Long Term Test: 2012 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T Limited post #1

When this latest generation of the Hyundai Sonata was first introduced, I was impressed by its fantastic design and the great specs on paper. Imagine my joy when my father-in-law returned from overseas and informed me that he was also very smitten with the mid-size Hyundai sedan and was interested in purchasing a top-spec Limited model with the powerful, yet frugal, 2.0-liter turbo-charged engine. In addition to the sweeping fluidic design, what caught his attention was the exceptional value for money, the high level of standard equipment, and the fuel economy numbers that would be a leaps and bounds improvement over the gas-guzzling SUV that serves as their other car.

After a brief test drive and a fair amount of research online about the price, we reached out to the local Hyundai dealer to start negotiations on an available car. The color scheme that had our attention was the rich navy blue with the gray interior and we absolutely had to have the fully loaded Limited package with the navigation system. The local dealer had one in stock, but was not willing to be agreeable on the price, so we put out feelers to all the dealers in the area to see who would be willing to go the extra mile since it was the end of the year. Finally a dealer a little ways away called while we were having lunch and said they were happy to not only meet, but even beat our asking price on exactly the car we were looking for. With a little back and forth drama, that at one point had us worried we were going to have to get a red car, the dealer ultimately delivered by doing a swap with a dealer over 100 miles away. They even went the extra mile to deliver the car to our door at almost nine o'clock in the evening. Props to the team at WIN Hyundai of El Monte for going the extra mile to deliver an exceptional customer experience.