My Thoughts on the Hyundai Sonata 2005-2010 NF Generation

This may look like your ordinary car that you've seen driving around a suburban area by either someone who doesn't really care about cars or by an old man. But it's a lot more, this car is actually a landmark in Hyundai's history and a staple of the company's reputation.

The NF Sonata came out in 2005 and was a big change from the previous generation (EF) Sonata with it's new sleek styling and smooth curves—a bigger interior, two new aluminum block engines (four engines in Korea), new five-speed automatic transmissions on some trims, a new ABS and electronic stability control system, and a bunch of other improvements.

The new styling was more representative of a standard family sedan from the mid to late 2000s, giving it more appeal to the family sedan market.

The two new engines the NF Sonata received were the 2.4L fully aluminum Theta Inline Four with Dual Overhead Camshafts and Continuous Variable Valve Timing or CVVT for short producing around 165 HP and a 3.3L aluminum block Lambda V6 with Dual Overhead Cams Producing 234 HP. As for the transmission choices, you could get either get a 5-speed manual or the more popular four-speed automatic with shiftronic.

The available trims are the GLS, SE, and Limited. The GLS is the Base model, the SE is Essentially the GLS with more features, and the limited is the luxury version.

As for my thoughts on the NF Sonata, It's a good car with a decent engine and drivetrain. The 2.4L engine gives decent power and I haven't driven the V6 but from what I've heard it gives great power for a car that weighs about 3,600 pounds. Stock, it handles like a crossover but more nimble, but if I bought my own, I'd do some tuning, Even if it was my daily driver.

My mom owns one and it has the Inline 4, it has over 351,000 miles and still runs. I'll be honest, it runs kinda bad after all the miles. It takes 93 octane gasoline because of the carbon buildup and even though it doesn't impact the running, it smells like an old school bus. Also, there's a dent in the right rear door, and it's rusting, and there's a stain on the ceiling fabric. But I love it, and all the other NF Sonatas out there. Why? It has a special place in my heart because I practically grew up in that car. After the seemingly endless miles and many road trips, it's grown to be almost like a home. I think most NF Sonatas in the U.S. share a similar story. When I see one in the scrap yard, I get just a little bit sad.

As for what I think about the model as a whole, it's a really capable family sedan. It has great potential as a tuner car or even a cannonball run car. The NF Sonata was transformative to Hyundai because it changed Hyundai from being a Bargain Bin brand to one of the top car brands outside of Japan. The car is used as a police car in Korea and China and also a taxi in Korea, China, Australia, and other countries. With the exception of Toyota, I'd like to see other companies make a car so reliable that it can be used as a police car and taxi around East Asia (except for Japan) and the Oceania continent.

As for what I personally think, Hyundai could have done better, I think an all wheel drive system and sport trim would have been great features in order to create a car to compete with the Subaru Legacy or even an alternative to the Ford Fusion and it's AWD option. However, I understand why Hyundai might not have. One of their main advantages was the low price of their cars, and an AWD system can be expensive to develop.