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2012 Hyundai Sonata Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: Great, but skip the turbo if you drive in the city by cmkelleher

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Introduction

Performance and handling are excellent, interior is comfy and well designed. Awful city fuel economy is the only real issue. EPA estimate seems to be about 40% too optimistic! Highway driving mileage is fine though.

Reviewed: 2012 Hyundai Sonata

4dr Sedan turbocharged 274hp 2.0L I4 6-speed shiftable automatic FWD

Why the 2012 Hyundai Sonata?

Powertrain performance

Excellent acceleration, smooth and pleasant engine. Transmission shifts smoothly and usually selects correct gear on its own. The paddle shifters are pleasant but not necessary. Regular unleaded requirement is great with high fuel prices, but the downside is terrible city fuel economy, even with a pretty light foot.

Interior styling

Handsome comofrtable interior, well made. All controls are intuitive and feel well made. Touch screen nav is decent, could use some more route selection options. Auto climate control is excellent and stereo sounds very good.

Why Not the 2012 Hyundai Sonata?

Fuel economy

Dreadful fuel economy. For long highway drives, the Sonata Turbo can indeed match the 34 mpg EPA rating, but for city driving with A/C, you'll be lucky to get any more than 17 mpg. Even with A/C off, the urban mileage never hits the 20 mpg level. Only 2,700 miles on the engine so far, so this may get better, but the EPA city estimate seems to be pegged too high by Hyundai.

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Response from webberdave

12:45 pm October 2, 2016

I bought my 2012 Sonata, and I must say it has been an excellent car. It;s the 198 hp, non turbo, and I get 40 miles per gallon on highway driving trips with the AC on, and 28 in the city. I'm not a slouch driver, and so I have been impressed with that millage. I have around 44,500 miles on the car, and except for oil changes, I haven't had any othr matenance done to the car. It still has the original windshield wipers on it. I'm sure living in California helped that, but I can't be the only one with these results. Overall it has been an exceptional car!

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