Overview & Reviews

Hyundai shuffles the Sonata's trim levels for the second year in a row, making the four-cylinder engine standard on all and the V6 optional across the board. The sporty Sonata SE gains performance tires, a rear spoiler and a power driver seat, while the upscale Limited receives an Infinity stereo as standard.

• Comfortable ride, quality interior materials, roomy backseat and trunk, standard stability control, lengthy warranty, impressive value.

• Subpar fuel economy with the V6, numb-feeling steering, automatic transmission fussy in manual mode.

User Reviews:

Showing 11 through 20 of 133.00

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  Mixed Feelings - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By mr_keating - January 3 - 12:14 pm

  I purchased the 2008 Sonata GLS about three years ago. I immediately noticed a lag or hesitation when the trans shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. Came to find out that Sonatas have tranny issues, and have for years. Interior build quality is cheap. Lots of squeking from the plastic sections of the dash. Not a lot of pick-up at lower speeds, but does fairly well at highway speeds.

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  Best customer service and value for money - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By bmet2013 - November 10 - 9:27 pm

  This is my second Hyundai. I bough an Accent brand new in 2004 and only had one issue. About 34k miles I had to get a second to third gear sync and it was covered under warranty. My Sonata is a blessing. Last year I let my parents use it to go on vacation to Myrtle Beach. Loaded with luggage and 4 people through the hills it managed around 31mpg which was really awesome! The car got up to 35 mpg on my monthly trip to indianapolis from cincinnati. Cincy to Indy and back to cincy it used barely 1/2 tank. Normally I see 23mpg mixed which is ok. Ive gotten as good as 400 Miles per fillup in mixed. Over all this is a great car for the money. Always get complements on my car!

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  Pretty good - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By fannibal - August 11 - 12:24 pm

  Bought the car because of the value, safety, and warranty. It has been good so far, but my mileage has bee low, hovering around 21mpg with mixed city and highway driving(my 4 cyl 1.8L manual 1998 corolla had 30mpg with similar commute). I have had the car for more than 3 years now, and had only 2 minor problems which were covered under warranty- drivers side visor came down and didnt go back up. fixed in 1 day. 2nd problem was a ESC controller which was broken- my "ESC off" light was constantly on. this was fixed in about 1 week. my dealer provided a free loaner during this time. I am overall very happy with my car. The problems the car did have were fixed under warranty.

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  Buy a Ford - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By rotag - May 11 - 7:21 pm

  Bought this car with 16,000 miles in Jan 09 and a 08 Ford Fusion with 10,000 miles in Feb 09. Both have 45k now and the Fusion hasnt had one issue, zero. the Hyundai has had so many issues I cant mention them all here. Additionally, I caught the dealer ripping me off. Hyundai corporate is terrible and doesnt care. Had issue with fuel tank where after the pump would shut off when filling the tank with gas it would "burp" and spit up gas...took 7 trips to the dealership to fix. Have replaced all 4 tires and all 4 brakes...again no issues with Ford. The only saving grace is the repairs are covered under warranty although Id rather have a call without a warranty that wont break.

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  A Pig with Lipstick - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By newburgh_jim - May 10 - 9:03 am

  I shopped around and the Sonata seemed to be the best value at the time. I was wrong, as they say "You get what you pay for". In the first week I noticed the ride just felt cheap and the tires squealed going around corners. I had to replace the back breaks at under 20k miles because the original set stuck or something and cooked the back rims and actualy browned the hub caps. Worse yet, I had to pay for this obvious manufacture defect. Poor fuel economy and with 44k miles as of 11 May, 2011 average fuel economy is 20.9! Tires were rotated but had to be replaced at around 22k miles. I do not abuse my vehicles and all maintenance was on time. Now the engine is ticking loudly.

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  Master Cylender - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By colorado18 - April 27 - 2:00 pm

  i was having trouble getting fluid to the brakes. I had it looked at by 2 people was told its the master cylender. Dealer ship ignored me the first time i took in in and said i should get my brakes replaced. I did what they said and the issue was still there. I had to tell them again that the master cylender is not pumping fluid to the brakes. They argued with me and i got so angry with them i will never buy another hyundai again. They do not deserve my money. After they looked at the car and come to find out the master cylender was broken like i said. The worst customer service ever and i dont recomment hyundai to anyone.

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  Rear brakes burned out - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By emlod - March 10 - 3:50 pm

  The rear brakes burned out at 18K and they made me pay for it. They said the slider corroded. I said I brought the car in for regular maintenance. Why should that happen? They blamed me for not requesting it. A call to corporate did no good, so I ended up paying. The tires wore out at 36K, Michelins and they were rotated. The steel wheels all rusted and I saw the same thing on other Hyundais. The care is practical but about as bland to drive as you can get. The interior looks cheap to me with a very plastic look. Dealer service where I bought it has been poor so I go to an independant garage. The transmission lugs at 40 MPH The car vibrates at 60-65. Dont use inflate a tire

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  Throttle - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Hyundai Owner - November 3 - 2:00 am

  Good Fuel economy, Nice ride, Good performance. However, I had my Throttle stick, I had it back to the dealer and they fixed it that day. It was explained to us that it was a computer chip that went bad.

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  Its not as good as everyone says - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By Passing - October 12 - 2:00 am

  They have made improvements in last few years but as far the over all quality goes it is still not at par with Toyotas and Hondas. I bought it after reading good reviews and due to standard safety features, but after driving 35k my car started to give vibration issues. Dealership put it on 4-cylinder engine, but it was same before 35K, so not sure how come all of sudden engine started to give less power, that too after all regular services being performed on time. They(dealer) are least bothered to look into it and tried to put it as if it is normal, but I have driven enough cars to know it is not normal. They even got me to do services which are not required till 70-80K.

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  Best car i ever drove - 2008 Hyundai Sonata
  By chrismartin1701 - October 9 - 2:00 am

  What can i say? this car is awesome! normally i go crazy for the classic American muscle cars, but im happy with this one. use it as a daily driver to and from college and i also use it as my general aid and rescue vehicle for the Ballston Spa Volunteer Fire station. in all, its fun to drive, powerful V6, responsive, comfortable, stylish, and just plain awesome.