2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Reviews

2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

The 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. Starting at about $26,000, the Sonata Hybrid costs less than the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, and Nissan Altima Hybrid.

The Sonata has a lower coefficient of drag than its competition, at 0.25 Cd versus the Camry Hybrids 0.27 Cd and the Fusion Hybrids 0.33 Cd.



Inside, all Sonata Hybrids get a digital readout between twin analog gauges that shows hybrid performance and trip computer information. Mileage is rated at 35/40 mpg city/highway, which outdoes the 2011 Camry Hybrids 31/35 mpg rating and bests the Fusion Hybrid in highway mileage; the Ford is rated 41/36 mpg.



The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has 10.7 cubic feet of trunk space, while the base four-cylinder model has 16.4 cubic feet. The Sonata Hybrids six-speed automatic transmission is also a hybrid first. Hybrids typically use continuously variable automatic transmissions to maximize fuel efficiency. When the Sonata Hybrid isnt in that fuel-sipping mode, shifts are crisp and acceleration is strong. Before hybrid buyers scoff at these seemingly low figures, Ill say that these numbers should be considered the bottom of the Sonata Hybrids mileage spectrum.



That year’s Hyundai Sonata automatic managed fuel economy ratings of only 19/27 MPG from the EPA (2008+ system), well below the 21/31 achieved by the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The 2011 Sonata does far better: 22/35. But the glory, of course, goes to hybrids, and so the Sonata will soon be available in hybrid form. Is Toyota’s hybrid leadership in danger?



By arriving late to the hybrid party, Hyundai had ample opportunity to learn from others’ failures. The Sonata Hybrid’s engine also receives one substantial modification. By declutching the engine, the Sonata Hybrid can (allegedly) cruise up to 62 MPH on electric power alone.

Partly as a result the Sonata Hybrid weighs only 3,457 pounds, over 200 less than the Camry and Fusion. Fuel economy. When the 274-horsepower Sonata 2.0T achieved the same. Drive the Sonata Hybrid aggressively, and suburban fuel economy falls below 20. A Ford Fusion Hybrid still managed 27 when subjected to my lead foot.



Taken by itself, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is a very good, even excellent car. Pricing for the Hybrid hasn’t yet been announced.

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Hypermiling Hyundai Sonata Hybrid crosses America in under two tanks

You’ve got to hand it to Wayne Gerdes. He knows how to go the distance in production passenger cars on very little gasoline. In April of 2009, he worked with a team to go 1,445 miles in a Ford Fusion Hybrid on a single tank of gas*. In June of 2010, he went 1,065 miles in a non-hybrid 2011 Hyundai Sonata. His most recent trip was in a Sonata Hybrid, which he drove 2,269.3 miles from San Diego, CA to Jekyll Island, GA on less than two tanks of fuel – a claimed average of 59.58 miles per gallon.

That’s mighty impressive, but for those of us who have been following Gerdes’ recent hypermiling drives, the obvious question is, why was he able to get 66.285 mpg in the regular, gas-powered non-turbo Sonata when the hybrid “only” got 59.59 mpg? (and Fusion Hybrid managed 81.5 mpg.) In part, this can be explained because the trip in the regular Sonata took place in the summer from Chicago to New York, while the hybrid ride was a winter time trek through the mountains – and it was over twice the distance.

In any case, Gerdes has once again showed that it’s quite possible to handily beat the fuel efficiency ratings on a car’s window sticker. In this case, the EPA thinks you will get 40 mpg on the highway, but clearly a lot is left on the table for those whose sole goal is to eke out every last drop of gas.

Just as importantly, we’re not sure if Gerdes and his compatriots employed some of the more radical and dangerous hypermiling staples (drafting semi trucks for lower drag, etc.), but we’ve got a call in to Wayne to learn more about his techniques. In any case, a short video of the Sonata’s mpg display after the first tank is available after the jump.

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2012 New Sonata Sedan Surprise from Hyundai

This car began as a concept car at Hyundai Russelsheim Design Studio in Germany that brought the concept of fluidic sculpture. With a completeness that pampers passengers as Engine Start Button, 3D Onboard Computer and Paddle Shifter for up and drop off gear with the touch of a finger and Organ-Type Acceleration Pedal, Sonata will certainly offer something different.

While in the machine, stored energy 2.4-liter, with Theta MPI Engine which is then combined with shiftronic six-speed automatic transmission.

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Novo Hyundai Sonata Tunado e Rebaixado

Hyundai Sonata Tuning

Aqui está uma tentativa de construir algum hype em torno do novo Hyundai Sonata 2011 que vem com um motor turbo 2.0 de estoque da fábrica. Hyundai uniram-se com passeios e 0-60 revista para personalizar o salão de 274 cavalos de potência para o SEMA show de carros próximos. Acontece em Las Vegas em novembro, ea empresa sul-coreana tuning não teve problemas em admitir que os carros tune-up foi inspirado pela Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari e modelos. NoSEMA Show, a Hyundai diz que as modificações de estilo exterior será "modesto e de bom gosto", enquanto apenas teaser esta foto foi liberada até agora.

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Hyundai Sonata edges Volt in Autoblog’s informal Car of the Year poll

The finalists for this year’s North American Car and Truck of the Year awards may have been no big surprise, but the vehicle that our readers think will win Car of the Year honors came as something of a shock.

The NACTOY judges have picked the Chevrolet Volt, Hyundai Sonata and Nissan Leaf as finalists for Car of the Year. While the Leaf saw a little bit of love with 2,820 votes in our unofficial poll, as well as being named European Car of the Year, the final tally came down to a bare-knuckled fight between the Volt and Sonata. Surprisingly, the Hyundai eked out a win with 8,058 votes and 42.7-percent of the total votes cast, which just barely bested the 7,985 votes cast for the Volt and its 42.3 percent of the total vote.

That’s not a huge margin of victory by any means (a statistical dead heat, as they say), but considering that the Volt has whirred away with honors like the Green Car of the Year, Automobile Magazine‘s Automobile of the Year and Motor Trend‘s Car of the Year awards, we fully expected the Bowtiie to handily walk away with our impromptu poll.

We were pretty smitten with both the 2.0T and the hybrid variants of the Sonata when we hopped behind their wheels earlier this year, and buyers have been no less taken with the base model. The 2011 Sonata has enjoyed a huge year in terms of sales with 183,102 units sold by early December, a year-over-year increase of 65 percent.

Meanwhile, the 2011 Ford Explorer handily beat the 2011 Dodge Durango and 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee in our informal North American Truck of the Year poll. You can check out the results from both surveys here, and the stay tuned for when the real winners are announced at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show in early January.

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