1. How did you come to the decision of buying this car?
I’ve never bought a vehicle so analytically as I did when purchasing this one. I had a lot of requirements in buying this car, none of which were remotely driven by the typical factors automotive enthusiasts usually consider. I wanted something that offered Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to ensure long-term connectivity to my devices; I needed something that my 6’5” husband could both drive and ride in comfortably, even with a sunroof, which was another must-have. Since he’s so tall and I’m so short, a memory driver’s seat was also necessary.
At-the-limit handling wasn’t critical; being able to soak up city potholes without jarring my teeth was. I’ve spent a large portion of my career in communications around automotive quality—I started with Consumer Reports and was actually working at another OEM running their global quality comms when I bought the Hyundai, so I had reams of JD Power IQS and dependability data I could consult. I knew I wanted this vehicle to be trouble-free well past the last payment, and the mix of features plus the support of the third-party data meant that the Sonata just ticked all the right boxes.
2. What has your ownership experience been like?
It’s been remarkable in how utterly unremarkable it’s been. Other than a front brake rotor that warped last year—which the local Hyundai dealer resurfaced for free under warranty, no questions asked—the car has been pretty flawless. The stock tires were kind of crap and have been replaced with Michelins, and the fuel economy could be better, but otherwise, the car does whatever I ask of it, every day, without complaint or a second thought. I think cars like the Sonata don’t get nearly the kind of appreciation in the automotive world that they deserve. In addition to my own Hyundai, I’ve ridden in Sonata cabs in places like Chile, Jordan and Thailand, and once rented a previous-generation model to drive across sub-Saharan Africa. It takes an incredible amount of work to create a single vehicle that satisfies so many different customers in so many places in the globe, and does so in a way that ensures that with some level of maintenance, 300,000, 400,000 mile lifespans are no big deal.
3. What is your fondest memory with this car?
I’ve taken this car across 18 states and now into two countries, and it’ll surely do more as the years pile on. It took my little cousin and me on a baseball road trip to NYC that I got him as a bar mitzvah gift, and my sister and I to Philadelphia to see the ship she crossed over on as a baby. I’ve carted friends from DC to Baltimore to see experimental theater, and Baltimore back to DC after I had surgery to remove a tumor. A year and a half ago, I loaded it up to the roof with plants and electronics when we moved from the Washington on the east coast to the one on the west. I’m looking forward to when things get a little better, and we can head back up to Canada for a much needed break, and down to Portland to see friends. My memories are less about the car itself, than what it’s enabled me to do.
4. Why do you love cars?
I have friends in cities who truly hate the automobile, and I can definitely see why a car in town is bad for your health and for the environment. But on the flip side, there are so many places in a country this vast that can only be reached with an automobile, and we take for granted how the car lets us experience those places, lets us see things that are different from our day-to-day. A good car opens up those possibilities to us, and gives us the freedom to get away. And in that respect, the Sonata is a very good car indeed.
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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!
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