because who would buy the santa fe then, haha. just a hunch.

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Are you sure? I was told by a reliable source that the i20's sales largely constitutes of the diesel. Ditto the Verna. I have seen maybe one or two petrol Vernas. the rest of them are all diesels.

The 1.2 Kappa in the i20 is good. But it isn't as refined as it should be, and drinks fuel a whole lot more than the other 1.2s out there.

Initially when the diesel was launched, the ratio of diesel to petrol was something like 20:80. That was because there were only 2 diesel variants (magna & asta) and were priced high. Then hyundai brought in more variants (era, sportz) and the diesel variant sales rose.

[blackasta]

Great review (which has now become a TBHP norm) for a looker of a car. I see (guess I notice them more for their design) more new Sonatas on US roads than new Accords. Also - it is the best selling Hyundai here followed by the new fluidic elantra.
Got to sit inside one a while back - it is a pretty large car! never driven one so cannot comment on that.
Also - isn't GDI supposed to be more fuel efficient than MPFI engines? Gasoline direct injection - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia