# VW CC vs Hyundai Sonata



## jrp134 (Jan 12, 2011)

This was posted on a Hyundai Blog - shows two things: 1. Some people really don't know much about Veedubs and 2. One Sonata owner wishes he went with the original and not a Korean copycat! Perhaps there is still hope for the new Passat once all of the Sonata owners drive their cars for a few years and realize that there is no substitute for a German car!


QUOTE (NT2SHBBY @ Jul 21 2010, 01:36 PM) 
every VW I've ever seen have MADE IN MEXICO stamped all over the door jams...Audi's on the other hand are made in germany, which seems to make up for the increase in premium. Although the fit and finish on the Audi's is impressive

REPLY 
That is completely false. Jettas are built in Mexico, but ALL Pasat's and CC's are built in Germany. Before leasing my 2011 Sonata, I owned 3 VW'. 1 Jetta and 2 Passats. Honeslty, there is very little comparison between Hyundais and VW's. VW's drive so much better and the build Quality is much better. I like my Sonata, but will go back to VW when my lease runs out in less than 3 years.


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## jayster03 (May 18, 2009)

The new Sonata is an impressive car for Hyundai, and I have to admit I did look at one before buying the CC. I just liked the CC all around better, so I bought it. But lately after reading all the press I wondered if I should have saved some cash and went with the Sonata, tad bit better mileage, reg gas vs the CC needing premium etc .....

Well I ending up having to travel for business last month and got to spend a week with a new Sonata. I couldn't wait to get back to driving the CC, for that matter I would rather drive our 2010 Jetta as well. While the car is certainly better than the car that came before it, its not where near the CC. 

The interior while it looks nice, feels cheap to me. The car ended up returning far less mpg than I had expected, and while both cars are rated at around 200hp some how the CC manages to pull harder and accelerate much faster and smoother. Plus the CC rides, handles, and is far more comfortable and quiet. 

At the end I almost felt it wasn't even fair to compare these 2 cars. The Sonata is in the under 20k range and tops out around 25k, and for that you get a lot. While the CC starts at the upper 20 to the 40k range. 

I like the CC so much that I will probably buy another when this one is done. That is if VW leaves it alone and doesn't take it down market like the new Passat and Jetta. If so I guess I will move on to an Audi A4


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## phantom2010 (Aug 3, 2010)

I had a Sonata as a rental car a few weeks ago. I like the exterior styling of it, and the interior looked okay, but the fit and finish of the materials inside of it were rather cheap feeling. I'm sure I had the bottom of the line model, but I wasn't really impressed after driving it. There is no comparison to the CC in my opinion. The CC has a more upscale look, the interior is nicer and it certainly drives better. Not a bad car by Hyundai, but I don't think it's in the same league as the CC.


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## jrp134 (Jan 12, 2011)

Good to hear from people with actual car time in the Sonata. I think that the Sonata's exterior and interior style will age a lot more quickly than the CC as well. The CC won the coveted Red Dot design award when it first came out and honestly I think the car looks better than the prev gen CLS.


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## Epence (Jan 7, 2010)

i am surprised no one has mentioned the headlights of the Sonata are fugly... 

every time when i see a Sonata, in my mind i say it's a rip-off from CC styling.


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## saywhat1 (Nov 7, 2010)

And Don't forget it's a Hyundai!!:laugh:


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## SmellyTheDwarf (Jul 26, 2010)

I was in between jobs recently and drove for a few dealerships to pass the time. Logged a fair amount of time in the entire Hyundai lineup. Bottom line....meh. Not a single one of their models can hold a candle to the all around build quality, performance, handling and driving experience of a CC or a Passat. Ok...I didn't log any time in the Equus, but WhoTF cares....I'd take an S4 instead.

I guess Hyundai owners need to feel like they have an awesome car too...they just don't know what they're missing.


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## CC U L8TR (Aug 3, 2010)

Sonata ripped off CC, CC ripped of CLS, who cares.


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## VMRWheels (Aug 11, 2009)

saywhat1 said:


> And Don't forget it's a Hyundai!!:laugh:


Hyundai, like Sunday!

But really, Hyundai has made great leaps when it comes to their cars. I too would likely take the CC but the fact we're discussing this on the CC forum leads me to think some of us may be slightly biased :laugh:


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## im no hero x (Feb 26, 2007)

Finally a thread about Hyundai that makes sense! Yeah, they've gotten a lot better since the Excel but they're still Hyundais.


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## pdunk25 (Sep 16, 2010)

CC U L8TR said:


> Sonata ripped off CC, CC ripped of CLS, who cares.


Just like the Mercedes CLS, the Passat CC was developed under former Mercedes Benz chief designer Murat Guenak during his stint as top of Volkswagen Director of Design. 

So the CLS and the CC are closely related in design, they had the same chief designer. Would I say it was ripped off, probably not. I just think the guy who oversaw the design of both cars likes a certain style and tends to stick with what works.


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## MrRline (Apr 6, 2010)

I give hyundai a lot of credit as far as a sedan market goes I think they really have something special for the price range. Like others have mentioned the acceleration feels better in the CC and honestly I think the DSG makes the CC in a lot of ways. It's just a great all around package and looks wise everyone thinks it's high end. Hyundai while looking good nobody mistakes it for a benz or anything special. Either way bravo to both companies, but the CC is miles ahead of them in a lot of different aspects including customer base too.


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## JHolmes (May 14, 2010)

I'm not a fan of the Sonata styling, inside or out. However, I'll say this... In terms of engine choice/design/development, VW lags way behind the competition when they can produce a turbo 4 with 250+ hp using 87. Perhaps this reflects a difference in measurement standards (wheel/crank/etc) but both Ford and Hyundai's turbo engines are amazing feats of engineering. Especially the Ford EcoTec turbo 4.

Edit: Also, assuming the Hyundai's turbo numbers are accurate and at the crank, it annoys me I have to go APR Stage 1 to get similar power AND potentially void my warranty.


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## 1.8turboB5 (May 1, 2002)

FYI -- TSI runs on 87 octane and i get 35mpgs in my CC on my 28 mile 95% highway commute quite often. at 75ish mph. just saying


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## MrRline (Apr 6, 2010)

uh wait is this thread a start to crying about fuel prices? If your that broke you can't afford 4 bucks more at the pump maybe you shouldn't have picked up a turbo car?


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## lightguy (Nov 28, 2010)

Here we go with the premium fuel talk again.

Ya, the Sonata is said to run on 87 - but for that matter the CC says it's "OK" too, just not optimum. Interviews with Hyundai's engineers revealed the same, while 87 was their goal - they flat out admitted the car would see another 10hp on higher octane. Heck, lots of people spends lots of money to get an extra 10hp - you can bet you azz that if I had Sonata turbo, that I would put 91 octane in it every time. 

High octane and high compression go hand in hand. Performance will ALWAYS suffer with lower octane fuel - you can't cheat the science of it. You could make 600hp from a turbocharged V10, but it will certainly make even more on 91 - and even more than that on 100.


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## JHolmes (May 14, 2010)

lightguy said:


> Here we go with the premium fuel talk again.
> 
> Ya, the Sonata is said to run on 87 - but for that matter the CC says it's "OK" too, just not optimum. Interviews with Hyundai's engineers revealed the same, while 87 was their goal - they flat out admitted the car would see another 10hp on higher octane. Heck, lots of people spends lots of money to get an extra 10hp - you can bet you azz that if I had Sonata turbo, that I would put 91 octane in it every time.
> 
> High octane and high compression go hand in hand. Performance will ALWAYS suffer with lower octane fuel - you can't cheat the science of it. You could make 600hp from a turbocharged V10, but it will certainly make even more on 91 - and even more than that on 100.


I'm not crying about gas prices. Hell, my other daily driver is a 2002 Range Rover that gets 12mpg on the freeway!


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## lightguy (Nov 28, 2010)

JHolmes said:


> I'm not crying about gas prices. Hell, my other daily driver is a 2002 Range Rover that gets 12mpg on the freeway!


I wasn't the one knocking anyone about cost, just the whining over premium fuel. Just seems everyone has been whining about it lately. 

I hear you on the power level however. We should be able to get 250 stock out of these things. Oh well, this car is faster than my last car and my next car will be faster than this. How much faster depends on the economy. :laugh:


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## jrp134 (Jan 12, 2011)

The Hyundai Turbo 4 actually runs a relatively low (for a turbo engine) compression ratio of 9.5 to 1. The Mitsubishi built turbocharger (twin scroll I believe) in that engine is scrolling up around 17psi of boost however. Now usually, I would be worried about an engine that runs that much boost in a daily driver, but Hyundai apparently tested this engine to 300 continuous hours at wide open throttle! I'm thinking the compression ratio could be increased with a switch to premium fuel, and thus result in a boost in HP. They left it at 9.5 to accommodate the crappy fuel we have here in NA as most buyers are too cheap to pay for the good stuff. Impressive engine - but I would rather have my CC any day. I wouldn't mind if they put the TTS engine in the CC though...


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## lightguy (Nov 28, 2010)

jrp134 said:


> The Hyundai Turbo 4 actually runs a relatively low (for a turbo engine) compression ratio of 9.5 to 1. The Mitsubishi built turbocharger (twin scroll I believe) in that engine is scrolling up around 17psi of boost however. Now usually, I would be worried about an engine that runs that much boost in a daily driver, but Hyundai apparently tested this engine to 300 continuous hours at wide open throttle! I'm thinking the compression ratio could be increased with a switch to premium fuel, and thus result in a boost in HP. They left it at 9.5 to accommodate the crappy fuel we have here in NA as most buyers are too cheap to pay for the good stuff. Impressive engine - but I would rather have my CC any day. I wouldn't mind if they put the TTS engine in the CC though...


All forced induction engines look relatively low compression on paper. That's because the actual engine compression is stated, not included the forced part. The TSI engine is pretty much exactly the same as the Hyundai, 9.6:1. 

I want the 3.0L TDI engine in a car. The euro A6 with this engine is incredible. Please, VW let us have this engine in something other than the Q7! A4, A6, S4TDI - whatever it takes! The 400+ tq is giving me a hard on thinking about it. Oh ya, RWD please!


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## FirstCC808 (Apr 1, 2010)

I'm happy with my CC but i'm somewhat jealous of Hyundai willingness to constantly make small and big upgrades to the Sonata. Here's the new face on the Sonata Hybrid. 

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/01/30/automobiles/autoreviews/20110130-hyundai-4.html


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## VdubTX (Jul 5, 2003)

FirstCC808 said:


> I'm happy with my CC but i'm somewhat jealous of Hyundai willingness to constantly make small and big upgrades to the Sonata. Here's the new face on the Sonata Hybrid.
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/01/30/automobiles/autoreviews/20110130-hyundai-4.html


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## chrismkay3 (Jan 16, 2008)

had a sonata as a rental car all week, it is definitely an improvement from hyundais of the past. the interior materials did not feel cheap, the seats were comfy, and it drove and handled decently well. it would make a fine daily. that said, a cc is definitely a step above the sonata, if i had the funds, i would go with the cc :thumbup:


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## phantom2010 (Aug 3, 2010)

VdubTX said:


>


 Agreed that thing is rather unattractive, the regular Sonata looks better than that. I drove one for a week as a rental, and it wsa a decent car but I disagree about the previous comment about the interior, the materials felt extremely cheap compared to the CC. It FELT like a rental car. It was probably the bottom of the model lineup I'm sure, but it definitely did not have the premium feel of the CC. Decent car, and I'd take one over a lot of other cars in the segment, but definitely not the CC. I drove a Camry last week as a rental and I absolutely hated it, that made the Sonata feel like a Benz.


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## ssmuff (Oct 6, 2006)

I own the new 2011 Hyundai Sonata and I am glad to see that you guys aren't completely bashing it. I decided on the sonata for a few reasons but most of all is the maintenance cost and warranty. I drive around 25-35K miles per year so I need something that would cover the high mileage over a short period of time. I would love to own a VW or Audi but I can't dare think about the $60+ oil changes or the small warranty. Sure it's not a $40K car but it does just fine for performance and mpg. I ended up getting the SE so it has the 18" wheels, paddle shifters (don't use) and I did add the NAV package. 

Picture


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## MikeinNJ (May 9, 2007)

I just got my CC this past Tuesday. Monday, I test drove the Sonata Limited and 2.0T limited. I chose to lease for 3 years just to have a lower monthly payment until I get my student loans paid off then I can buy whatever I want. I'm graduating in May, so right now I didn't have a ton of money to throw down on financing a new car. If I had to finance, I would definitely be looking to own for at least seven years or so, at which point, I would have gladly gone with the Sonata for warranty purposes. 

But for the sake of leasing for three years, the VW is just too much damn fun to drive, looks better imo, has a nicer interior, and free scheduled maintenance for the three years that I'll drive it. I would never finance a VW without buying some kind of extended warranty.


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## kyle1 (Feb 15, 2009)

My issue with the Sonata...everyone and their brother, mother, father, grandmother and grandfather drives one...at least around here.


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## ssmuff (Oct 6, 2006)

To be honest its not such a bad thing to have a car that everyone drives. Mine was the first black on black SE with NAV in Wichita. Dealer had to swap with another to get and actually my dealership had yet to have one come in with the NAV in it so I was buying blind. I see way more GLS and LTDs then I do the SE. I think people are scared of the larger wheels and stiffer suspension. I am 30 and I think it rides way nicer then my Grand Cherokee does.


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