Looking for a new car... Opinions?

[ballfan4141]

nissan altima brand new. a kia is still a kia and a hyundai is still a hyundai.

[SRTSean]

And ignorance is still ignorance.

I'm not an import guy at all, but the new Sonata is a great car and better than an Altima.

2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS vs. 2010 Honda Accord vs. 2010 Mazda 6 i Touring Comparison Test

2010 Honda Accord EX vs. 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE, 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5i - Comparison Tests

[SRTSean]

17.4lbs? I think that may be what it CAN do. It probably boosts to 4-5lbs and can be tuned to that high. I feel the internals aren't made to handle that much power.

No turbo car made right now puts out that little of boost. Most all are in the range of 12-14 lbs.

Boost psi is also not an end all, be all, number. You can have a large turbo making 12 lbs and a smaller turbo making 18 lbs, but the volume of air that the larger turbo is pushing at only 12 lbs can easily exceed what the smaller turbo is capable of at 18 lbs.

Make sense?

[fancyfootwork]

No turbo car made right now puts out that little of boost. Most all are in the range of 12-14 lbs.

Boost psi is also not an end all, be all, number. You can have a large turbo making 12 lbs and a smaller turbo making 18 lbs, but the volume of air that the larger turbo is pushing at only 12 lbs can easily exceed what the smaller turbo is capable of at 18 lbs.

Make sense?

Yeah, I know how turbos work. How big is the Sonata turbo? Most likely really small. Also when is it pushing full boost? At 4k? Matted to a 6-speed auto your gonna need to be hammering on the gas to get it going at full boost.

[ScottB]

So many of these cars are literally one of a dozen at each traffic light. The SAAB sticks out originally as very irregularly seen.

I might suggest looking for a 1 year old model of any favorite originally selling in the 30k range. It will now be priced in the twenty's, a little broken in but not beaten, and substantial piece of warranty is left. Someone else took the intial depreciation and you now have negotiation power too.

Now depending on how long you plan to use it, dont always consider a brand specifically. If you plan to drive it into the ground get the model you like and fit into best, and maintain it. Its been proven that proper care and maintenance will help any car last longer. And again, and 1 year old model hasnt had the time to really be neglected unless really high mileage. Consider the manufacturers extended warranty as needed on models with shorter warranties, and note that cars with long warranties often have the price already included so they can boast bigger numbers. (measure warranty benefits too, Powertrain is different than bumper-to-bumper, and do they offer rentals under agreement).

[sloox]

The Kia optima is VERY nice, my neighbor just purchased one about 2 weeks ago. All I can say is Kia has really stepped up their game, the quality of their cars now are also top notch. plus the 10yr/100,000 warranty.

[SRTSean]

Yeah, I know how turbos work. How big is the Sonata turbo? Most likely really small. Also when is it pushing full boost? At 4k? Matted to a 6-speed auto your gonna need to be hammering on the gas to get it going at full boost.

I'm not sure what the point is here. It makes it's peak torque of 269 pound-feet of torque from 1800 to 4500 rpm.

Small turbos spool quick and have much lower torque curves.

[CrownKote]

How much boost does it put out?

My problem with these new "turbos" are they don't put out enough boost which render them useless. Buick Regal w/turbo, Chevy Cruze w/turbo, Hyundai Sonata w/turbo, Kia Optima w/turbo, etc. If you want a car with a turbo, get a WRX or a GTI. Something with proven power to back it up. All these new cars with turbos are using them as selling points because car companies are in what I call "turbo wars" now.

The turbos on these cars are generally small and they tend to help in efficiency and create the power that they would have and some if they were not going green. There is no "turbo war" it has been and always will be a $ war and a power war... If you can get more power with less gas that is the selling point of using the word turbo. It is also a power word... When you hear the word turbo you immediately think gobs of power!

These are the green initiative turbo cars...

While the likes of BMW is switching to smaller engines with turbo for performance in the M series these cars are different. In that they are offering you some sort of performance with a smaller engine without the drawbacks of losing out in the bigger engine.

I hardly call any of this "turbo" wars.

The engine has 17.4 psi of boost and I have heard of it being increased by a decent percentage with aftermarket parts.

This is a believable PSI for a smaller turbo like the ones used in the Hyundai...

A friend of mine just bought a 2006 BMW 750Li with 58k miles for $29K...Saab is a nice car (so is Jaguar, Land Rover), I kinda like it, but I would NOT pay more then $10k for one...why? Because of it's huge depreciation...I would check (test drive) Acura (TSX, TL, RL), Lexus, Infiniti, as well as some german cars (Audi, VW, Mercedes, BMW)...
And although styling on new Hyundai/Kia has really improved, they will never provide road hugging feeling you get in german cars...

Have you driven any of the Kia Coupe` or Hyundai Sonota turbos? If not you may want to go give them a shot... I have driven both and wow they handle very well... The Kia Coupe` was more agile than the standard E46 and the Jetta (and I drive a BMW)

AVOID LAND ROVER AND SAAB as they are high maintnence cars and have high dollar repair costs... For instance if you crack the lense on an LR3/4 (happens a lot as the plastic is low grade) it will set you back 1400.00 for the part then 400.00 for labor and adjustment... Saab brakes are close to 700.00 for the front and 500.00 for the rear and they like to eat brakes expect it once a year...

17.4lbs? I think that may be what it CAN do. It probably boosts to 4-5lbs and can be tuned to that high. I feel the internals aren't made to handle that much power.

The boost range you are giving here is about what a factory supercharged car does like the r53 Mini cooper S that uses between 5-7PSI of boost

I am going to be supercharging my 01 BMW Z3 with about 7PSI and that will net me about 130hp in the end with minor flash programming... In 98 the Dinnan Z3 1.9i S/C cars were only pushing 6PSI and getting close to 110 hp more than their stock counterparts...

No turbo car made right now puts out that little of boost. Most all are in the range of 12-14 lbs.

Boost psi is also not an end all, be all, number. You can have a large turbo making 12 lbs and a smaller turbo making 18 lbs, but the volume of air that the larger turbo is pushing at only 12 lbs can easily exceed what the smaller turbo is capable of at 18 lbs.

Make sense?

Yeah, I know how turbos work. How big is the Sonata turbo? Most likely really small. Also when is it pushing full boost? At 4k? Matted to a 6-speed auto your gonna need to be hammering on the gas to get it going at full boost.

The Sonata turbo is a Theta II Twin Scroll turbo i would compare it size wise to an Audi A4 1.8l of the 99-02 era

[slimnib]

And ignorance is still ignorance.

I'm not an import guy at all, but the new Sonata is a great car and better than an Altima.

2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS vs. 2010 Honda Accord vs. 2010 Mazda 6 i Touring Comparison Test

2010 Honda Accord EX vs. 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE, 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5i - Comparison Tests

Ha- read this month consumers. Nissan is the top rated car.

[erock]

Honda,Toyota,Nissan.....you cant go wrong