[aaggoswami]

As far as my knowledge goes, the 6th gear is quite high and good for highway cruising above 100 kmph. Below that in 6th gear, it not good to drive. May be they have tweaked the motor now.
Handling is the weakest link in all the reviews I had read/heard. Why just cant they sort this out. This is car has soft suspension and is good as a highway cruiser. A long 6th, soft supple suspension, space and diesel motor all contribute to this, but again it is not the complete product as lets say Honda.

One question was about GC. Is it sufficient. Cars like these have long wheelbase and even with 170mm GC, they scrap on bumps.

At the end of the day, at Rs. 15.5 lakh OTR, give or take 10-15K, this car would be a steal. Look at Laura and the cost, even Jetta for that matter. Even the Civic if we are taking VFM into account. A good family car I would say.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Handling is the weakest link in all the reviews I had read/heard. Why just cant they sort this out. This is car has soft suspension and is good as a highway cruiser.

As far as I can remember, the Sonata did not have a "soft" suspension. It is a good balance, not too soft, not too hard to be uncomfortable. In fact the Honda is soft and wafty and feels a lot lighter and ready-for-takeoff than the Hyundai.

kp talks about a light steering and that should be a problem - surprisingly this is not quite so apparent in the petrol models available abroad though I agree it could be a bit tighter.

Again, the question is - how many people that pay 16 lakhs for a car actually throw it around curves or even drive it themselves?

We cannot apply the same measurement rod to the D segment as one would use for say, a Swift Vdi or a Getz CRDi.

[sridharps]

You started off by saying that you are a dieselhead, but congrats on an unbiased report. You haven't shown mercy on the vehicle's weaker points.

The headlamps are bigger and looks a copy of Jetta. Parking lamp design is similar to an Audi but without LEDs.

got your point, but hey, I do feel that we tend to be a bit overcritical on Hyundai's tendency to copy designs. Yes, they have done plenty of it and the impression has stuck. Well, I saw a photo of an upcoming Honda hybrid launch in US and it seemed a copy of the Toyota Prius to me - but not many people talk about such things.

Originally Posted by steeroid

Again, the question is - how many people that pay 16 lakhs for a car actually throw it around curves or even drive it themselves

Excellent point. I think Kp sums it up neatly in the end - for sub-20L category, go for it if u are going to be chaffeur driven or if you are going to be largely driving within the city

[faithless_1984]

Nice review KP.
Some pics would have been great.

Would i buy this car ? NO

I need more acceleration.

Pete`s to the rescue.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

Is the steering so bad. It wont do a monaco i guess . Right KP.
It sure is a VFM package but only if Hyundai could grab Honda's customers. I dont think it will give the Accord a run for its money. Not to a large extent atleast.

The car has everything one needs OTHER THAN it being a Honda.

In a HONDA obsessed country (people bought an ugly ducking NHC (no offence to anyone) BECAUSE it was a HONDA) You may be right to say that atleast in India beating a HONDA is tough

I wish people use heads & not hearts when it comes to Embera vs Accord. The Diesel advantage will always stay.

Kudos to Hyundai for bringing around a true blue D segmenter - just hope the marketing & support matches up !!


Cheers

[kb100]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Kudos to Hyundai for bringing around a true blue D segmenter - just hope the marketing & support matches up !!

This car needs concept selling techniques! Wonder if Hyundai would be interested enough to rethink their approach...perhaps even take on some specialist outside help!

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by kpzen

The AT has a 4 speed gearbox. NVH levels were also minimum infact i'm kinda used to it now so any hyundai CRDi feels like home to me :

So does that mean that the Verna shares its AT box with the Transform?

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by Dippy

So does that mean that the Verna shares its AT box with the Transform?

Would the gearing be the same ?? I have my doubts, but a thought none the less

The petrol AT that I drove (my friend owns one since 2006), was good, as in the AT tranny delivered what it was meant too & was "fairly" smooth. Audi has spoilt my concept of smooth shifting

@kb100

Totally agree with your POV







Cheers

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Again, the question is - how many people that pay 16 lakhs for a car actually throw it around curves or even drive it themselves?

Spot on ! But there always would be some freak like us who will do that.

Originally Posted by sridharps

got your point, but hey, I do feel that we tend to be a bit overcritical on Hyundai's tendency to copy designs. Yes, they have done plenty of it and the impression has stuck. Well, I saw a photo of an upcoming Honda hybrid launch in US and it seemed a copy of the Toyota Prius to me - but not many people talk about such things.

No, i wasn't being overcritical. These Koreans are excellent copy masters and in terms of execution they are faster than any Japanese counterpart.

Originally Posted by faithless_1984

Nice review KP.
Some pics would have been great.
Pete`s to the rescue.

Still all that luxury won't give me the raw power feel which i'm loving right now.

Originally Posted by kb100

This car needs concept selling techniques! Wonder if Hyundai would be interested enough to rethink their approach...perhaps even take on some specialist outside help!

As i said before, this time around they seem to be really serious about Verna AT and Transform.

Originally Posted by Dippy

So does that mean that the Verna shares its AT box with the Transform?

Next weekend i will TD that.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

As far as I can remember, the Sonata did not have a "soft" suspension.

The Embera, especially at the rear, is tuned pretty soft. Better than the previous gen Jag-type Sonata but still, a little too soft for comfort.

In fact the Honda is soft and wafty and feels a lot lighter and ready-for-takeoff than the Hyundai.

Truly. I thought the Camry was softie-king until the new Accord came along. Its like the current Camry & Accord traded suspensions from their outgoing gens.

Again, the question is - how many people that pay 16 lakhs for a car actually throw it around curves or even drive it themselves?

Mostly enthusiasts like us!! However, even the average driver would benefit from sharp handling in an emergency manouveur.

[Ardy]

Nice review, KP.

Though Sonata would not take away Honda and Toyota customers, it still can manage a small pie of this segment especially with the CRDi. The Hyundai brand is the biggest drawback for Sonata and it has been an issue with most of the Korean cars in the west as well.

[ShyamSCrdi]

Hey,
Nice review KP can you confirm one more thing. The AT is a 5 speed right or is it 6 speed too. And hey does this Korean company have higher capacity engines?
Awaiting your next review KP

Cheers

[pras.oct25]

The size of the sonata is kind of overwhelming. I dont know how people manage to drive such enormous cars in indian conditions, and let alone manage to park it afterwards. I can imagine the kind of tension they must feel during heavy traffic. Definitely a car that needs a chauffer! Sat in the sonata that day in the showroom. Didn't dare ask for a test drive though. The interiros were refreshingly beautiful. The fit and feel of the car really felt extremely comfortable. Would have fallen asleep in the comfort of that car, on that hot day that I was there

[ShyamSCrdi]

Originally Posted by pras.oct25

The size of the sonata is kind of overwhelming. I dont know how people manage to drive such enormous cars in indian conditions, and let alone manage to park it afterwards.

Agreed, but then all these new cars are really easy self drives. I may be wrong but then i have seen many people driven really long MERCs - self drives. And those really big SUVs even.
Cheers

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by GTO

Nice review, will be great if Vid can comment on the following:

1. Ride quality? Is it bouncy or comfortable? Too soft a setting ain't great. Just ask Verna owners.

2. Turbo-lag? Are you serious that there isn't any noticeable lag?

3. Interiors : Are they deserving of a 15 lakh car.

On first impressions, and based on your review, it seems to be a steal for 15.5 lakhs OTR. Heres to hoping that Hyundai does a good job of marketing the transform.

1. Super comfortable but not like the Verna. It has gas charged shocks so it's not like a boat at all.

2. Turbo-lag reduced a lot. It's hardly noticable compared to Verna, Magnum and Passat.

3. I loved the interiors with dual zone climate control, soft dash board materials, cool blue illumination, all gadgets and fully loaded features.

ps: review coming up.