REVIEWS: 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE

Months in fleet: Two
Miles to date: 7850

During the lazy months of summer, the only thing harder to obtain than a paid day off at the beach was the key fob to our Four Seasons Hyundai Sonata SE. Since it arrived in Ann Arbor at the beginning of July, editors and friends of the magazine have collectively piled on nearly 8000 miles. That's no small feat. By contrast, it took our Four Seasons Nissan Cube twice that amount of time to begrudgingly hit 7000 miles. In August alone, the Sonata covered 4000 miles, reaching destinations as far as the mountains of North Carolina, as well as the urban jungles of Saint Louis and Chicago.

And unlike our Four Seasons Suzuki Kizashi, we don't seem to be the only ones to appreciate the Sonata's penchant for time on the roads.

"I see more and more 2011 Sonatas on the road every day, it seems," said copy editor Rusty Blackwell. "Hyundai seems poised to climb the sales rankings in the megacompetitive mid-size segment."

A recent conversation with Hyundai North America CEO John Krafcik revealed that Hyundai's factories are struggling to keep up with demand. In July, the Alabama plants produced within fifteen units of the number that dealers moved out the door. A quick trip to New England confirmed the Sonata's success outside our Midwest home office, according to senior web editor Phil Floraday.

"A surprising number of new Sonatas were on the road in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and they looked very good alongside much more expensive German sedans," Floraday said. "It's clear that Hyundai's styling has come into its own, which is a key factor in image-conscious markets."