I just bought a Sonata Hybrid this weekend, Red one with the premium package. Hadn't intended to get the premium, but She Who Must Not Be Angered wanted a red one. The only red close to us one was 2 hours away, and it had the premium package. I was leery of the price ($34k after taxes, tag, other crap), but we live really simply so wife (and money person) told me we could afford it. So there it is. We got 40.8mpg on the trip home form the dealer, in hilly terrain the whole way averaging 60mph not counting a brief run at 70mph for testing purposes. The transmission is good although the computer was a little confused in the hills. Nothing that affected the ride apart from the occasional shift when I would've let it ride. But then, this is my first hybrid and I'm not fully used to it yet. I will be logging mileage of course and working to get my mileage better
The A/C is wonderful, no complaints about the steering or braking. The turning radius is ungodly small. It almost pivots on its rear wheels. The backup assist camera is very good, the resolution is good enough to count the trees on the other side of the field across from the house. The little 'parking assist' lines on the monitor are also useful and make backing up in small parking spots easier. The dual-pane sunroof that came with the premium package is not really something I use (as I leave the shades shut to minimize A/C use), but I get no noise from it while I'm driving. The nav system and bluetooth connection for the phone are functional and good use of technology. I admit I've not fully explored all the nav system functions, but it lays out reasonably good courses. I find the voice to be as intrusive as my Garmin StreetPilot III, so I tend to turn it off. The leather seats (2 heat settings) are more comfortable than the Avalon's were when it was new. Driver side gets power seat, passenger must use their muscles more, ah, well. Each door has a cup holder. The back seats get their own vents from the back of the center console; I thought it was a nice touch, but then my old car was 12 years old and didn't have a lot of fanciness. The center console has a shallow area under the arm rest, and then a MUCH deeper one under that. Not sure why they did it, but it's workable. I keep the registration and insurance in the shallow part. The lower bin is big enough to hold two 6V12AH Powersonic batteries side by side. Bought two while we were in the big city
The center console also has 2 12V outlets, a USB port, and the aux audio input for the radio. The radio has a CD player, HD FM & AM, and XM which comes with a 3 month trial. Thus far I've enjoyed it as it's hard to get classical music in rural Georgia
I looked under the hood, and it was exquisite, but I saw nothing that I'm feeling the urge to take apart or modify
Sorry to be so wordy, but I didn't see any other first impression posts. Note to potential buyers, the red color is even better looking in person than in the pics online. The black color was oddly not what i'd hoped it would be. The silver is quite nice, though, definately worth considering.
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