Sonata And Camry Shootout: Have Hyundai's Risks Paid Off, Or Simply Fallen Short?

Sonata And Camry Shootout: Have Hyundai's Risks Paid Off, Or Simply Fallen Short?
Driving enthusiasts love to hate the Toyota Camry. Yet, despite the company’s current troubles, it remains the best-selling car in the United States. Hyundai would love to steal the crown, or at least tens of thousands of customers. So it recently launched a totally redesigned 2011 Sonata and will be advertising it heavily. Should Toyota be concerned?

Both the young (my kids) and the old (my parents) were captivated by the beauty of the Camry. Not the sheetmetal, mind you. They probably didn’t notice the shape of the car. The bulbous exterior was a great leap forward for a Camry four years ago—engineers might have designed the previous generation sedan—but at this point it is a generation behind current automotive fashion. The good angles it does possess (not the front view even with this year’s redesigned grille) have been overexposed through its omnipresence. And the XLE’s small, multispoked alloys don’t flatter the car—the SE looks considerably better. Rather, my family was captivated by the paint, a highly metallic dark green.




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tattedtwicetattedtwice - 4/21/2010 4:23:52 PM
+8 Boost
The Sonata is infinitely better, as are all other family sedans on the road, but its sales will remain a drop in the bucket compared to that other sedan, simply because the thoughtless, brainless lemmings will keep it on top.


4ron4ron - 4/21/2010 4:32:38 PM
+7 Boost
The Sonata wins on all counts ... and foremost in value.


u080570u080570 - 4/22/2010 7:22:31 AM
+3 Boost
Camry a better value - bwahahah...

Look at the content of a base Camry vs a base Sonata - does the Camry even have wheels at that price...


JUGNUJUGNU - 4/21/2010 4:59:37 PM
0 Boost
I will take new Sonata over Camry. I agree it is better in every way.
New camry will have to be very good to beat Sonata. But i think the competition which Hyindai/Kia is giving to Toyota will only improve future Toyota models so it is good in a sense that Camry is beaten.

JUGNU


LexSucksLexSucks - 4/21/2010 6:12:56 PM
+7 Boost
Toyota is getting crapped on by Hyundai. LOL!
That's what Toyota get for building boring, crappy appliances.



LexSucksLexSucks - 4/22/2010 10:16:29 AM
+3 Boost
Badgewhore,

Yes I have driven a Camry V6. And it was awful. The Steering was numb and felt like someone shot Novocain down the steering column. The suspension wallowed and was uncomposed even during the slightest attempt of spirited driving. The brakes are awful, the ABS kicked in and I wasn't even braking hard! You could probably blame that on the cheap tires that they use that offer little grip.

Long story short; I had the Camry as a loaner car while my BMW was getting serviced (no surprise there). I had the option of keeping the Camry over the weekend, or rusing down to the dealer before it closed in 10 minutes to get my car back. Even though the Camry was faster than my car (and 7 years newer), I rushed to the BMW dealer to get my car back. Given a choice between having a brand new Camry for the weekend, or a 7 year old BMW 330i, I picked the BMW without a second thought.

Camry are boring appliances designed for people who couldn’t care less about any type of spited driving. Read: BORING Appliances!!!!!!!


LexSucksLexSucks - 4/22/2010 10:39:10 AM
-2 Boost
Oh yeah Badgwhore, I own an EVO X. Which Completely destroys the Camry. Send me a personal Message and I'll provide more info. LOL!!!


LexSucksLexSucks - 4/22/2010 11:38:45 AM
0 Boost
Invisible,

At the time my BMW was 7 years old and had about 90,000 miles on the ODO. Compared to a Brand-new Camry? I'd say that a 7 year old BMW 330i is about a 1/4 the cost of a new Camry. My BMW was worth about $7,000 at the time while the Carmy was brand new. What point were you trying to make again?


LexSucksLexSucks - 4/22/2010 12:07:38 PM
-1 Boost
You are Correct, I did compare an overpriced, wore out, compact luxury sports sedan to a new midsized family sedan. Guess what. The overpriced, wore out, compact luxury sports sedan was better (even when it came to comfort).

And your Z4 truck anology is completly retarded and doesn't apply. I'm comparing 2 similarly sized 4 door sedans, and you are equating that to comparing a small 2-door convertible against a Truck? LOL!!!


raikkonenraikkonen - 4/22/2010 9:38:45 AM
+2 Boost
Huu...obviously, reading comprehension isn't your strength. The whole points of the article was to show how different each car's strengths/weaknesses are.

Open your Japanese eyes dude. Oh wait...are they already open?

Why would anyone want to be Japanese? Short, not well-endowed? You give your race too much credit.




LexSucksLexSucks - 4/22/2010 10:34:11 AM
+1 Boost
raikkonen,

C'mon man!!! What's the deal with the personal attack? It's wrong and it isn't cool. We're here to talk about cars, not insult each other.

Can't blame you though. Especaily after huu76 blurted out this bit of nationalistic BS, "They can try all they want, but they'll still never be Japanese". The 2 countries do have a history though.



uaw_laxuaw_lax - 4/21/2010 8:09:31 PM
+1 Boost
The Camry is not much of a car to start with.


mplsmpls - 4/21/2010 8:19:44 PM
+6 Boost
haha .. you can see that Hyundai is ripping off Toyota styling, there's a bit of Honda in there too..


0to600to60 - 4/21/2010 9:03:36 PM
+1 Boost
They will likely have similar resale now...


mggraymggray - 4/23/2010 12:58:29 AM
-1 Boost
Badgewhore, check your facts. According to ALG.com (Automotive Lease Guide, the go-to source for resale values), Hyundai models list in the 4, 3, and 2 star categories, alongside offerings from Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Chevy, MB, BMW, and Audi.
https://www.alg.com/DepreciationRatings

In fact, the top headline on ALG's site is that Toyota dropped six places in its quality.


pepito66pepito66 - 4/21/2010 10:56:42 PM
+1 Boost
Hey I prefer to take Nissan instead of both.


upwardsupwards - 4/22/2010 1:41:11 AM
+3 Boost
Why not compare accord/sonata since the camry is ancient.


0to600to60 - 4/22/2010 10:46:11 AM
+2 Boost
Accord will kill the Sonata on resale value. But the Sonata will probably win in most other categories.


StickShiftCamryStickShiftCamry - 4/22/2010 6:44:16 AM
-1 Boost
Lol, 1 drive in a Camry V6 SE and sold…much better & faster than any current fwd V6 car. Also read new motortrend issue…


LexSucksLexSucks - 4/22/2010 12:15:59 PM
-1 Boost
FWD? LOL!!


WhelanWhelan - 4/22/2010 4:32:48 PM
+2 Boost
TO state a fact, a MUCH larger percentage of Camry's are sold a la 4 cylinder engines. The reason being is that most people don't care or need a V6 when buying a Camry. READ: When buying a Camry. I am not bashing it entirely, it still will have better resale and higher numbers than a Sonata at least at this point. But The Sonata would be my choice with the turbo option. They purposely did not offer a V6 becuase as I stated. MOST people in the market for a mid-size sedan unless you are some kind of enthusiast looking for a SE-V6, or Altima 3.5, or Accord V6, etc. go for the smaller engines.

Next time you take a road trip, count the # you see of Camry or Accords that are 6 vs. 4 cylinders. Hands down teh 4 will win. So why should Hyundai build a car that won't get sales when it can offer a peppy turbo to give that little more oomph some people need without guzzling down V6 fuel mileage.


NISSANINFINITINISSANINFINITI - 4/22/2010 5:02:28 PM
0 Boost
LexSucks....I love you man.... youo ping everyone who rebutles your comments...thats how you work the page man... i have a new found RESPECT for you!!!! your the best and I usually agree 100% with your points too by the way!


upwardsupwards - 4/23/2010 12:42:02 AM
-2 Boost
Huu why are you so helll bent on race?


upwardsupwards - 4/23/2010 12:42:03 AM
-2 Boost
Huu why are you so helll bent on race?


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