BlueSky

I'd take the Sonata V6 over the Impala SS for sure.

AirlockRX

I had a guy in a SS Impala rev at me a couple of weeks ago...

dmp

I'm serious. On any set of curves - off-ramps, hell, even around a track I'd pick my wife's truck to out-handle that Monte Carlo. I KNOW my wife's truck has more grip, with 12,5" wide tires...and I'd bet money it has less body roll than the Chevy, too.

AirlockRX

I would...

DrDiaboloco

You guys are all loonies, then. The Impala SS is way more sporting than any Hyundai sedan.
Assuming you're referring to the ol' Stoplight Grand Prix... Good thing you didn't take him up on it, he would've smoked you without even trying. Snicker all you want, but that car will take ya unless you've invested thousands in a turbo kit... And the SS is not a limp-wristed rental car, not by any stretch. Research it and see. It may be limp-wristed compared to the better performance sedans, but it'll easily take down any Hyundai.

I'd take a well-equipped Sonata over a rental Impala any day. But an SS? Have you all lost your collective minds? Are you THAT prejudiced against American cars that you fail to see that a Sonata is no match for an Impala in ANY performance category?

The SS may not ring true as a PERFORMANCE sedan, but neither does the Sonata. I'll take the HP if I have to dumb it down to the "automatic-only" 4-door. I'd get another Mazda6 before I'd get EITHER of these cars.

BlueSky

Straight-line performance is fine and good, but what really gets my juices flowing is handling. I'd take the Sonata over the SS because from what I've read, the Sonata actually handles very well for a FWD car. The same cannot be said for the SS. Just read C&D's review of the Impala SS. Look, I could stuff a 1000hp engine into my '99 Nissan Altima and it will still suck compared to my RX-8 because it just feels like a bathtub with wheels.

Stick a rocket on a porta-potty (yeah someone's actually done it) and what you've got is a fast porta-potty. It still stinks.

AirlockRX

Thanks for the compliments, Don't get me wrong, I own one the best cars that GM can claim (3 Top, C5-Z06), but I have long lost faith in everything else down the line. Quality and workmanship is sub-par. Don't even talk about handling...
I leave the races @ the track, I'm way too adult for that crap.

DrDiaboloco

Third out of four in the comparison test, you mean (for the Sonata)? Behind the Ford Fusion, which is only marginally different from the Mazda6, meaning the new-for-'06 car is beaten by a platform that's three years older?

And since you brought up C&D, here's what they had to say about it when they compared it to the Accord, Camry and Fusion:

"The suspension lacks the muscular control that gives the Honda such a sporting feel, and it lacks the plush-carpet smoothness that eases the Camry over Michigan's broken roads. Hey, benchmarks are very hard to beat. That said, the Sonata certainly behaves within the envelope of contemporary expectations."

So... Not particularly sporting, not a particularly smooth ride, and furthermore, "the steering is light to the touch and very quick just off-center, maybe a little too quick. The tires report loudly of road imperfections."

The way I read it, it's primarily remarkable because it's so much better than the car it replaces. It's a fine car, one that I normally defend since Hyundai gets such a bad rap (and I really, really like the way the new Sonata LOOKS), but there's no way I'd take it over an Impala SS. In the review of the SS, they say it falls short as a performance sedan in a large part because it is marketed as a sports sedan. The Sonata is reviewed well for being uncommonly good as Hyundais go and a very good value for the sticker price, but it isn't really marketed at the performance guy... A few Hyundai ads to the contrary notwithstanding.

The Sonata gets beaten in every performance category (no surprise), probably has a resale value even lower than the SS (no research on my part, just the knowledge that Hyundais have abominable resale, amongst the worst in all automobiledom), and can only barely beat the SS in as-tested fuel economy for that matter (16 vs. 19, and 2/3mpg on the EPA scale for city/hwy). This isn't even a particularly fair comparison as the cars don't really compete for the same customers... I just used it as an example.

I dunno. I have no love of Chevrolet or GM (haven't owned one of their vehicles in almost 20yrs, and have no plans on that changing), but I'd happily drive an SS if the alternative was a Sonata.

BlueSky

Point taken. I guess I can't really comment any further until I've driven both. And I hope such a situation never arises.

DrDiaboloco

Fair enough.

BlueSky

But if it were a choice between a Pontiac GXP or a Hyundai Sonata. GXP all the way.

Hightshoe

30 years is a bit of a stretch. Asian cars were barely being sold in the US 30 years ago. The trend started maybe 20 years ago with Toyota, but they didnt really compete until the last 10-12 years. The reason I called it a trend, was because they offered things US automakers didnt (cheap prices/good gas mileage). But that has since leveled off, with US automakers starting to offer some of the same benefits of asian cars. and face it, asian cars arent really cheap anymore. so this could spark the trend away from asian cars and back towards US cars, like i said before, if the US gets their **** together.

dmp

What really torques my gears is the difference between European Fords and Chevys vs their domestic counterparts. When I was in Germany the Fords I drove and rode in were seemingly MUCH Better quality.

RotoRocket

iTrader: (1)

1976 was the beginning of the full invasion. You had Toyota, Datsun (remember Datsus - my brother in law had one), Mazda, and some other Japanese makes taking away market share.

Some would argue it began 1972, but it was more like 1976 when market share [i]began[/] to erode for the then big 3.

It was a slow process at first, but it gained a full head of steam by 1980.

DrDiaboloco

...and I'd argue that the real shift began with Honda, not Toyota, at least as far as cars that enthusiasts would like are concerned. Remember the CRX? That and all the "Si" Hondas of the early/mid-80's... My mom had an '86 Si and back then you couldn't get one for sticker, at least not in the NYC area. I remember they had to pay a $300 dealer markup on a car with a sticker of around $8100.

Easy_E1

iTrader: (2)

I had the 2006 Toyota Avalon the other day ,,I was impressed with the power and the comfort but not the handleing.
And the 2006 Mustang I had a week after that was junk, period.
Japanese have the quality thing down.