Hyundai Sonata PHEV? Please help

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karenlm

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Does anyone here have a Hyundai Sonata PHEV? I ordered the Honda Clarity about a month ago and I have been reading the forums and it doesn't seem like I will be getting my car anytime soon, so I'm thinking of cancelling my order and getting another car. So far the only other phevs that intrigued me are Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima. But there aren't any forums regarding those cars so is that a sign that they're not good??
 
I have a Sonata plugin. I'm personally are very, very disappointed in the car due to a lack of PTC electric heater. Which means to get cabin heat in the fall, winter, and spring, the car has to run the gas engine. So for short trips, the car is going to go through gallons of gas simply to heat the interior or the vehicle. This is not a very good design in my opinion.

Secondly, the number of cars sold has been very small. This will probably mean that parts will be hard to get at some point.

Thirdly, the car doesn't have a lost of battery capacity warranty. Honda doesn't really have one either outside of Honda saying we will look at capacity loss on a individual bases. So in other words, trust us. Since all electric cars will have some capacity loss, a bigger battery is a huge advantage.

Fourthly, the car has a more normal transmission which adds more complexity to vehicle. Some folks love the transmission, and some will have problems with it.

There are a number of good things about the car. So drive it yourself. Personally for me, I wouldn't buy it due to the lack of a PTC electric heater and the small battery.

See:
http://www.hyundai-forums.com/sonata-all-hybrid-models-yf-lf/
 
It is not a fair comparison because my 530e is a luxury vehicle. But one of the reasons I purchased the 530e is that I can remotely turn on the AC with a phone app. In Arizona, where the temperature will exceed 100 degrees fahrenheit, that is a very nice feature, especially if I have been parked in the sun for several hours. There is the same functionality with heat. The best part is that contrary to your experience with the Hyundai, it runs off the hybrid battery so it doesn't start the car nor unlock the car.

I think the Hyundai designers missed that idea. Unfortunately.
 
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