- The 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid will start at $26,545, including a $750 destination charge.
- The uplevel Sonata Hybrid with a premium package starts at $31,545, including shipping.
- The Sonata Hybrid arrives in showrooms in January.
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, California — The 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid will start at $26,545, including a $750 destination charge, when it arrives in showrooms in January. The Korean hybrid undercuts the 2011 Toyota Camry Hybrid by $790 and the 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid by $2,445.
The uplevel Sonata Hybrid with a premium package starts at $31,545, including shipping.
The Korean automaker is clearly targeting the Toyota Camry Hybrid — its closest foreign competitor in the midsize sedan segment — with its pricing strategy. The Camry Hybrid starts at $27,335, including a $760 destination charge. The Sonata Hybrid also undercuts the Fusion Hybrid, which starts at $28,990, including a $750 destination charge.
The base Sonata Hybrid gets the 2.4-liter four-cylinder hybrid engine linked to a six-speed automatic transmission. Features include 16-inch alloy wheels, chrome exterior trim, remote keyless entry, dual automatic temperature control, tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, and Bluetooth. The uplevel Sonata Hybrid adds such features as a panoramic sunroof, 17-inch alloy wheels, a navigation system, a rear back-up camera and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob.
Inside Line says: Hyundai adopts an aggressive pricing strategy with the Sonata Hybrid. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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r_l_r says:
05:20 PM, 07/01/2011
I own a Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and have driven it for over 1000 miles. The car is quiet. The ride is a good balance of absorbing bumps well while maintaining excellent control, cornering and road contact. I have not experiences any issues with the automatic transmission. On the highway the ability to manually shift gears is a plus for passing. I pay attention to the instaneous MPG indicator. I get 40+ MPG in the city and 45+ during extended highway driving. Overall for city driving I recently averaged 40.6 MPG on a tank of gas. The standard features that I like are 1) Bluetooth that enables me to make and receive phone calls without removing my hands from the steering wheel or my eyes from the road, 2) keyless entry and push button ignition - a difference with the hybrid keyless is that the presence of a fab by the car permits one to open doors/trunk and start the car without taking the control unit from your pocket and 3) the comfort of the seats. The rear seat permits 3 car/booster seats - which may be important for a parent/grandparent.
I had to choose among the Sonata, Fusion and Camry hybrids. What convinced me to choose the Sonata hybrid were the following: 1) leg room and general roominess was best for the Sonata, 2) the crash rating of the Sonata was excellent (Toyota Camry did not do well for 2011), and 3) appearance of the Sonata.
phoenixc says:
02:30 AM, 12/18/2010
@dg0472
Thanks for the clarifier, you get the jist all the same; and I'm happy to update my facts in this regard.
All the best.
PC
qdp says:
04:14 PM, 12/17/2010
What a joke!
Camry has been perannial best seller and the king of hybrid cars for more than decade, while Sonata hybrid has to be proven yet.
dagmar3 says:
08:07 AM, 12/17/2010
Wait a minute - does that tax bill that the President is signing today renew the hybrid credits for another year? Or was that taken out at the last minute? I've seen conflicting stories on the web today about the hybrid tax credit situation. My previous post may not apply.
dagmar3 says:
07:42 AM, 12/17/2010
How come there is no mention of the $1,300 Tax Credit for the Hyundai hybrid? That makes the price difference $3,700 vs. the Focus and over $2,000 vs. the Camry Hybrid.
Compared to the Fusion, buying the Hyundai is like getting 40,000 miles of free gas.
dg0472 says:
05:46 AM, 12/17/2010
@phoenixc
Hyundai never built Fiestas. They built Cortinas, but only for Korea. And it was Kia that made the Aspire and Festiva, prior to their purchase by Hyundai.
@soakee
That's YOUR opinion. The marketplace obviously doesn't concur. And in the grand scheme of things, your opinion really only matters a tiny fraction of one percent.
soakee says:
05:11 AM, 12/17/2010
The Sonata undercuts the Camry by $790??? While the Camry may be an appliance, the Sonata is still only a Hyundai. As such, it should undercut the Camry by WAYYYYYY more than $790. The desire to own a Hyundai is a lot like eating frog legs or oxtail soup; it may taste great, but it's impossible for me to choke it down while know where it came from.
carlos20 says:
04:42 AM, 12/17/2010
If hyundai is so confident about his cars, his quality, his customer loyalty, why Hyundai dont
sell his cars at Toyota and Honda price level. How about the Sonata more expensive than Accords
and Camrys.
phoenixc says:
03:13 AM, 12/17/2010
Haha! People who pretend that Hyudai isn't a proven game in the car biz are morons. Really! The fact is that Hyundai has been the 2nd largest car maker in Korea for more than 35 years. They in fact build the Ford (original) Fiesta, Festiva, and Aspire. They have a heavy industry background which is why they stuck with steel engine blocks for way too long. Today, they can bank on the fact that some losers will side with Toyota for brand name alone. Meanwhile they are getting the attention of gearheads like me who read the numbers, study the data, and discover that while Toyota resting on it's (Old GM) laurels, they are innovating at a rapid pace. See: direct injection, variable cam timing on intake AND exhaust, ditchin' a V6 and lowering unsprung weight for a smart 4-Cyl. The reality is that while the 'name brand bitches' were getting fat at the trough of good will, this 'little' Korean company was doing their homework and making strides. Mark my words, and I own a 2008 Ford Fusion SEL, my kids will be talking about how they want a new 2015 Hyundai Sonata as their first car. Easily forgetting the Camry or Corolla ever existed. Meanwhile VW is chasing the wrong target is making their VW Jetta lame in an attempt to be the next Corolla; they should've been targeting the new Elantra. Sheesh!
calspecial68 says:
10:40 PM, 12/16/2010
@ jscion: So uh, I guess the Fusion winning COTY for 2010, the Volt winning for 2011, and the Ram Heavy Duty won TOTY for 2011 means nothing to you. Okay, cool. By the way, these aren't the only awards these cars are winning.
People need to recognize that the American auto companies are acutally trying nowadays, but I digress. In any case, Hyundai is doing an outstanding job of making competent cars. From a design standpoint, I cannot look at them. But at an engineering and technical stanpoint, they just shock and awe me, especially for the price.