2006 Hyundai Sonata Owners Manual

type='html'>2006 Hyundai Sonata Owners Manual  - Gentleman, welcome back. Edmunds says that
Hyundai has had a tough road in America. Despite the fact that its more recent cars are competent and competitively priced, many people still remember the Hyundai Excel which earned a reputation for being both underpowered and unreliable. Almost two decades later, J.D. Power gave the 2004 Hyundai Sonata top honors for initial quality, rating it the "Most Appealing Midsize Car" two years in a row.

Hoping to capitalize on the previous-generation car's relative success, Hyundai has completely redesigned the Sonata for 2006. Unlike Sonatas before it, this one is built in America at Hyundai's new factory in Alabama. The new car is bigger than the old one and offers a more spacious interior that's filled with higher-quality materials than we've seen in any previous Hyundai car. The roomy rear seat even has an inch more legroom than the family-friendly Camry. Officially, the Sonata is classified by the government as a "large car" due to overall interior volume. Still, from behind the wheel, the 2006 Hyundai Sonata doesn't feel appreciably larger than other midsize sedans like the Accord or Altima.

The exterior look is a big departure from the old Sonata's conservative sheet metal. We especially like the '06 version's dual exhaust outlets and the 17-inch wheels on the LX model. All in all, though, the Hyundai Sonata looks a lot like the current-generation Accord, especially from the rear. We're not sure this is an altogether bad thing, but Hyundai would probably be better off giving the Sonata a more distinct look. Like previous Sonatas, the '06 model is available with two engines, a four-cylinder and a V6. Both are all-new engines and both will be built at the Alabama factory, though early versions of the smaller engine will be built in Korea. The V6 comes standard with a new five-speed automatic transmission.

2006 Hyundai Sonata Owners Manual