Sonota vs Prius

[suse920]

Everyone in the house now has their own licenses and cars, and the woman is looking to trade in our old highlander.

Right now shes interested in getting a new prius or sonata.
I haven't begun to do any research, but i was curious as to what you guys thought about these options.

We would most likely be looking at the prius II or IV depending on the quality of the interiors.
On the sonatas i think we would be looking at the SE trim

Shes going to be the only one driving the car, and its mostly going to be used to doing errands around town. Cargo capacity and adverse weather driving ability isn't too much of a concern as we own a jeep and f150.

Any other comparable models i should take a look at?
This is going to be her car, but right now her interest in these models is based off "oh it has a good commercial"

 

[AdamK47]

Boring vs Zzzzzzzz

 

[jlee]

The one with a turbo. Duh.

 

[MotF Bane]

The one with a turbo. Duh.

This.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Turbo Sonata, next

 

[Black2na]

how is this even a question the newer sonata's are amazing!

 

[desy]

so are the new prius
I just said prius as most of the driving will be city, its what those things are made for

 

[jlee]

Where are the other Prius voters? At least this guy had the guts to show himself!

 

[SparkyJJO]

If you care any about the environment, for real and not just externally for show, then don't get the prius.

If that doesn't matter, well, meh, not a great choice between the two IMO but I'd still not get the prius.

 

[zerocool84]

Anything but any hybrid. You'll get much more car for the money by not going hybrid.

 

[MovingTarget]

I'd go with the Sonata. It will be more fun to drive and will probably last you longer.

 

[ponyo]

Prius. I think that's the best car in the $20k range available today. I would buy it over Accord, Camry, Sonata, Civic, Fusion, etc. Decent cargo space, excellent gas mileage, reliable, and good resale value.

 

[LTC8K6]

Cruze?

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Prius. I think that's the best car in the $20k range available today. I would buy it over Accord, Camry, Sonata, Civic, Fusion, etc. Decent cargo space, excellent gas mileage, reliable, and good resale value.

lol

 

[jlee]

Prius. I think that's the best car in the $20k range available today. I would buy it over Accord, Camry, Sonata, Civic, Fusion, etc. Decent cargo space, excellent gas mileage, reliable, and good resale value.

Because its competitors are unreliable, have crappy cargo space, and terrible resale?

 

[mmntech]

Prius. I think that's the best car in the $20k range available today. I would buy it over Accord, Camry, Sonata, Civic, Fusion, etc. Decent cargo space, excellent gas mileage, reliable, and good resale value.

Except the Prius costs nearl twice as much, is under powered, has less cargo space than gas-only cars, and will have higher maintenance costs over its lifetime if the battery goes.

I don't like either of these choices really. If I was going to go with a Hyundai, I'd go for the Kia Forte or Kia Soul. Better pickup than the Sonata. You can't go wrong with the Civic, Fusion, Focus, Mazda 3 or Mazda 6 either. If you want something ultra fuel efficient, take a look at the Yaris, Fiesta, and Mini Cooper..

 

[ponyo]

Because its competitors are unreliable, have crappy cargo space, and terrible resale?

No, majority of cars today are pretty reliable. It's that I can finally accept the Prius hybrid tech as reliable now. It's been out long enough for me to not think of it as beta anymore. Accord and Camry used to be my pick as the family sedan. But that's when gas was cheap. Now I think you have to take gas prices in consideration. New Prius for low $20k is pretty good deal IMO.

 

[iGas]

My sister got a new Prius 2~3 months ago and she prefer driving her 12~13 year old Mazda mini van.

A little over a year ago I wanted a new car and I ended up with a Camry SE over that of second choice Sonata. The Sonata is a nice looking car, but to me its performance is not as nice as the Camry V6 (0-60 @ 6.2sec). However today I would take the Sonata hand down because the 2.0T 0-60 time is 6.5sec, and the exterior/interior looks nicer than Camry.

 

[zoiks]

so are the new prius
I just said prius as most of the driving will be city, its what those things are made for

Nothing amazing about a prius. Rented a new one. Plastic city inside. Ran just as good a hyundai accent would. Nothing special period. The gas consumption was great but not enough to classify the car as 'amazing'.

 

[ShawnD1]

Except the Prius costs nearl twice as much, is under powered, has less cargo space than gas-only cars, and will have higher maintenance costs over its lifetime if the battery goes.

I've compared the price of the prius a few times on this forum and it looks like it's only super expensive in Canada. US base model prius puchased in zip code 90210 (California) is $23,560 after shipping and fees. In Canada, the cheapest prius in Alberta is $31,342.50


So there's that mystery solved. Americans on the forum complain about retarded prius drivers cutting them off and driving them slow, but here in Canada I've probably seen fewer than 5 priuses in my entire life. They are less common than the Porsche 911.

 

[iGas]

I've compared the price of the prius a few times on this forum and it looks like it's only super expensive in Canada. US base model prius puchased in zip code 90210 (California) is $23,560 after shipping and fees. In Canada, the cheapest prius in Alberta is $31,342.50


So there's that mystery solved. Americans on the forum complain about retarded prius drivers cutting them off and driving them slow, but here in Canada I've probably seen fewer than 5 priuses in my entire life. They are less common than the Porsche 911.

My sis paid just over 37K CAD for her Prius with technology package ++ bumper, hood deflector, and cargo liner 2-3 months ago.

 

[suse920]

Except the Prius costs nearl twice as much, is under powered, has less cargo space than gas-only cars, and will have higher maintenance costs over its lifetime if the battery goes.

I don't like either of these choices really. If I was going to go with a Hyundai, I'd go for the Kia Forte or Kia Soul. Better pickup than the Sonata. You can't go wrong with the Civic, Fusion, Focus, Mazda 3 or Mazda 6 either. If you want something ultra fuel efficient, take a look at the Yaris, Fiesta, and Mini Cooper..

Just to be clear according to truecar the average paid for my area is $21,970 for the sonata se 2.4L and is $21,507 for the prius II.

Thanks for the input on cars. The kia forte looks great, just might be a bit on the small side.
I'm pushing to look at the fords myself. Love the new taurus and fusion.
I'm staying away from mazda based on two past experiences with rust.
I'm also going to have to take a good hard look at the accord. For some reason i didnt realize its comparable price wise.

Gonna have to have some fun and go on a few test drives soon.

 

[ShawnD1]

My sis paid just over 37K CAD for her Prius with technology package ++ bumper, hood deflector, and cargo liner 2-3 months ago.

fuuuuuuuuuu

Well, if she can pay 37k for a Prius then she probably isn't short on cash. Hopefully she likes it :thumbsup:

 

[Mermaidman]

2011 Sonata Hybrid coming out this year, but I don't know how much it'll cost. If the look of the interior is important, then the Prius is excluded because, IMO, its interior looks and feels cheap in person.

I think the Sonata hybrid looks quite good because it doesn't have the hideous snout of its non-hybrid sibling.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

2011 Sonata Hybrid coming out this year, but I don't know how much it'll cost. If the look of the interior is important, then the Prius is excluded because, IMO, its interior looks and feels cheap in person.

I think the Sonata hybrid looks quite good because it doesn't have the hideous snout of its non-hybrid sibling.

Have you seen it in person? The nonhybrid looks a lot better, this thing looks like a cheaply ripped off audi from the front.