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ORIGINAL: mamamia

Owning both cars ('05 Accord EX V6 and an 4-banger '06 Sonata) I can fully agree. Even before the upgraded, better '09, I felt I have NOTHING to feel inferior driving the Sonata (yes, the 4 banger has less power, duh).

I am not sure I'd define the Accord as a lesser car. The Accord has been always more sporty than its rival, the Camry, it's geared for the younger driver. The Sonata's ride is more like the softer, quieter Camry (I used to lease Camrys in the 90s).

Yes, the Sonata is a remarkable car. Hyundai is now the "WE TRY HARDER" company, that must get rid of the terrible reputation it earned in the 90s, and justifiably so.... The '06 Sonata was their first product they decided to DO IT RIGHT, THIS TIME, OR NEVER...

Enjoy the ride! I envy you....

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ORIGINAL: dgs

So I bought the limited V6 model with navigation two days ago.  What a car!  I traded in a 2006 Accord V6 EX-L coupe with a manual transmission.  I just got a new job which is an 18 mile trek each way, and much of it is in stop and go traffic.  As you can imagine that is a pain with a manual transmission.  My previous job was only 6.5 miles from apartment and it was a straight shot with hardly any traffic so the manual transmission never bothered me.  But after a couple of weeks doing the new commute I decided I had enough.  I did a lot of research and decided the new Sonata was the best deal out there.  Went to my local Hyundai dealership for a test drive and I was sold.  They did not have a limited with navigation however, so I had them flatbed a limited model with navigation they found at another dealership 200 miles away.  I did not want some stranger putting all of those miles on my new car.  It had 10 miles on it when I drove it off the lot.

Anyway, here is a brief comparison of my 06 Accord vs my new Sonata:

1. Ride Quality - No question about it, the Sonata destroys the Accord in this category.  The Accord had a super firm suspension that punished you over any road imperfections.  It was horrible.  It would make me sick to my stomache at times.  The Accord had decent handling, but the sacrifice for ride commort wasn't worth it to me.  The new Sonata has the same handling but it rides so much nicer.  It's like floating on a cloud.  The seats are also more comfortable in the Sonata with incredible lumbar support.

2. Features - Again my new Sonata is much better in this area than the Accord.  The following features come with the Sonata and were not available or standard equipment in the Accord: auto on/off dusk sensing headlights, auto open/close moonroof, auxillary port for MP3 players, a CD player that reads MP3 disks, automatic volume control (I love this feature), auto dimming review mirror with compass, foglights, 360 watt Infinity system with seperate subwoofer (vs 180 watt and no sub in the Accord), and premium scuff plates.  Again, most of those features weren't even available with the 03-07 Accords and the others (such as foglights and autodim rearview mirror) were expensive options that should have come stock on a $28,000 car.

3. Quality - The Accord obviously had very good quality.  But one area the Sonata also destroy's the Accord is interior noise levels.  The Accord was SO noisy on the highway.  All kinds of wind and tire noise.  It gave the car a cheap economy feeling to have so much noise intrude into the cabin.  Because the stereo system did not have auto volume control I was constantly messing with the volume to compensate for changes in noise.  It would be super loud when I would get off the freeway and then it would be too quiet when I got on the freeway.  Otherwise I would say the quality of both was equal.

Well thats my short little comparison.  The new Sonata is a lot of car for the money.  The $1,000 rebate on the 09's just makes it that much sweeter.  I feel Hyundai has a homerun with this 09 redesign.  I obviously chose it over the competition such as the 08 Malibu, 08 Accord, 08 Altima, and 08 Camry.  It just has the best value for the money.  It's very fuel efficient (plus it only requires regular unleaded), very safe, great looking, great driving, and supremely comfortable.  I plan on driving the car until it dies, which I'm hoping will be for many, many years to come!