[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by navin

The Emberra was on my list when I was looking for a car in '04 (along with the Corrolla AT, Skoda vRS, Forrester, and Endevaour). Hyundai refsed to budge from their then list price of 15L. Even when told that for 15L oen could get a Accord they refused to budge. I told the salesman that if they ever want to sell the car they'd have to offer atleast a 15% discount off the Accord.

Unlike many others, Hyundai cut down its Sonata production in line with vastly lower demand from around 2002-03 onwards. At that time, Accent was still selling a lot, and so was Santro et. al. and so there was no pressure to sell Sonata at a loss/discount.

Things were a lot different in late-2006 and early 2007 when I was in the market. Elantra was stopped, Sonata was in free fall, and Accent/Verna sales were lower than Accent sales alone. I was getting Sonata at close to 2 lakh discount, but I do not prefer diesel and also wanted an AT.

Things may change now, but I think Accord is now too well entrenched, and the face lift may be a way of generating some buzz and getting some volumes for a few months, before it is back to the old story. Personally, I like the Sonata, but it does not suit me. If I have to go to a bigger car, I shall rather stretch my budget and go for a Camry.

[rohitrk]

Originally Posted by tadukuttan

Is the Sonata available with the 150 bhp diesel outside India, or is this a specific tune for us? As is customary, I was searching for tuning boxes, and they seem to be for the old 140bhp version.

Google was not helping, thought somebody here might know...

Tadu, it's 150PS and not BHP. Even autocar India website has posted the wrong information where they talk about 8bhp increase in power. Even Hyundai website mentions 150PS which is exactly identical to earlier engine. Earlier specs mentioned 142 BHP.

[dockap]

hmm u will have to stretch your budget by 10 lakhs because thats the price difference between a sonata and camry in india

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by dockap

hmm u will have to stretch your budget by 10 lakhs because thats the price difference between a sonata and camry in india

The diff. between Sonata and say a BMW/Merc is still higher. Corolla AT to Sonata AT is +2 lakhs, but to Camry is perhaps +10-12 lakhs. Ideally, a Corolla upgrade will be a Corolla (yes) or a SUV or a larger sedan, perhaps in 2014-15. Before that, will have to find parking space in our apartment society complex and evaluate whether a 5'4' person travelling alone most of the time really needs a bigger car.

[rohitrk]

Originally Posted by vid6639

rohitrk, are you sure the brochure I have with me as well as the hyundai website and the press release say that for Rs.30K they will add the side airbags.

Sorry for the confusion, what I ment was earlier sonata had no option for side airbags, while the new transform does have an option.


Yup the stuff you mentioned was standard earlier as well. I just listed out all the salient features which most cars in the same bracket don't have.

Right even I thought Hyundai is misleading the consumers by positioning as if these are the new features available only with new model. Well, marketing guys has to make their salary worth right

[S_budhiraj]

Few Months back I was in the market to buy Luxury Diesel sedan and was considering Embera but dropped the Idea without even taking the test drive after seeing the interiors of the car and its overall perception in the market. Bought the Magnum LT and revving it happily.

I must say the Package looks quite a lot sweeter know with 150 BHP on tap and good luxury features.

[nishant_kingpin]

Sonata has been a fancy for some members imagination since its launch. It seemed to be a car that meant business on first look and had positive reviews globally on its capability back when it was launched as the Embera in India.

I was looking for a car with a budget of Rs 13 Lakhs during that time and was tempted to stretch a little to jump to the Sonata. The only things that held me back were the interiors and the resale value of the car. Second hand Sonata's were cheaper than most cars from segments lower than which it was competing in. I for once could not afford to even think of having a car with low resale and/or high maintenance problems (This statement also gains weight as I own a May 2006 FIAT Adventure & I had taken a calculated risk on maintenance & resale to get a good buy within the Adventure segment).

My need was to have a vehicle that will atleast help fund my move to the 25L plus segment on change. I settled for the top end Corolla then.

[nanopano]

The new Sonata Transform! Sounds to be cool. I just read about it few days back on Indian Car Blog | Automotive News | Automobile Car Industry | Carazoo

[ancer]

nishant what does a 2nd hand Embera go for now days?was looking at buying the Hyundai Sonata Embera 2.0 CRDi AT ? don't have a high budget, just sold my sonata gold V6 , yeah seems like im a sonata fan , but will only consider the embera if its worth it!

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by rohitrk

Tadu, it's 150PS and not BHP. Even autocar India website has posted the wrong information where they talk about 8bhp increase in power. Even Hyundai website mentions 150PS which is exactly identical to earlier engine. Earlier specs mentioned 142 BHP.

Didn't quite get this. 150ps = 148bhp which is 6bhp more than 142bhp, or ?

[softroader]

went to check out the embera 2 days back in delhi. exteriors dont look very impressive, grill is just like the elantras, and the changes in the exterior are very minor, hardly noticable. interiors are very good though, look a segment above.

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by softroader

went to check out the embera 2 days back in delhi. exteriors dont look very impressive, grill is just like the elantras, and the changes in the exterior are very minor, hardly noticable. interiors are very good though, look a segment above.

elantra has a vertical chrome grill. Transform has something like Santro's big chrome grill i.e horizontal.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Gangsta

elantra has a vertical chrome grill. Transform has something like Santro's big chrome grill i.e horizontal.

Hyundai always messes up with its grills. See the grill of a Verna---does not suit a 8-lac car. The one on the Elantra was the worst. The only exception was the Gen 1 Sonata Embera (not the old Sonata)and the Accent.

I agree that the Gen 1 Embera which the Transform replaces had better exterior looks. It is only on the interiors that the Tranform scores.

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Hyundai always messes up with its grills. See the grill of a Verna---does not suit a 8-lac car. The one on the Elantra was the worst. The only exception was the Gen 1 Sonata Embera (not the old Sonata)and the Accent.

I agree that the Gen 1 Embera which the Transform replaces had better exterior looks. It is only on the interiors that the Tranform scores.

I don't like the one on the transform. It's giving something cheap looks.

But on Elantra's chrome grill... It's like a evil's teeth... I really like it.

[ancer]

Are there any problems with the 2.0l CRDi embera auto ? want to get my hands on this model, heard that the newer engine is more refined, but low on mileage?