Every now and then one of those cars comes along. A car so underwhelming that it hurts, and one that posesses a driving experience so bland and dull that you forget about it mere moments after exiting the car. True, it could be any of the many mid-size, family-oriented sedans of today, but in this particular case its not a 25-year Car and Driver 10-best list staple like the Honda Accord, nor is it a quiet and well known Toyota with Lexus underpinnings like the Camry. No folks, it isn't any of these at all; it is in fact, the 2001 Hyundai Sonata.

Now, I personally don't have much experience with Hyundai. Most people I know have told me on numerous occasions to stay away from them, as I faithfully have since I have been able to legally drive. I would always pick a Honda or Toyota over Hyundai with no questions asked, even a Mitsubishi, and its only because it wasn't until recent years that Hyundai began to recieve higher reliability and quality reviews.

Hyundai made its United States Debut in 1986 with the Excel, which was one of the more notably lackluster import subcompacts of its time. During the late 1980's the Excel sold moderately well, enough for it to recieve a 1990 facelift, which came shortly after the introduction of the Sonata in 1989, which was billed as Hyundai's "flagship" model. The Sonata, which also looked suspiciously close in apperance to the 1988-91 Mazda 929, was far from what could be termed as luxury when it was first introduced, closer in guise and appointment to the Ford Tempo than a Toyota Camry, of the same era.

Hyundai would continue to shuffle their offerings in the early '90s. in 1992, the Elantra was introduced, which was a compact sedan slotted between the entry level Excel and Flagship Sonata. in 1994, Hyundai also killed off the Excel and replaced it with the new entry level Accent subcompact hatchback and sedan. The Excel was killed off presumably, because, it DIDN't really excel at much of anything at all.

Sales of the first generation Sonata were fair but not what Hyundai had hoped for in the mid-sized arena, this was partly the fault of the very low quality ratings that Hyundai was notorious for in its early years. The second generation Sonata came about in 1995, and lasted through 1998 and even more "iffy" quality ratings.

1999 saw the introduction of the third generation of the Sonata. The car had come a long way by then, and with this generation came better ratings and a much more substantial apperance when compared to earlier installments. My tester was a 2001 Sonata GLS V6 with an automatic four speed transmission. This car belongs to my stepsister.

Walkaround

The 2001 Hyundai Sonata is not what I'd call an ugly car, but it certainly won't be turning heads. The sheetmetal has all sort of nice lines here and there but some design elements are more pleasing to the eye than others. The rear end of the car is my least favorite. It gives the back end a "stretched out" look that I don't much care for. The long, slim tail lamps look like they would be more at home on a station wagon than a sedan. The front end is a bit better, but still has a generic look to it. The grille is an egg-crate design which houses the Hyundai emblem in the center. The headlamps are prominent, and the hood has some gimmicky swoops and lines. The car is a grayish-brown color. Again, the Sonata is not wholly offensive to look at but it's nothing really special either. The exterior door handles also feel too light and fragile and feel as if they will break if pulled to hard, or too many times.

Driving Impressions

When I learned that this car had a V6, I was looking forward to seeing what redeeming qualities the Sonata had to offer, but in the end I was pretty disappointed with the engine performance. This car was equipped with a 2.5L V6 engine, which is supposedly capable of producing 170 horsepower. The engine was mated to a four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive.

Acceleration was sluggish from the get-go. The engine felt as if it was unsure of whether it was coming or going. Probably the most anemic V6 I have ever come in contact with, and one that could easily be outperformed by any Ford Taurus on the road. The four-speed automatic didn't make matters any better. During acceleration I found it extremely slow to upshift, causing a disheartening jolt when it slammed itself into the right gear. I drove this Sonata around the city and every time the light went green, the Tranny would stumble and bumble around just to keep the car in motion. When overdrive was turned off, I could feel the difference bigtime, and the car became even more sluggish.....I turned it back on.

Braking was probably the only bright spot I found while driving this Hyundai. While not great, breaking was adequate and easily and comfortably brought the car to a stop. The pedal was responsive to the touch. No grinding or roughness, just simple adequate braking.

I found visibility to be awful. The cowl is not that low, and in the rear you have backseat head restraints in the way. If you simply must have a Sonata, opt out of getting the sunroof-It impedes on your rear view mirror vision. Fuel economy was alright, but nothing really special. I averaged about 20-21 in the city and 23 on the freeway. You might find better fuel economy in a Ford Explorer. This is no doubt an attribute of the sluggish drivetrain. One might report better fuel economy with a manual transmission.

Inside Story

An interior should be a haven, after all, you will be spending some time there, right? The Sonata GLS had plenty of creature comforts throughout, which I found surprising. This GLS came with Power windows and locks, cruise control, power sunroof, am/fm/cd/cassette combo, and of course A/C.

Upon getting in the car, I immediately noticed the lack of sufficient headroom in the front, due mainly to the sunroof. I am 6'4", and had to open the sliding interior panel to the roof just so my head wasn't touching the roof. Once I got comfortable....I found I wasn't all that comfortable. The proportions of the driver's seat and steering wheel, as well as their placement, felt strange to me. The seat felt too small, with decent back and lumbar support, as well as non-existent thigh support. What I did like about the steering wheel, was its thickness. The driver has definitely got something to hold on to here.

Fit and finish was also another miss for the Sonata. I could see the cheapness all around me. The gray panels had some shade differences and warping, The instrument cluster looked like a children's board game, with its rudimentary appearance. The faux wood dash was merely a piece of molded plastic, coloured to look like wood. One will also find these "wood accents" on each of the interior door panels. One thing I did enjoy about the Sonata, however, was the placement of the cupholders, behind the gear shift. This means they don't block the radio, or the ashtray. Door panels seemed to have held up well, but I could see some peeling of the fabric appliques on the doors. The inside opening handles appeared to be metal of some kind, but upon further inspection, I could tell they were foil coated plastic. The cloth used on the upholstery is of higher quality than I would have expected from Hyundai, which of course is a welcomed aspect of quality that anyone can appreciate.

The sound system looked like it might have been about something, but it turned out to be all looks. Im kind of a music buff, so I personally would have preferred better sound quality. The stock speakers are ok, but could use improvement. Climate controls are placed high up on the dash, easily seen and reached. Ergonomics are fairly good, but could use improvement, due to the low placement of the radio and also the clock.  My last gripe concerns the small inept turn signal/windsheild wiper swtiches, that literally hide behind steering wheel. (These switches, made of a thin plastic, also feel very cheap and fragile...)

The interior was a nice try for the Hyundai Sonata, but I preferred my 1995 Mitsubishi Galant S interior with 200k to this.

Last Thoughts?

The Hyundai Sonata can be very appealing to a buyer on a budget, no doubt about it, and hey, in these times its completely understandable.
I mean here is a car that is relatively cheap to purchase, comes with a V6 and numerous other luxury features. However, its apparent that in 2001, Hyundai still had a long way to go. They still had a thing or too to learn about what a real V6 should feel like, Transmission performance, and better interior materials.

Its easy to get roped in to a low-cost, high-feature package like the Sonata, but I'd definitely pass on this one. This car has a way to go to be and money making bread and butter car.  I'd buy a Ford Taurus anyday before I'd spend my hard earned money on A Hyundai. At least with a Ford, its a domestic, so costs to repair as well as insure will be a bit lower. Anyone who is truly money smart would look elsewhere. A brand new Sonata would even be better than one of this era. A 2005 redesign and much improved quaility would make the current generation a much better buy than late model Sonatas.
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2001
Model and Options: GLS V6