Sonota vs Prius

[suse920]

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.

Very interesting. I'll have to look into it a bit more.

 

[marvdmartian]

Here's another way to look at it.

In 6-7 years, if the battery pack or drive motor of the Prius goes out, what do you do? Bite it on the trade-in, or spend some major $$$.

In 6-7 years, if the engine or the transmission of the Sonata goes out, what do you do? Take it down to the dealer, and get it replaced under warranty. :wub:

 

[Malak]

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..

I hope no one takes car advice from you. You do understand that Hyundai and Kia are two different companies right?

 

[Kirby]

I wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius.

 

[Vetterin]

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

So then forget them both and look at the Elantra.

 

[ShawnD1]

I hope no one takes car advice from you. You do understand that Hyundai and Kia are two different companies right?

Lies. Asian people (and their companies) are all the same.


Another thing that should be cleared up is that it's unfair to put the Prius up against the Sonata. Prius is classified as midsize but it's actually a small car. The Sonata really is a true midsize car. I'll also include the dimensions for the Hyundai Elantra station wagon, which is classified as a compact car like a Civic, Corolla, or Focus.
According to the Hyundai and Toyota websites, here are some sizes:

Length
Prius = 4460mm
Sonata = 4820
Elantra = 4485

Width
Prius = 1745mm
Sonata = 1835
Elantra = 1765

Height
Prius = 1480mm
Sonata = 1470
Elantra = 1520


You'll notice the Sonata is significantly bigger than the Prius because the Sonata is a midsize car while the Prius is a "midsize" car. The Prius is shorter, narrower, but it sticks up more. That extra vertical size gives it just barely enough interior room to be classified as a midsize car.

In another thread I posted dimensions of the Prius, Corolla, and Camry, and it turns out the Prius is much closer to the size of the Corolla than it is to the Camry even though it is the same vehicle class as the Camry. This is Toyota trickery at its finest. They get it classified as a midsize car so people then compare the price against that of a midsize car.

It's also worth noting that the performance of the Prius is much closer to a compact car than it is to a midsize car.

 

[Viper GTS]

I hope no one takes car advice from you. You do understand that Hyundai and Kia are two different companies right?

Not exactly:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Kia_Automotive_Group

Hyundai owns a majority of Kia, & they share a lot of platforms/engines/general technology.

It's not too much of a stretch to consider them to be nearly the same company particularly when you consider the vehicles like the Tucson/Sportage and Sonata/Optima (which are essentially identical).

Viper GTS

 

[ElFenix]

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.

front does look better but that weird chrome strip coming off the headlights and busy crimping/folds still make the sides look hideous.


edit: some quick drawing made it look a million times better

 

[jdwright]

I bought a 2010 prius in July and I'm pretty pleased with my purchase. It really came down to the Jetta TDI and the Prius, but since I wanted the hatchback cargo space. I actually drove the Sonata and felt like it was kinda cramped for my frame (6-2).

In all honesty, I came from a '96 Corolla and couldn't bring myself to buy a car that had worse mileage. I like being future proof. I like having flexibility with the battery and plugin kits. I like the techi-ness of the car (though it pisses me off that the stereo doesn't allow me to stream bluetooth audio with a package III stereo).

I guess my point is that some folks don't have a turbo at the top of their list of desired features and that's okay. =)

 

[ShawnD1]

I bought a 2010 prius in July and I'm pretty pleased with my purchase. It really came down to the Jetta TDI and the Prius

Interesting comparison. I was doing online window shopping yesterday and I was blown away by how expensive diesel cars are. It really is in the same category as the Prius since it's roughly 40% better fuel mileage (diesel is very dense) but the car itself is like $5k more expensive. God damn volkswagen assholes and their expensive diesel engines.


Just wait for someone to make a diesel electric hybrid. It will be something retarded like $40,000 and it will only have 100 HP :'(

 

[vi edit]

I hope no one takes car advice from you. You do understand that Hyundai and Kia are two different companies right?

It's kind of like saying that GMC and Chevrolet are different companies.

I mean yeah technically they are different names and dealers...but they have a huge overlap in shared tech...if not 99% rebadge of the same products.

 

[MotF Bane]

It's kind of like saying that GMC and Chevrolet are different companies.

I mean yeah technically they are different names and dealers...but they have a huge overlap in shared tech...if not 99% rebadge of the same products.

I recall seeing a component of the brakes for the Genesis coupe with both Hyundai and Kia stamps on it, I believe the Brembo calipers.

 

[ShawnD1]

I mean yeah technically they are different names and dealers...but they have a huge overlap in shared tech...if not 99% rebadge of the same products.

Except Kia is their budget (shit) line.
I love the predicted quality. They should just write "LOL" and it would mean the same thing
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/kia/2010/


It's probably more like Toyota vs Lexus. Lexus vehicles are strong as tanks. You can drive them into brick walls and it's ok. My Corolla is all plastic and the front end broke when I was driving in some normal size snow banks. The car is only a year old and I have no intention of fixing it :\

edit:
I broke my Honda Civic the same way. All small cars are going to break in the first year of owning them. Whoever designs them thinks there's absolutely no way snow will ever pile up higher than about 6 inches in any spot.

 

[jlee]

Interesting comparison. I was doing online window shopping yesterday and I was blown away by how expensive diesel cars are. It really is in the same category as the Prius since it's roughly 40% better fuel mileage (diesel is very dense) but the car itself is like $5k more expensive. God damn volkswagen assholes and their expensive diesel engines.


Just wait for someone to make a diesel electric hybrid. It will be something retarded like $40,000 and it will only have 100 HP :'(

And 450ft-lb

 

[mvbighead]

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.

Just had a Forte rental for about a month. While it was somewhat peppy, the ride was terrible rough. You feel every single crease in the road. Not a good ride IMO.

 

[ShawnD1]

And 450ft-lb

Diesels feel so weird to drive. Generally it's considered bad to "lug" a gasoline engine, like run it at 1000 RPM with your foot to the floor so the car shakes really hard, but that's how driving a diesel works (or that's how my uncle's diesel truck works). It's also kinda neat how it seems to idle really close to peak torque, so right off the start it accelerates like a gas engine at 4k. I'll be sure to rent a TDI next time I'm in another city

Just had a Forte rental for about a month. While it was somewhat peppy, the ride was terrible rough. You feel every single crease in the road. Not a good ride IMO.

It might intentionally be designed like that. A plain old Honda Civic feels like riding on marshmallows but the Si version is like riding with no shocks and hitting a bump actually hurts.

 

[pm]

I bought a 2010 Prius (trim II but with Bluetooth) about a month ago. They seemed motivated to move them and I paid under invoice for it, plus there's a state tax incentive as well. I paid $21850 plus taxes (including all fees) - but there's a $2100 state tax credit for it.

I generally like it. There's not a lot of road noise, the ride itself is pretty smooth, steering is a bit sloppy, braking is better than I remember it being on the previous models. Acceleration is horrible in EV or Eco mode, still bad in "regular mode" and reasonably in "power" mode. The turning radius seems excellent - much tighter than my previous Civic and way better than our other Outback. It's been fine in the snow - we got 8" over the weekend and I had no problem driving in this morning on the hardpack. The backseat is sized fine for my two children (ages 6 and 11), and we took a neighbor's kid down to Denver on Sat, and everyone was fine for the ~70 minute trip. Trunk space is good. Visibility is a bit obstructed in the back with the back bar splitting the window in two - although one benefit is that it nicely blocks headlights at night (it's just the right height for me to not actually see the headlights on most cars and some trucks. I am generally getting the advertised mileage - about 50 city/highway - although it's a lot lower on shorter trips due to the cold recently. Keyless entry is nice but takes getting used to - I still get my keys out when I walk up. The car beeps when it's backing up and that's annoying and it has a tendancy to make weird noises at weird times. I got the Blu Logic system and I love it - voice commands work, so I can tell the car to "play songs by Taylor Swift" and it starts playing.

Overall, I like the car. I'm not thrilled with how it looks and I particularly don't like the fact that owning it makes me "one of those Prius people". My wife loves the car and finds excuses to drive it around. She thinks it's wonderful. My second choice was a Jetta TDI... but it was a lot more money and VW reliability is worrying. I love diesles though - whether they make economic sense or not, I love the feel of them. I didn't even look at Kia/Hyundai - not sure why not. Mostly looked at VW's, Mazdas, Honda's and Fords... and then chose the Prius. I remember when I bought my last car, I was never sure if I made a good choice, but I haven't had those feelings of uncertainty with this new Prius. I'm very happy with it.

Here's another way to look at it.

In 6-7 years, if the battery pack or drive motor of the Prius goes out, what do you do? Bite it on the trade-in, or spend some major $$$.

The warranty on the battery pack on the 2010 Prius is 10 years or 150,000 miles. The warranty on the electric drive train is 8 years or 100,000 miles.

 

[desy]

Don't you know the only reason to buy a Prius is cause you're a hippy fvktard and they are totally without any redeeming qualities and cost half, HALF of what German cars and others do for the same primary function of moving people around?
You'll never get your money back and basically just plunged it down the toilet . . .
How do you sleep at night?

 

[ShawnD1]

How do you sleep at night?

He has the satisfaction of knowing that his wife won't idle the prius in the garage then die from carbon monoxide poisoning. Hybrid cars don't idle

 

[desy]

Watched Hot tub time machine the other night and I could smell the fumes from that TA just listening to him rev it up. Growing up in the 70's, pollution control was a low priority

 

[zerocool84]

I bought a 2010 prius in July and I'm pretty pleased with my purchase. It really came down to the Jetta TDI and the Prius, but since I wanted the hatchback cargo space. I actually drove the Sonata and felt like it was kinda cramped for my frame (6-2).

In all honesty, I came from a '96 Corolla and couldn't bring myself to buy a car that had worse mileage. I like being future proof. I like having flexibility with the battery and plugin kits. I like the techi-ness of the car (though it pisses me off that the stereo doesn't allow me to stream bluetooth audio with a package III stereo).

I guess my point is that some folks don't have a turbo at the top of their list of desired features and that's okay. =)

It's not about going fast, it's about getting more car for the money. No one gets a Prius to save money as it just doesn't do that. People get one cus it makes them feel better about driving since they are using less fossil fuels. You could get more car for your money and save more by getting a non-hybrids.

 

[pm]

It's not about going fast, it's about getting more car for the money. No one gets a Prius to save money as it just doesn't do that. People get one cus it makes them feel better about driving since they are using less fossil fuels. You could get more car for your money and save more by getting a non-hybrids.

I'm not sure if I'd say the reason that I got it was strictly because it makes me feel better about driving. I got it because I'm a geek and there's a lot of geeky stuff to a Prius - lots of graphs, and the sort of HUD that it has with the steering wheel, and the OBD-II port on a Prius is insanely cool. I like the whole electric-only driving mode because I like electricity and the idea of driving around completely in electric mode is sort of fun. Mostly I got it because I think it's technologically neat, it has a decent safety record, it had ESC and ABS, it's supposed to be pretty reliable and cheap to operate and it's about the right size for our family and it was pretty cheap to buy relatively speaking.

And it's not an insanely expensive car. Mine was around $21k - $19k after the tax incentive. In that range for mid-sized cars, there's a the Hyundai Sonata, the Kia Optima, Mazda6, Chevy Malibu, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Jetta... and a few that start to get much more expensive like the Camry and the Accord. For what you get for what you pay, a Prius is right in there with the rest of them - although a bit smaller, but better mileage.

Cars are funny things because different ones appeal - or not - to different people. I think it's all a matter of personal taste. I liked the Mazda6 (but the options that I wanted put it up around $24k), the Jetta TDI was probably my favorite to drive but reliability was worrying. I didn't look at the Optima or Sonata - not sure why... I liked the Fusion, but my wife didn't (she gets a veto), and I didn't like the Milan or Malibu at all.

 

[exdeath]

I've driven one of the 200 HP n/a Sonatas, it's a pretty neat car. I'd take it over a bare bones stripped down appliance of a Prius any day, especially if it's turbo. Turbo = 240 HP stock (?) and $150 gets you 300 HP (?)

Blow away Prius' while getting 2 mpg less.

 

[thescreensavers]

I drove the 164hp model lol, no power with 3 people and luggage, then add 5k+ feet, we went up to 14k feet it was scary lol