2003 Sonata 4 Cyl

  • Thread starter Thread starter Craig
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Craig

I test drove the base Sonata today and I was quite impressed. It had plenty
of pickup, even with the AC on, and blew away the Saturn L200 I test drove.

I am looking at the 4 cyl for the better mileage. I will be putting 20K
miles/year on the car and I want something which will last at least 100K, is
reliable and gets good mileage. My 98 Chevy Malibu eats brakes (among other
things) and I'm hoping I don't get a repeat performance.

So, what is the most miles anyone has on one of these? Anything to look out
for with these cars? I don't see many Sonata drivers in this group,
especially drivers of the 4 cylinder. Any feedback would be appreciated. TIA
 
I have a 2002 4cyl and average 26 in and around the house and have
gotten an average of 32 for 4 trips to N.C. from Pgh.
 
Craig said:
I test drove the base Sonata today and I was quite impressed. It had plenty
of pickup, even with the AC on, and blew away the Saturn L200 I test drove.

I am looking at the 4 cyl for the better mileage. I will be putting 20K
miles/year on the car and I want something which will last at least 100K, is
reliable and gets good mileage. My 98 Chevy Malibu eats brakes (among other
things) and I'm hoping I don't get a repeat performance.

So, what is the most miles anyone has on one of these? Anything to look out
for with these cars? I don't see many Sonata drivers in this group,
especially drivers of the 4 cylinder. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
TIA

I might be the winner in this category.

We bought our 2002 4-cylinder Sonata in late June of 02 and turned over
54,000 miles this morning. I make trips between the Washington DC area and
New England on a practically weekly basis between April and October, and the
car's been absolutely bulletproof. The only thing it's been to the dealer
for aside from oil changes have been for front end alignments (two) and the
replacement of an inside door handle because the chrome flaked off and gave
paper cuts.

Mileage on the trips is somewhere around 33 MPG total (I write down every
fill-up in a book and punch it into Excel), with me being a bit of a light
foot with sparing use of the A/C and heavy use of the cruise control.

Brakes haven't been an issue yet, but then again with all the highway travel
the car does we really haven't put 54,000 miles worth of brake wear on it.
And as I think about it more, I can't think of any one 'weak' spot of the
car that should get attention in future model years. The only things I wish
the car had are map lights in the rear view mirror (the higher models do)
and a lock on the glove box door.

Things I like that weren't expected in a $15000 car - dual power outlets on
the dash and one in the trunk, CD stereo with tweeters, fog lights, and the
sportronic transmission. I'm never buying a regular old automatic again.

I can recommend the 4-cyl Sonata without hesitation. The car has treated us
amazingly well, and I don't see us having any trouble getting to 200,000
miles or more.
 
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