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2012 Hyundai SONATA Hybrid consumer reviews

$25,850 starting MSRP
side view of 2012 SONATA Hybrid Hyundai
(73 reviews)
83% of drivers recommend this car
Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.6
  • Interior 4.6
  • Performance 4.0
  • Value 4.3
  • Exterior 4.6
  • Reliability 4.2
Explore the 2012 Hyundai SONATA Hybrid
Shop the 2012 Hyundai SONATA Hybrid

I LOVE my new to me car!

This car seriously has it all. I knew I wanted a hybrid and I fell in love with the panoramic sunroof in the Sonata Hybrid. Luckily, I found a 2012 red Sonata Hybrid with leather interior, panoramic sunroof and full electronic package for an extremely reasonable price. This is my first used car - other cars I've owned were a Honda Accord, Subaru Forrester and Honda Pilot. Reliability, quality and value are important to me. I felt really comfortable buying a used Sonata Hybrid because of the great maintanence package and Power Train warranty Hyundai offers on their certified used vehicles. I love this car and I am very happy with my purchase.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 4.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a Used car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
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We love our 2012 Sonata Hybrid, but ....

The car is fantastic though we live in the foothills of the Cascades and usually don't get the advertised mileage, probably because of all the ups and downs. Also, we've found that using a mid-range gas really help with the MPG, so we'll mix half a tank of premium at COSTCO with half a tank of regular for the best mileage. Two things to be aware of with this hybrid model: first off is its sluggish acceleration when you really need it as the car either can't decide if the gas engine really needs to perform (like you're pulling out quickly into traffic) or stalls outright. Luckily Hyundai has a firmware fix for this very unsafe condition. Secondly, and Hyundai hasn't a clue on this one, for some reason the audio on the radio or Nav just stops working. One solution is to pull the car over to the side of the road and REBOOT! A far simpler work around is to hit the BlueLink button on the rear-view mirror twice and sound is restored. Mind you this doesn't happen all that often, but when it does it's a real pain. Hyundai has replaced our entire Nav touch screen and computer twice and neither time has it fixed the problem. Unfortunately it seems that Hyundai has taken the ostrich approach on this one and is just hoping the problem will go away. IN FACT I doubt that you'll even get Hyundai to even admit that such a problem even exists. I've taken our 2012 Sonata hybrid to two Hyundai dealers and they claim that they've never heard of the problem. And of course with all intermittent problems like this, it never happens to them. But I'll give it to them that they've tried to fix it twice at a service cost of over $4k each time.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 4.0
  • Value 4.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 4.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
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We love it.

I bought this car because it was on sale. Was a 2012 leftover early this year in 2013. Its probably one of the best cars I've ever owned and my mileage is always better than the 34 city 39 highway. It usually gets around 41 on the road at pretty fast speeds. It does have a small hesitation as the gas engine kicks in but that is greatly offset by the performance and gas mileage. And even that is less noticeable with the cruise control on. My wife doesn't notice it at all. We love the car and there is no better warrenty.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Does recommend this car
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first hybrid and loving it!

got a 2012 in Feb 2013 just a couple of weeks before the 2013 was available (oh well, whatcha gonna do right LOL). it was built in Dec 2012 so i'm sure it is one of the last of that model year...anyways, the car is wonderful to drive, extremely comfortable and roomy. i went from a 2012 dodge avenger to this and it was like stepping into a rolls royce in comparison. the build quality feels and sounds top notch, not tinny or clunky at all. it takes a bit to get used to how a hybrid drives, but on my daily 30 minute commute (90% highway) you don't even notice and if you do, it only feels like a gear change when the gas engine kicks on. ive been getting 37-38 mpg and about to go over 1000 miles on just the second tank of gas and have some to go, probably hit 1100 before i have to fill up again. so far very impressed with this car and i'm glad i made the switch to a hybrid

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 4.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
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Not at all a good car

I have been using this car since 6 months. Since month 1 I am having the same problems with Mileage, performance, safety. Lots of time informed to hyundai cusomer connect center. Initially they promised to fix the issues. But they just need to verify that from any local dealer. Then the local dealer also verified and stated the same. Then customer connect center replied it is not guarantee to get 35 mpg in city and 40 mpg on hwy. It is just an estimate. So nothing they can do it seems. I explained them whole story still they refused to solve this issue. So I suggest not to buy this. Remember hyundai stopped manufacturing new sonata hybrids. Thanks,

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 3.0
  • Interior 4.0
  • Performance 1.0
  • Value 1.0
  • Exterior 4.0
  • Reliability 1.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Does not recommend this car
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Great Car All Around!

Great car - 1st hybrid to own. Bought it due to the mpg and the great look of the car. I bought the Premium hybrid '12 sonata, and glad I did. It's got the panoramic roof - makes the interior so much open, the leather heated front and back seats, blue link technology, bluetooth, great looking wheels, roomy interior, and navigation. Some people talk about the hesitancy and the brakes - I haven't noticed either of it. I've had my hybrid sonata for almost a month. On my very first tank of gas I got 41-42 combined city/highway mpg. I think those are great numbers. It's winter here in Iowa - cold weather. I can't wait to see my numbers during the upcoming warm spring/summer. I can't say enough of my new hybrid sonata. It's a great car, including the great warranty. I love it - and I get so many compliments of the great looking car I have!

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Does recommend this car
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love this car!

I was eying the Sonata Hybrid for a few years - loved the elegant technology of gas + lithium Battery. Finally my old car needed replacement and I got the Sonata Hybrid. It has not disappointed. What a super car. It's comfortable, elegant, well designed, really impressive with gas mileage (though you have to learn to drive a little differently) and great value for your money. The biggest surprise I had was the power of the car. I'm allowed to drive in the express lanes without any other passengers in my jurisdiction and occasionally I get aggressive drivers in performance cars behind me giving me attitude (Hybrid car vs performance car stuff). First time I got annoyed and stepped on the gas to give them room, I was amazed. This car took off like a rocket and now, when cruising, I sometimes have to check myself since I find I can hit 140 km without noticing and have to brake back to 120 max. Love this car!!

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 4.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Does recommend this car
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love to save gas

best car on gas mileage in town 45mpg best on highway55 to 65 mpg great ride& handling over all i would recommend this car to everyone.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Does recommend this car
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THIS IS A GREAT CAR

The styling. The interior comfort. This is a great car for the price. Its mileage rating is biased toward hiway driving, so if your driving consists of more hiway than city (at least half hiway), this is a good car for you. I can easily get more than 40mpg on hiway alone. I average about 34 in only city driving. This is the only full-hybrid vehicle I have seen with a real automatic transmission (6 speeds!) instead of an inexpensive CVT trans, except for a couple of very high-end cars that I cannot name here. I commute over a mountain hiway to work. The handling and power are as good as I need for a sedan model. Being a hybrid, fuel mileage is less in cold weather, as the gas engine must stay on longer to warm up. Hyundai has provided a couple of software updates to the car's computer since it's introduction in 2011, and is a neat car that I reccommend to others. Definitely test drive all hybrids, and you will likely select this neat Sonata. It is quieter and more comfortable than the others, and is a good choice for long trips. Don't forget the lifetime battery warranty! A big plus here for peace of mind.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 4.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 4.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
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Green Expectation

The Sonata Hybrid was rated highly by Consumer Reports. Like the no plug-in design of the electric power. The new thiner battery design gives the car good truck space. It is marketed as 39 MPG. In the 2200 plus miles (new) the highest MPG I recorded was 36.5.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.0
  • Interior 4.0
  • Performance 4.0
  • Value 4.0
  • Exterior 4.0
  • Reliability 4.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
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