Hey guyz!
Today i finally had a test drive of the Sonata Embera!
as i drive a Tuc, this onez for my Dad. he wants something sober looking, and he doesnt like the looks of the new Accord as its more of a "casual" look, as per his opinions.
Now, i had the test drive, and then had a testdrive of the Accord also, so here is my opinion on them...
First the Keys in my hand, well was dissapointed to see the key is seperate and the remote for unlocking/locking is seperate! Opened the door, oops, the door handle is a bit "hardish", meaning , not softy softy like these d segment cars usually are.. but still good enough. Sittin in, its WAY TOO SPACIOUS! HUGE from inside! ample of legroom and stuff, and as i usually have my seat quiet back while driving, the rear passenger still had HEAPS of legroom around. also good gap between the front two passanger seats, so the armrest is also bigger and more comfortable with the passanger keeping his arm on it, and the driver also sharing it.
Whereas with the Accord, The keys come with built in remote, which is very nice, the door handles operate smooth and softly from outside, and the interior cabin space is very less! after sitting in the Sonata, u wud feel a bit claustrophobic in this! the gap between the two front passanger seats is very less, and the centre armrest is also very small comparetively!
The starting of the car, sounds lovely, and the interiors are all excellently done up, the waistline has the wooden trim, looks like the S-Class. except the Stereo portion & the Door Handles, everything else inside the car is awesome! the Stereo looks a bit cheap, and so do the Door Handles. but they function excellent. The Aircon display panel is a bit below the centre so at times might prove difficult if u actually want to see what it shows. The sound system in the Sonata is way too good compared to the Accord, took a cd of my own for both the cars, and the sound - treble, mid & bass all were very good in the Sonata.
Wheras with the Accord, the starting of the car, sounds as if u starting a diesel car, not a petrol one! the engine vibrations are also felt clearly in the accord. my tucson being a diesel, starts better than the accord! ( Could this be some fault with the engine of the testdrive car?) and in the Accord, i should say, they have a better Dashboard layout in the sense the Stereo and Climate control screen being placed right in the centre, more clearly visible, but still, feels too cramped and too near to the driver. feels like u are too close to the dash. Regarding the Music system, its Good, but not as good as the Sonata's.
Telescopic & Tilt steering is standard, Automatic closing Door rear View Mirrors, central lock buttons on the Front passenger door too. The dash is nice and clean with sober lines, the dual color goes good, and the dash glove compartment is again Huge! bigger than my Tuc, the Accord, and all cars in its category!
Wheras, with the Accord, its the same, tilt+telescopic steering, Auto door rear view mirror closing,
Seating vise, both the cars are good, but Sonata being more spacious from inside, obviously has the upper hand, as the seats are more comfy in this one... this could be due to the comfort i have while seating with ample legroom... the Bucketing of the front seats are great.
Now about the performance:
Hats off to the Sonata's engine! as it was quoted somewhere "Skoda RS guyz beware, grandfather in sonata can outbeat u" well, this seems outrightly true with this! the moment i leave the clutch, and step on the accelerator, the car zips ahead and i get pulled back in the seats and my head goes n hits the headrest! wow! that was a thrilling experience! superb pickup, acceleration n all! and the handling was also terrific, had some fast cornerings and it handles awesome! and the ride was very comfortable, i.e the Suspensions were very good too!
Whearas with the Accord, well, it has a lot of power, thou nothing compared to the Sonata! the Accord still lacks a good 25 BHP ! the thrill that i had in the Sonata wasnt there... but then, its a different story if u get roads nowadays to even use the accord's ample pickup, forget the sonata!
the ride was good in the Accord, comfortable, no doubt, and the suspensions were similar. Handling vise, i found the Sonata way better than the Accord.
Now about the looks.... well, IMHO... the Accord does look spoty, and lacks the "luxurios elegance" looks. while the Sonata looks luxurious, elegant and semi sporty in a way. beats the accord from the rear looks, and the front, is a ditto copy of the Audi A4.
i just loved the Deep Pearl Blue color in it, the metalic shine is very good, and the blue shade, is very sexy.
Sorry guys, i missed out on comarping the Tyre Sizes, thou both are 15" alloys.
Now about the mileage! god knows! both the showroom ppl say their cars will give 9-10 in city! but Accord as i know is giving only 7-8 with full AC, in city. About the Sonata Embera, i would like to know myself, so if someone has bought it by now, please do comment.
Prices:
Accord is costing 16,80,000 on road in Hyderabad, and buggers aint giving no discounts on it. (Leather Seats are Standard)
While the Sonata comes with Fabric and Leather options, the Fabric model costing 15,45,000 and the Leather is 15,76,000.
With the Sonata, one of the dealer is having only leather model ready in stock, and he is willing to make the Insurance free for me, so that brings down the cost by 51,000!
So considering leather in both, the Accord is 1.5 Lk costlier than the Sonata Embera, which i think, 1.5 Lk paid just for the brand name!
overall, IMHO, i jus loved the Sonata Embera far more than the Accord.
One other thing... the Accord spare parts are too bloody costly! and the Sonata is comparetively lot cheaper!
This is all IMHO! so please dont start getting mad at me!