2011 Hyundai Sonata SE

• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 40 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

• prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

• Sort by: Most helpful Highest rating Lowest rating Most recent

• 9 stars

  Awesome looks, drives great...Nav and sunroof worth it!

  by Chief1996 on October 18, 2012

  Pros: Fuel economy, Nav, Sirius/XM, sunroof, IPOD connectivity, all the amenities of a luxury car with a low price tag!!!

  Cons: Blue tooth is difficult at first.

• 9 stars

  Great value. Great car.

  by Sporky944 on April 2, 2012

  Pros: Looks, build, features, MPG, interior, build quality.

  Cons: Tire noise, Steering feel.

  Summary: Best car in its class right now. Getting 40 mpg hwy if I keep it under 65. 26 city. Only needs better tires and steering feel to be perfect.

  Summary: Best car in its class right now. Getting 40 mpg hwy if I keep it under 65. 26 city. Only needs better tires and steering feel to be perfect.

• 7 stars

  Pretty good car

  by wife_mom_nurse on November 14, 2010

  Pros: design
  comfort
  what you get for the price

  Cons: quality of interior materials

  Summary: I loved this car when I first saw it, and was so excited when I saw the price! After three months it's been a pretty good car. No problems ...

  Read more

  Summary: I loved this car when I first saw it, and was so excited when I saw the price! After three months it's been a pretty good car. No problems driving at all, smooth ride, nice standard features. The only issue I have with this car, and for me it's a big issue, is the quality of the materials used inside the car. When the air conditioner/heater is turned on and changes the temperature of the plastics/materials of the dash board and center console, there are so many popping/rattling noises. I have to open and close the glove box on cold days so it will stop rattling, and the center console is constantly making noises when I turn a corner, go over bumps, slow down, or accelerate. It get's to be very annoying and I am embarrased to have people ride in the car with me because of it. Like I said, the car drives well and looks nice, but all those noises distract from the good things of the car!

  Show less

• 6 stars

  Extremely Disappointed.

  by rdmorgan on September 18, 2010

  Pros: Looks, comfort, ride, handling are all great. The car is easy on the eyes, has ample power.

  Cons: Window controls look and feel on the cheap side; bad squeak in the center console, squeak in the right front door. When the right front door is closed, something rattles inside the door. Right front passenger seat is too low.

  Summary: Last Thursday morning (09/16/2010), the torque converter on the transmission failed and I was advised by the dealership the transmission had "completely imploded" as a result.
  
  The vehicle ...

  Read more

  Summary: Last Thursday morning (09/16/2010), the torque converter on the transmission failed and I was advised by the dealership the transmission had "completely imploded" as a result.
  
  The vehicle has less than 6K miles on the odometer, I bought it May 1, 2010. It has been averaging 28 mpg in city driving and I have babied and coddled the car ever since I purchased it.
  
  I remember telling the salesman who kept going on and on about the car's looks, that "Yes, the car looks great, but is it going to RUN?" That was my primary consideration. Faddish styles come and go--and extreme styles can really get dated looking quickly. I wanted something that looked nice of course--but reliability and road manners were more important to me.
  
  Hyundai's reliability has not been the strongest in the past--but I thought with so much money put into the development of this car that I wasn't taking so much of a chance.
  
  Now I am driving a loaner while the dealership waits on the delivery of the new transmission--and who knows what the final outcome will be. I hate, really hate, the idea of a couple of mechanics taking apart everything under the hood of a brand new vehicle and putting it back together again. It probably will never be the same.
  
  My 4th car payment is due on this car next week, and with five year financing, I am going to be stuck with this car for quite a while.
  
  I am disappointed and angry this happened and I am going to be watching to see if transmission failures of this sort are going to become an established trend. If so, there ought to be some sort of class-action lawsuit filed and I'll definitely be part of that.
  
  I have to say the dealership was extremely helpful and graciously offered me the use of a free loaner vehicle while my Sonata is undergoing repairs. Service has been top-notch with them--it's too bad the Sonata I bought has developed such a flaw.

  Show less

• 4 stars

  Looks Better Than It Actually Is

  by BMXLaurier on April 9, 2010

  Pros: Low price/good warranty, fuel economy

  Cons: Weak engine, poor visibility, mediocre handling, so-so build quality

  Summary: I test-drove this new Sonata a couple of weeks ago, alongside a Chevy Malibu and a Ford Fusion. Neither Camry nor Accord were on the list of candidates as I'...

  Read more

  Summary: I test-drove this new Sonata a couple of weeks ago, alongside a Chevy Malibu and a Ford Fusion. Neither Camry nor Accord were on the list of candidates as I'd hate giving an arm and a leg for a regular family sedan, especially now that the quality ratings of the Japanese are coming crushing down. Now, these are my impressions.
  
  The exterior of the sedan looks modern and even imposing, although I must admit I'm not a big fan of the grille and also would do without the fancy fluid motion theme or whatever they call this. Fit and finish of the cabin isn't particularly good; there were also a couple of couple of build quality flaws on the exterior and some apparent cheap looking stuff under the hood. Driver's position is comfortable enough, but the rear and side visibility is seriously compromised by the high trunk lift and the slot-like windows. The rear seat is spacious enough for two adults.
  
  The new GDI four-cylinder offers good fuel economy (my estimate was around 25 mpg for mixed highway/city), but it comes at the expense of performance. Acceleration is rather sluggish, and gear changes feel surprisingly unrefined for a 6-speed automatic. The ride quality is good, but it is on a firmer side. Stopping distances are adequate for this class. The amounts of body roll and understeer are tolerable, too. Steering lacks practically any feel to it, which I believe is characteristic of most Japanese/Korean cars.
  
  The Sonata is certainly potent, but its weak engine, uninspiring handling and lackluster overall execution don't make it a winner compared to either Malibu or Fusion. It just looks better than it actually is.
  
  Updated on Apr 10, 2010

  How come I only had "American cars" on my list? Well, it's probably because most of the compact/midsize sedans available in the US are "American cars" regardless of the origin of their makers. The North American versions of the Camry, the Accord, the Altima, these have been largely designed and completely built in the US for like two decades now. The Mazda6 and Subaru's Legacy are essentially the Ford and GM products. Oh, and this Sonata was designed in California and built in Alabama. Of course, there are also European and luxury makes (which are not assembled in the US), but those were outside of my price range.
  
  The reason I didn't look at either Camry or Accord has to do with their less than stellar reviews. The last two generations of these cars have been criticized for their middling performance, design and quality issues. The last gen Altima has garnered mostly positive reviews, but Nissan is the Chrysler of Japan, there have been too many ups and downs in its recent history.

  Show less

  6 out of 16 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  New Sonata 2011

  by sonatafe on April 7, 2010

  Pros: Nice Bluetooth, NAVI, SIRI/XM w/ traffic, and overall a nice design. It will likely be the most requested rental car.

  Cons: Steering wheel has no space to hold for long drive.

  Summary: Hyundai USA site has a page that shows bluetooth capabilities for each phone. Music streeming through Bluetooth depends on the type of phone that the customer uses. Some phones work ...

  Read more

  Summary: Hyundai USA site has a page that shows bluetooth capabilities for each phone. Music streeming through Bluetooth depends on the type of phone that the customer uses. Some phones work perfect and some can't even pair. All b/o of mobile phones use different OS's.

  Show less

  2 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  2 weeks after purchase, transmission went bad

  by Really_Mad on August 9, 2010

  Pros: Hyundai USA will not give me a new car. Only 2 weeks old & sealed transmission fatally damaged by defective pump. Will not admit transmission now damaged. They tell me it's fixed..nothing wrong with it.

  Cons: Defective transmission. Hesitates intermitantly upon acceleration.

  Summary: Afraid to merge into traffic or turn left in front of traffic because it may be that moment it hesitates or no longer moves forward at all.

  Summary: Afraid to merge into traffic or turn left in front of traffic because it may be that moment it hesitates or no longer moves forward at all.

  3 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  C+, at best

  by SoxInTheCity on November 28, 2010

  Pros: Excellent gas mileage, stylish exterior

  Cons: Questionable handling (i.e. turning), poor navigation (no 3D), poor CD display (doesn't display artist name or song name, simply "TRACK 1"), no individual tire pressure gauge, no remote start, no power seat for passenger, need to purchase IPod cable!

  Summary: I work in sales so I'm always out and about. This car has given me up to 36 mpg hwy! Awesome! Everything else though (as my "cons" suggest above) ...

  Read more

  Summary: I work in sales so I'm always out and about. This car has given me up to 36 mpg hwy! Awesome! Everything else though (as my "cons" suggest above) is simply....mediocre AT BEST. I traded in my fully loaded 2010 Jeep Patriot (the lower end Jeep) for an equivalently loaded 2011 Sonata. The Sonata is MUCH more stylish inside and out but the BASICS you'd expect in the "Limited" trim (BASICS, people!) are missing! Tha navigation/radio display is so bad. How could you not have artist/song title info display when playing CDs? No power seat adjustment for the passinger, extra $30 for the IPod cable (if I knew this when I was purchasing the car they never would have gotten away with it... my new Jeep already had the cable waiting in the glove box for its new owner) Also, every time I went to put gas in my car (when I first got the Sonata) it would "top off" after 5 seconds. It was so annoying to not be able to fill my gas tank (it doesn't happen any more though). I live in Chicago so I was spoiled by Jeep's remote start in the winter...well, no remote start here! I'm so annoyed with what this car is lacking, that I'm ready to throw in the towel and get something gas mileage equivalent but TRULY "loaded". I'm no longer going to buy imposters. Honda Accord, anyone???? GMC Terrain? Either of those would do.

  Show less

  0 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 1 stars

  Bad safety foundation. Horrible family car.

  by krittmasta on February 14, 2011

  Pros: Big trunk room.

  Cons: Bad steering, bad transmission, cheap material, Sunroof only comes with Nav. No deals on Limited Edition.

  Summary: So we all know about the steering issues. But do we know about transmission issue? The fuzzy logic of ANY Korean car will destroy the transmission soon or later, first ...

  Read more

  Summary: So we all know about the steering issues. But do we know about transmission issue? The fuzzy logic of ANY Korean car will destroy the transmission soon or later, first hand getting Korean transmission fix every 2 years. GDI? You wait, there's a reason why Honda stop making GDI 15 years ago. And they made it 2.0 liter with 274 horse no turbo. Ask yourself, do you think a new company will have the experience to build a product better than genuine philosophy of building cars for several decades? This whole car failed safety test. I don't know how they passed it. This whole car is EXTREMELY GLITCHY. =__= Good thing I found this whole thing on a test drive. I own a Suzuki Forenza where Suzuki bid out their car using chevy chassis, Holden Australia GM engine, and Daewoo transmission, which has less hickup than the Sonata. I only got that car because it was out of the door 12K. Don't ask me why, I wouldn't want to buy crappy car ever again.
  
  Updated on Feb 14, 2011

  Accord, Camry, Altima, all designed in Japan, build in Japan first, then port the parts over here to build the US version.
  
  Updated on Feb 14, 2011

  I drove it. Bad steering. Extremely horrible transmission that will jeopardize you safety. I really warn you. Cheap material. Will never ever match Accord. GDI? Honda had its experience and prove that it's way less reliable if you plan to have that catalectic converter at the exhaust. I've experience transmission went ape **** on Korean cars first hand. You'll see.

  Show less

  0 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 2 stars

  new sheet metal, same junk inside

  by chaktav1 on May 15, 2010

  Pros: cheaper than competitors

  Cons: drives like crap, no character, no resale value

  Summary: i don't get it why hyundai even bothered to come up with this new gen sonata. ppl who buy sonatas aint gonna care about style or stuff... those are ...

  Read more

  Summary: i don't get it why hyundai even bothered to come up with this new gen sonata. ppl who buy sonatas aint gonna care about style or stuff... those are bargain hunters for goodness sake

  Show less

  1 out of 15 users found this user opinion helpful.

• prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

See pricing