Paolino

Quick Drive: 2016 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 2.4L 6A While my parents were away, I took a little time to use their second car to offset some of the mileage on my lease. The Sonata they leased was their first lease ever, and honestly they got it for a steal. The car is nicer than their last Sonata, a 2006 with the 3.3L V6 and a 5-speed automatic. Having spent a couple of hundred miles on both highway and city driving, over the course of 2 weeks, they’ve made dramatic improvements in a decade. They styling I’m not at all crazy about. Frankly, I think it’s ugly and a step back from the previous generation which I thought was very nice and contemporary. The car is loaded with features such as blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, rear parking assist, dual zone auto climate control, auto-dimming rearview mirrors, a 7” LCD screen for the infotainment, heated leather seats, front auto up/down windows, keyless entry, push-button start, etc. Ride and quality are calm and controlled. Bumps are nicely cushioned out and the handling is controlled, but not sporty. Hey, it’s a midsize family car… I’m not taking it on the autobahn. The drive modes do change the car’s personality a bit, with Eco making it a bit sluggish and Sport tightening the steering a little and making the transmission a little more rev-happy. The engine is smooth and not very buzzy… much more refined than the 4-cylinders I’m used to from growing up! I’d put it on par with my friend’s 2013 I-4 Camry. I didn’t calculate actual fuel economy numbers, but the car appeared extremely frugal. I used half a tank of gas in the 200-250 miles I drove. I’m fairly certain my car would have taken three-quarters of a much larger tank, granted I have a larger engine, AWD, and a heavier vehicle. Some features I appreciated: Perhaps it’s just me, but the digital speedometer readout updates instantly. In my LaCrosse it only updated about once or twice per second. This is a much faster readout, and I prefer it (yet I can’t figure out why as once or twice per second is fast enough—maybe it gives the illusion you’re accelerating faster than you actually are). The radio is like in my Genesis in regards to out of the 18 presets, it is always recording the first 6 favorites… even if you’re not on that station, it’s recording. So like a DVR, if I’d like to rewind a song or skip one, or pause the radio, I can. There are plenty of little cubbies all over the place, and even ones that perfectly fit my wallet and smartphone, and another that perfectly fit the key fob. Something that annoyed me: The entire car is LED. The DRL’s are LED. All the dash lights are LED. The taillamps are LED. The front dome lights are LED. The rear dome lights are incandescent. Why?! When you open the doors at night, the front seats illuminate brightly in cool white, and the rear seats illuminate in a dimmer tan. What did that do, save a few cents? Hell, the trunk light is LED! Swap the two!

This is so disappointing... I love a larger sedan, as do my parents, my brother, etc. My friends have always enjoyed being passengers in them.

Exterior: HATE Interior: Good, but not great. Powertrains: Should be fine... curious about the 10-speed White for an interior color--not a great idea.

7-speaker Bose is the top stereo? Okay...

Yes, but unfortunately a base FWD S90 with the air suspension is about $50,000... I do love that they don't force you to go top trim for some creature comforts. I wish more things on cars were a la carte.

I wouldn't mind an S90... not sure if it has the air ride suspension... but I'd love a car with a pillowy suspension if I could afford it.

I LOVE Volvo's interiors lately!

I dislike the exterior as much as I dislike the current one. The interior is nice, in my opinion. I haven't really been a fan of Lincoln since the mid 90's...

No major changes to the profile. Interior is a drastic upgrade... I'm sure it'll sell well. Would like to see an optional more-powerful engine. Hopefully some weight loss came with this model, and with the slightly more powerful engine and 9-speed, it'll please the masses.

I've been so bored with Lexus for some time. I can't even appreciate their former conservative styling since they introduced that God-awful spindle grille for the Lexus line.

Am I missing where it says what kind of transmissions these will get?

Why can't they put some real balls in this car?

Yes, but the turbo four bumps up to 295 lb-ft on the Regal for the Sportback and AWD, which means it's more torque than the GS 3.6L... but horsepower seems to sell even though that's not what's moving the car.

Not really... the Sportback AWD and TourX will have more torque than the V6: "Power for the Regal comes from a turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder. Output is rated at 250 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque for the front-wheel drive Sportback. Opt for the Sportback AWD or TourX and torque rises to 295 pound-feet."

The cladding is god-awful. Why does it do that thing over the middle of the wheel? It just looks unfinished... almost like someone was trying it out with plastic to see what it would look like but it's not the final product.

I completely agree. I have an 8" now and it looks a little small at times (especially knowing there's an optional 9.2" that would fit in the space). I asked Drew if there was any news about any bigger units going in... I'd like to see the LaCrosse get something bigger than 8"... being their screen is "frameless", I'm sure they could squeeze something bigger behind the dash. I just don't understand why if they've had an 8" screen standard for the past 3 years, they'd drop to a smaller screen when everyone is going bigger. It can't be THAT much cheaper.

The dash LOOSELY reminds me of a BMW...

The only picture is the small one of the wagon? I want to see this thing (in Buick form... not an Opel and be told to "imagine it with a different grille" ) Nevermind, I saw it on Buick's website. Am I nitpicking by the 7" standard Infotainment screen? I mean, it's been 8" standard for 2014-17... EDIT: Nevermind, found the pics... not really feeling the exterior. Like the interior though.

HATE the naming scheme. I'll believe a CT8 when I see it. I feel we keep getting news of an S-Class fighter and never quite happens.

The performance is much better than it has been in the past few weeks... but we still have a problem... the Lexus forum is still coming up blank.

See, this is one thing that bugs me... in the current LaCrosse, all trims get the light pipe accent light running the width of the car... but any additional accent lighting is apparently reserved for the top trim. I am also bothered that it's difficult to get a lot of safety equipment without going to the top two trims. Some things I feel should be standard (like blind-spot protection). Back to the LED lighting, I agree... get creative! There's no reason Buick couldn't do this... the reactions are incredible, and yes, it's that clear. http://www.canadianautoreview.ca/images/car_photos/2015-Hyundai-Genesis-3.8-Tech/normal/hyundai-genesis-tech-puddle-light.jpg

I loved the two-tone wood trim in the Escalade Platinum. I'd love to see some creative accent lighting. I can't tell you how many times people stop me and comment on my Genesis puddle lights saying "Oh, that's so cool!" I still can't figure out how they get it to be so crystal clear from the tiniest spot under the sideview mirrors...

Seriously, what are the odds I heard this song on the ride home?!

I'd like the Avenir name to be equivalent to the Platinum trim on Cadillac. I'd like to see some interesting real wood options, a new leather option, wheels, but I'd also like something more special... make the buyer really feel like they have something special for themselves (not sure what that could be!)

Well, that'd be a smart place to launch it...