Hyundai Sonata - surprisingly good

I’m away in Redmond. Avis offered me a Ford Taurus - but I asked for a slightly smaller card for ease of parking. The rep gave me a choice of a Ford Focus or a Hyundai Sonata - I’ve driven a Focus before, it’s fun - but I got the Sonata instead because I haven’t driven it before.

I have the V6 one, and it’s plenty powerful. The interior had a nice clean finish, with a layout that makes sense (unlike many other cars). The audio system was a little lacking, but again, still dramatically better than some of the other cars I’ve rented before. Actually what really impressed me was the trunk - even the lid was very nicely finished on the inside. Oh, it also didn’t seem to have much in the way of torque steer.

If I were considering a Honda Accord/Toyota Camry class car, I’d seriously consider this one. Especially since I discovered that it’s only $19,620 on CarsDirect with a heap of options (cruise control, moonroof, automatic headlights, trip computer, XM radio, power driver seat). Even worse, that’s just a mere $4,300 more than the Focus - which wouldn’t be nearly as nice (and be I4).

So what’s the catch? Anyone?

Personally I can’t buy it. It’s Front Wheel Drive - and FWD really bugs me. Slate has a good piece on “Why Front-Wheel Drive Sucks” - I agree especially about the “center of gravity” part. I’ve actually gotten somewhat car sick driving myself around in FWD cars - especially on the clover-leaf style ramps. On the other hand, the Volvo 240 that my parents had a long time ago, and my current car were much better.

That said apparently, Hyundai is building a RWD coupe. Hmm, I might just have to consider that. Especially if yet another window regulator fails in my car, like it did when I was getting the entry parking ticket at SJC.