2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Review

When you think of luxury cars is your first thought Hyundai? Well, it should be!! I’ve been driving around a very sweet ride this last week a very sleek Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. I’m sorry, before this last week I hadn’t given the Hyundai much thought as far as luxury goes. WOW what a disservice I did to Hyundai!! This car drives SMOOTHLY! VERY SMOOTH!!

Once again I want to remind you, I’m not a car guy. My car is from the Mom and Grandma point-of-view. Let me tell you, just from a comfort point of view this was one extremely smooth ride. This car has some major perks; so many that I truly don’t know where to start.

The 2016 Sonata Hybrid is Hyundai’s only gasoline-electric car. A roomy sedan with amazing mileage. I tried my darndest to go through a tank of gas last week and only managed to drain half. The Sonata is rated at 42 combined city and highway driving.  After a week of California stop and go traffic, tons of small trips I managed to get 40.7 miles per gallon. IN A LUXURY car?! WOW!!

The Sonata has a push-button start with a six-speed automatic that incorporates a 38-kilowatt electric motor. I love that the car doesn’t need to be plugged in. The electric power is generated automatically by the electric motor, stored in a lithium-ion polymer battery pack and then tapped into as needed. All that means is that Sonata Hybrid can operate on electric-only power during certain times of your commute even at highway speeds! This really helps to extend mileage and save gas!

Another major perk is that Hyundai has the longest warranty coverage in the industry. Sonata Hybrid has a lifetime warranty on the battery pack that store’s electricity onboard and a 10-year or 100,000-mile warranty on the powertrain four-cylinder gasoline engine.

From heated to air-cooled seats and dual automatic climate control, everyone is in for a comfortable ride. Add in the hands-free trunk opener and heated side mirrors, along with a trunk with tons of storage. I just can’t help get excited!  The backseat windows have integrated sunshades that are STURDY!!  I am very happy with the sunshades.

Front-seat legroom of 45.5 inches easily accommodates my taller friends. The rear-seat legroom is 35.6 inches which is perfect my passengers are well under 4′ tall and strapped in carseats.

Perks, perks, perks!! My mind is going a million miles an hour with perks! I’m trying not to forget any of them. Incase I do there are links to take you to Hyndai USA scattered throughout this post.

Another one that I truly love about this car was the ease in which I could install the carseat. While just about all cars have the marker for the carseat anchors I’ve come across so many that the marker and the metal piece don’t always line up. The Sonata Hybrid’s anchor marker is a large square that makes adding the anchors amazingly fast. Seriously fast. ONE TRY and the anchors attached. The back anchor also attaches as quickly as the seat anchors. Reviewing cars means that I move the carseat a LOT. Sometimes I am drenched in sweat from getting the carseat installed. I’ve truly never installed the carseat that easy and I am SERIOUSLY not looking forward to putting the seat back in my Honda CRV!! So truly, THANK YOU Hyundai for making my life a little easier!

The touch screen in the dashboard is HUGE!! Crystal clear picture quality for this back up camera! The screen has everything from your GPS, Radio, Back Up Camera.

There are turn-signal lights integrated with the outside mirrors, along with icons that light up when cars are on either side of the Sonata. There is no blind spots with this car.

The car has keyless entry; I love that I put the key fob in my purse and never have to dig for it until the guys from DriveShop come to get the car at the end of the week!!

Let’s talk USB ports!! They are everywhere! Front and backseat too.  Auxiliary ports too. Bluetooth wireless that lets you control everything from the steering wheel!!

One touch opens and closes the sunroof. Oh the sunroof!! I do love the panoramic sunroof!!! Research has shown that sunlight and fresh air are good for you. This huge, available panoramic sunroof gives you more of both compared to regular-sized sunroof.

There is so much to love about this car I really think you need to go test drive this car!

5 adults can ride in the car easily and in comfort.

•  2.0L GDI 4-cylinder engine with Blue Drive^® fully parallel HEV system and 193 net horsepower
• Interior-Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (38 kW) 
• 270V lithium polymer battery and Hybrid Starter Generator (HSG)
• 6-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC^®
• 16-inch alloy wheels
• Chrome exterior door handles with welcome light
• Proximity Key entry with push button start
• Hands-free smart trunk
• Automatic headlight control
• Color LCD trip computer with Hybrid Technology Display
• Dual automatic temperature control
• Blue Link^® Telematics System
• Instrument cluster hood stitching
• Auto-up/down driver window
• Driver’s blind spot mirror
• Cloth seating surfaces

Three selectable drive modes in the Sonata Hybrid — Normal, Sport and Eco — are activated by a button, so drivers decide whether to maximize fuel mileage, get a more sporty feel to the car or something in between.

Another great perk is the digital read-put in the instrument cluster. Lot’s of great information there. A full system check is done when you start the car. Of course, car range on your tank of gas and so on but it also gives you a break down in percentages on your style of driving. At the end of the week I was scared to check; HOWEVER, this girl only drove aggressively 11% of the time!  Come on!! I live in Southern California that’s like getting an A+!!  I may have to frame that shot! I drove NORMAL 54% of the time! With kids in the car! Someone pat me on the back please!?

Consumer Reports magazine projects Sonatas’ reliability at above average, and the 2016 Sonata Hybrid earned five out of five stars in U.S. government crash testing.

WHINES

Not to sound like a whiney baby…. but….. ohhhhh what the heck! A week with this jewel of a car was just too short!!

When you buy yours send me a picture so I can add it to my post!!

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary week driving the 2016 Hyundai Elantra Value Edition from DriveShop for the purpose of my review. No, they didn’t let me keep it…. they NEVER let me keep these cars!! No other compensation was provided. The opinions are mine and 100% honest. I have not been influenced in any way. Hey DriveShop guys; how about letting me test drive the new 2016 Hyundai Equus?! Seriously! Go look at this beauty!!