Long Term Test: 2012 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T Limited post #3

Third update
Current mileage: 27,476

The Sonata has continued to be bulletproof from a reliability perspective. Little more than basic oil changes and tire rotations have been required to keep the Sonata on the road. However, what continues to be a disappointment is the fuel efficiency. While Hyundai's problems with their reported EPA fuel economy are well documented, our fuel economy problems are a combination of location and excessive exuberance with the throttle. Going up hills has the car swilling fuel like a drunk at an all-you-can-drink happy hour. The Sonata's 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 motor is a gem and delivers solid performance, but at the expense of fuel efficiency. Luckily, it uses regular instead of premium, but even with gas prices falling, the need for constant fill-ups is surprising.

On whole, there is much to like about the Sonata, but also much to be disappointed with, especially given how long it has been in our fleet. In less than two years, the car has managed to rack up an impressive amount of squeaks and rattles, which would be even more audible if not for all of the road noise. Open the expansive panorama moon roof and the buffeting was so bad that I could not hear myself think. Even when everything is buttoned up properly, the body torques and flexes, generating so many strange sounds, I am beginning to wonder if something is off on the body structure. Even rental cars I have driven with many more miles do not seem to make this much racket. While initial quality and reliability has improved dramatically, Hyundai may still have a long way to go to match longevity of the Toyotas and Hondas of the world.


Click here to read post #2.