And my rental car for the day is . . .

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

A Hyundai Sonata.

Surprisingly it is an impressive car. The 3.3 liter V6 is extremely responsive. The fit and finish is very nice. The leather seats are top notch, a very soft feeling leather. Now if the roads in Houston didn't generate so much tire noise, but then it's there with anything I've driven in Houston.

I always felt that the 02-05's provided a decent luxury look on a budget. Although some people may see it as "trying to be something it's not," I thought they were pretty nice.

What year?

I like the '02-'05 myself (as hotdimmes mentioned). I don't think they ever came with a stick though; if so it's next to impossible to find one. One of my friends had one and loved it until he totalled it making a bad left turn.

my mom got one of those during some maintenance. that thing is fast, i drove it and before i knew it i was doing 80!

Watch out for his company. They will turn into another Honda. Everyone laughed when they hit the shores but they will be laughing back at you in the short future.

Originally posted by todras:
Watch out fot his company. They will turn into another Honda. Everyone laughed when they hit the shores but they will be laughing back at you in the short future.

Agreed! Thats what my marketing prof's were saying a couple years ago and I agree!

The 2006 Sonota is pretty sweet!

Originally posted by Big Jim:
A Hyundai Sonata.

Surprisingly it is an impressive car. The 3.3 liter V6 is extremely responsive. The fit and finish is very nice. The leather seats are top notch, a very soft feeling leather. Now if the roads in Houston didn't generate so much tire noise, but then it's there with anything I've driven in Houston.

That leather is a sprayed/extruded PVC on a supported PE backing. Impressive replicant. Comes from Korea and cost's less than some vinyl.

I think the Hyundais are getting a lot better all the time, but I still question their long-term reliability. There are lot of Hyundais and Kias blowing out black smoke around here.

Mmmm.... I know multiple people with late 90's Hyundais over the 200k mark. Also, didn't they score some kind of high fit and finish award recently?

Despite being a hodge-podge of other cars, I'm still a fan of the newer Tiburon... with the way they're going, the next generation should be pretty sweet.

Originally posted by dbateman:
I think the Hyundais are getting a lot better all the time, but I still question their long-term reliability. There are lot of Hyundais and Kias blowing out black smoke around here.

That's why Hyundai offers such a long warranty. I'd definitely give the latest Sonata a long look if I were shopping for something in that market segment. It'd be tough for me to go with an Accord or Camry over the Sonata...I think the Sonata looks better than both of them.

My brother bought an '06 Sonata several months ago when his wife's Contour finally gave up the ghost (dead ATX at 125k miles). He's been very happy with it so far, and I have to say I do like the styling of both the interior and exterior. My girlfriend's '03 Accent is a different story. 40k miles and its already been in the shop to replace the master cylinder twice and slave cylinder once. If it wasn't for the professionalism of the local Hyundai dealer I think she would've sold the car already.

Originally posted by Jeb Hoge:

Originally posted by dbateman:
I think the Hyundais are getting a lot better all the time, but I still question their long-term reliability. There are lot of Hyundais and Kias blowing out black smoke around here.

That's why Hyundai offers such a long warranty. I'd definitely give the latest Sonata a long look if I were shopping for something in that market segment. It'd be tough for me to go with an Accord or Camry over the Sonata...I think the Sonata looks better than both of them.

+1

ESPECIALLY with the schnoz on the new Camry. :gag:

Funny, I do believe Hyundai is the new Plymouth.

Haha good timing...... http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=69787

We just bought a 06 Elantra 5sp. I really like that car and next year when the wife wants something bigger I will be driving it. I've owned 2 other elantras and have generally been pleased but this new version is very well made and enigneered. The 4cyl BETA II engine even has CVVT. Compared to my 98 zetec Contour outperforms in every way except hadnling. Although my contour is much older (about 250K miles) and has an ATX I have done several suspension mods.

The 06 Elantra I bought has traction control, 4 wheel discs, ABS, Side Airbags, and a sunroof for a price way below anything else equally equiped.

My ex girlfriend had a Hyundai and it was pretty impressive. Dont get me wrong its not the best but I was surprised. She later crashed the car and bought a toyota. Hey you can only go up from a hyundai.....or can you.

That's pretty funny. It would be close with the Sonata sporting 235hp. If a 200hp Tour can do 140 I bet the Sonata can do it.

My brother works in a brake/muffler/suspension shop for a long time and has seen many cars come and go, obviously. He also does side jobs working on people's cars in his home garage.

Since he's a car nut (not just some high school kid who does brakes for a living), he actually checks out the cars.

When his friend told him that he was buying a 2002 Sonota, my brother flipped because of the old reputation from 80s and early 90s Hyundais that were probably made to break soon in their life.

He gets it up on a lift to check stuff out and was very suprised in the build quality of the suspension and underbody components.

For an example, my sister had a 1995 Elantra. They somehow blew all 4 tires at the same time on the highway and went into the ditch. When the tow truck came to pull them out, they attached to a piece of the rear suspension and bent the sh*t out of it. Reminds me of the rear control arms on our cars!

On the 02 Sonota, he said the suspension parts were way thicker than any other Hyundai he saw, plus were nicely designed and looked like they could hold up for a long time.

Same thing on the brakes. Larger, better designed/built stuff than previous designs.

<==== (* was actually considering a Hyundai when shopping for the first of 3 Contiques *)

I've liked the Hyundai cars ever since about the '93 model year. They seem well built, were getting much better reliability reviews, design was better than previous models, and you just can't beat a 5 year warranty. They were plain little cars, but very worthy of a look if all you wanted was basic transportation.

I know a young lady who has owned 2 elantra models, and got 200k out of the first one before trading it for her current elantra. The new car now has 150k on it & is running strong, few problems, and what trouble she did have was minor. Additionally, the customer support/service was always good.

The dealer treated her well when she did have engine issues with the first car. I'd consider one just for the dealer support she's gotten.