Not a winter vehicle!
I bought this car due to several promises I was made which none turned out to be true. 1. You will get the tax credits on your federal income tax refund next year. WRONG! The tax credit statute had not only expired but did not even remotely apply to this vehicle. 2. You can turn off the hybrid system and use only the gas engine. WRONG! The hybrid engine is a major part of this vehicle and must be in good working order or the whole drive system will fail. 3. You will get about 28 MPG city and 45 MPG highway. WRONG! If driven properly and according to the manual you should actually get about 35 MPG city and if you are not overloaded and pay attention to how you are driving you should get 25 - 30 MPG in the cooler months (especially winter) and 40 - 50 MPG when it is warmer (in summer when it is between 80 - 100 degrees outside). If you live in a desert or a dry part of this country, you should have awesome gas mileage. If you live near cold weather like the north-east where snow and cold are the norm for about 4 months out of the year, I would NOT buy this vehicle. This is NOT a winter driving car. The hybrid system is designed to allow the electrical drive system to continue to pull forward to keep your momentum up so you get better gas mileage. This is awesome on dry roads but a huge problem on ice and snow. You do not actually slow down when you take your foot off the gas. You must engage your brakes. On slick road conditions, this is hazardous. The ride was good on this car for about 50,000 miles. I am currently at 95,000 miles and the car rides like a horse and buggy, very stiff and jerky. The back seat is horrible. It is super hard and on a long trip, your legs tend to go numb. However, this car has far more actual passenger space than any there 4-door sedan available at the time of purchase. I took an actual measuring tape to different car dealership and checked for myself before purchasing. The driver side headrest forces you to push your head in a weird position if you use the headrest as you are supposed to. In an accident, the design will definitely guarantee a neck injury. The radio forces you to flip through Sirius XM if you hit the wrong button on the radio. Sirius XM has terrible service where I live and I didn't want it to begin with but you are forced to take it when you buy the car. It comes in the radio and you cannot get rid of it. The car does not come with a jack or spare tire. The shape of the trunk opening makes it hard to get luggage in and out of the vehicle. So far the car has only had the rear brakes changed and other standard maintenance done to it. I am holding off getting the wheel bearings and struts replaced even though the car already needs them. These items should not need replacing until about 150,000 miles. I would recommend the standard Sonata instead of the Hybrid overall.
Recommended
Verified Owner
