raadsel

I personally like ProClip. It is a bit expensive, considering you have to buy separate pieces to mount on the car and to hold the phone but it works very well and stays secure.

Of course, as we've seen from the articles about Chrysler's OTA system, there are some rather scary threats that connected vehicles can be hacked.

I'm curious if you have had a chance to see the brother-in-laws Sonata Hybrid and what kind of review do you/he give it?

From what I've seen, the biggest issue with Fuel Cells is creating the Hydrogen; and that is what makes the current vehicles "fool cells." If we could solve the issue of creating large amounts of hydrogen gas inexpensively, these seem like they would be ideal vehicles. I'm guessing that "hydrogen stations" would be created quickly to meet demand. The issue is, researchers have yet to find an inexpensive, renewable way of creating large amounts of a pure hydrogen gas. The method at the moment involves using natural gas to create the hydrogen, which is not only not renewable, but also costs more energy to create than the hydrogen gas can produce.

Alex Dykes (Alex on Autos) has written his detailed review on the Sonata Hybrid and really liked it; the review won't be popular here. While he still prefers the exterior design of the Fusion, finding the look the best of all the mid-sized hybrids, he actually states that people wanting a mid-sized hybrid only need to go to the Hyundai and Honda dealers to see which they prefer. His testing found that the Sonata Hybrid gets better fuel economy than the Fusion Hybrid, he averaged 41.5 mpg. For those interested:

I believe it should stay ahead of the Sonata Hybrid for a while. I believe most dealers have exhausted their stock of 2015 Sonata Hybrids and, with the 2016 being a new design, there is little discount available yet. I suspect it will be winter before Hyundai starts discounting their new Hybrid.

It is worth noting, and this is part of why it looks the way it does, that the 2016 HSH has a 0.24 coefficient of drag -- tied with the Tesla S as the lowest for production cars.

As others have stated, the spot below the logo is the radar for the ACC and collision warning. A front license bracket would go on the bumper, just under the split grille. I've talked to Sonata fans who are also disappointed by the grille split, particularly as Hyundai gave the Genesis a more normal looking grille, despite the radar hiding behind it. Interior materials are allegedly pretty good, reviewers have tended to give good marks for the interior. As for the "fluidic design", Hyundai is apparently going to do a mid-cycle refresh for 2017 Sonatas (which should include the Hybrid). Last, one of the nice tech options is that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be available if you have the head unit with navigation. It actually sounds as if the plug-in version may be the better of the two -- other than the loss of storage area and fold down rear seats. One of the interesting features on the plug-in will be the ability to charge the plug-in portion of the HVB while driving. Allegedly it takes about 30 minutes of highway driving to fully charge the HVB, meaning on a longer trip you can top off the batteries as you reach your destination, and drive EV only in city traffic.

Another difference that most people forget is, because you are getting higher mpg, the variations seem larger. MPG does not scale well, at high mpgs a small percentage looks like a big difference. Remember that an 8 mpg difference at 56 mpg is about 14% off; the equivalent on a car that is getting 20 mpg is only about 3 mpg. I'd submit that you really aren't seeing that much difference in variation, compared to other cars you owned, but rather that the difference appears larger.

This reminds me of a time when my father bought a new car, years ago, that was fancy. He was with a friend one day and a fly had gotten into the car and the friend asked, "Where is the button for the automatic fly swatter?" Enjoy the new car.

It may be tricky, but to this point Hyundai seems to be doing it well. Hyundai fixed most of the initial issues with the 2011 Hybrids through recalls (similar to Ford and the 2013 Fusion Hybrid/C-Max), and the improvements made to the power train in 2013 helped further. For 2013 models, the HSH is given a better reliability rating than the Fusion. At this point, I think it will be interesting to see how both cars fare over a decade or more -- though short term it does seem that there are some issues with the Fusion Hybrid/C-Max transmissions, at least in many of the 2013 models. It may be that the real issue, in both cars, is the mechanical oil pump, which needs the ICE operating to function. I find it interesting that Hyundai is putting an electric oil pump in their 2016 Hybrid, to keep the transmission lubricated while in EV mode. Having said that, there are reasons why I'm driving a Ford and not a Hyundai.

Just for comparison, if you are still looking in a couple of weeks, I'd also compare the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. It will have the best navigation/infotainment system on any of the cars, with the pinch to zoom, buffering of XM stations, but most of all it has Android Auto and should, likely in the next month, have Apple Carplay. It will have most of the options available as the Fusion and have a slightly larger trunk (including fold down rear seats). The big difference, that you will either like or not, is that it has a 6-speed Auto transmission as opposed to a CVT. Of course, it has the long Hyundai standard warranty and includes a lifetime warranty on the hybrid battery. Since you mentioned trunk space, you might also look at the Ford C-Max hybrid -- a car that most people don't seem to be aware of and is more like a mini SUV. It won't have things like Lane Keep or Adaptive Cruise but does have the park assist and other features. It has the same powertrain as the Fusion Hybrid and, being built on the Focus frame, is a nice driving car. In my case, it came down to the Fusion or the C-Max, I chose the C-Max because of the extra height (easier entry/exit) and storage space. The Fusion would be a great choice and I'd pick it over the Camry or Accord -- the Camry just doesn't drive as nicely and the Accord has the crazy dual infotainment system. I agree with you, though, that you need to look closely at all the options and find the one that works best for you.

I'll echo what others are saying, the Fusion Energi sounds like it would fit your lifestyle better. You can find them used for roughly the same price as a used Fusion (non-Energi) hybrid, and hybrids/Energis are cheap right now due to the low gas prices (not much "hybrid penalty" on used cars). A hybrid doesn't sound ideal for you, if you are mostly taking short trips, as you typically need to travel at least 5 miles before you start seeing much benefit from the hybrid system -- the engine stays on a lot initially to warm the engine and fluids. So, if most of your driving is short trips, then you'll likely not see much improvement in fuel economy over a non-hybrid. I would also look at the C-Max Energi. The C-Max is more of a small CUV style car but has the same powertrain/batteries as the Fusion Energi. The advantage to the C-Max, especially for those of us that are older, is the extra height makes it easy to get in and out of the car and it has more of an upright seating position. On the other hand, it doesn't have some of the higher end options available (such as Blind spot monitoring or adaptive cruise control). I was very torn between the C-Max and the Fusion Hybrid -- I liked the Fusion for the driver assist options but slightly preferred the C-Max for the height and better storage capacity (particularly with the rear seats down). I don't think you can go wrong with either car and I came very close to buying a Fusion.

While reviewing this thread today, I came across this old post and noticed no answer was ever given. I'm fairly sure the hybrid that does not have a "creep" mode would be the VW Jetta Hybrid. The Jetta Hybrid has a Dual Clutch Transmission, which is why it would have no "creep" mode. For those not familiar with a Dual Clutch, it is essentially a robotically shifted manual transmission and, like a manual, the car has no gear activated (the clutch is held open) when the engine is idling. This makes it more difficult to maneuver in tight spaces as the clutch has to re-engage, to put the car in gear, before the car will move.

It is worth noting there are some huge rebates for the Sonata Hybrid currently, $4000 off for simply buying the car, $1000 Conquest cash, $500 (was $1000 over Memorial day) off for Military/Veterans, and a couple of other possible rebates. Hyundai is releasing the 2016 Sonata Hybrid in July, which is a new model based on the newer Sonata body style, so they are trying to get rid of their current stock of 2015 Sonata Hybrids.