Overview & Reviews

The 2013 Hyundai Sonata receives a minor shuffling of features among trim levels. Most notably, the base GLS model's manual transmission is no longer available, as a six-speed automatic is now standard throughout the lineup.

• Stylish and comfortable cabin
• Lengthy warranty.
• Lots of standard and optional features for the money
• Top fuel economy
• Strong acceleration

• Distinctive styling affects rear headroom
• Rough ride in SE trim.

User Reviews:

Showing 21 through 30 of 76.00

• 

  skip the GPS Navigation system-buy a portable - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Rick - January 18 - 10:31 am

  Navigation system doesnt work. If you were where the indicator says you are you would be swimming in the ocean. took it to a dealer and they wanted $5k to replace it...i wish he was joking. He wasnt. I took it to another dealer and they charged me $400 to update the maps. It worked for about 3 months. Now I am swimming again. You can go to mapnsoft.com and do it yourself for $169.....its cheaper to buy a hand held portable GPS system.

• 

  Beware! - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By cjohnsen - January 1 - 1:35 pm

  I bought my 13 sonata based off the great reviews people have been leaving. It has a great design and a good price compared to competitors. However, after 3 months of ownership less then 3500 miles my car has broken down 3 times now. The first time I went to go start my car and it wouldnt start. For 3 hours myself and others tried restarting the car but it never started. Finally a tow truck came and towed to dealer. Dealer told me that night they couldnt duplicate the problem. So basically oh well take your car home, its fine now. Im sure he car magically fixed itself, right? Wrong! Died again 2 days later. After being there 2 weeks it comes home. Now a week later my ac isnt working!

• 

  Great Driving Experience! - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By susanbreit - November 30 - 12:56 am

  This is my first Hyundai. So, far this car drives real smooth, looks great and I got a good deal! The customer service that I received at Freehold Hyundai was fantastic. I would have not purchased the vehicle, if it was not for the professionalism of my salesman Tom Tapke. The dealership should realize how valuable he is!!! Thanks Again!! Susan Breiterman

• 

  New owner impressions - to be updated later - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By wrigh003 - November 25 - 1:21 pm

  Just bought my ’13 Sonata SE on 12/31/12, and so far I’m in love. The gas mileage calculator is ticking up steadily as I get past the initial leadfoot (it’s plenty fast, even without the turbo…) test drive miles, so I’m curious to see where it levels out. I hear that it takes up to several thousand miles worth of driving before the mileage really gets where it’s supposed to be, I will likely update this in a few months with that knowledge, as well as doing manual calculations when I go to the gas pump. I commute back and forth a total of 80 miles a day, 99% in highway traffic; even with the SE suspension and the low profile 18” tires, the ride is pleasantly firm rather than harsh- even over expansion joints and through construction zones along the interstate. It’s likely that a GLS or Limited would ride softer, with the slightly different suspension and taller-sidewall tires, so if cloudlike ride quality is a concern, consider that. For my money, I prefer the SE. Radio display could maybe be a little better. I’m still not 101% used to how it’s all laid out, though, so my opinion here may change. Blue backlighting is nice, auto-adjusting to ambient light conditions as the automatic headlights go on and off I could take or leave, I think. I will be digging into the manual to see if that is a setting I can adjust. That said, my phone paired to the stereo in about 10 seconds and calls through the mic/speakers in the car are easy to hear and easy to be heard, which is a good thing. Stereo on my particular SE sounds good and although it doesn’t seem to really crank (I think I have the 104 watt base stereo), that’s OK, the car is quiet enough at highway speed that it doesn’t have to. Need to read the directions and get all my stuff figured out and set up there, find some XM stations I like, etc. I’ll wait a while before I tear into the radio like I tend to do in most of my vehicles- but again, it’s 100% serviceable as is, and with plenty of connectivity (Bluetooth, aux input jack, etc) besides. My particular vehicle also has the BluLink connection – to be honest, beyond “Hyundai-brand OnStar,” I don’t even really know what this is or how I’d use it- another thing to look in the manual for. Nice touch if you’re looking for it and/or had something like it on a previous vehicle. The driver’s seat is comfortable and easy to adjust, and the cloth material on the center section of the seat has kept me in place well, no sliding around like a full leather seat can sometimes cause. Heated seats are a nice thing – never would have picked that as an option living in AL like I do, but my wife loves them and during our brief winter I’m sure I’ll love them too. Used them this morning. Also worth noting is that Hyundai is smart- lots of people with Sonatas are going to have a kid or two (three in my case) in back, at least occasionally. The back side of the driver and passenger seats (at least in the SE) appear to be leather/leatherette – that way you can wipe off the marks from dirty shoes, etc., if any happen to get put there. Cloth might have been cheaper to install, but that one little touch will cause the car to look nicer, longer. Same story on the armrest areas on the doors and the armrest on the console – all appear to be covered in material that will wear well, which is a good sign in my book. While I’m on the interior, I’ll note here that I’m 6’2” and generally automatically move any seat, in any car, all the way to the back. My new Sonata is the first car I can ever remember not needing to do that in. Front legroom is excellent, and even more to the point, so is REAR legroom, even when I have the seat where I’ll need it. If things go according to plan, by the time I get rid of this car, those little boys won’t be little any more, so this was important to me. As a lifelong manual transmission prefer-er, my left foot keeps looking for something to do, but I am enjoying the paddle shifters just as well as manually rowing the gears- and I’ll admit that it’ll be nice to be able to let the car do the shifting whenever I happen to get stuck in the occasional traffic jam. One of my reasons for preferring a manual transmission is the simplicity argument- it’s one less thing to break years down the road. Here’s hoping I never have to use it, but the long powertrain warranty Hyundai offers was one of the reasons I was able to get my own head around buying an automatic- the paddle shift ability is just a bonus for me. The trunk is utterly cavernous. I don’t golf and don’t really know anyone who does, so I won’t use the usual “holds _ golf bags!” metric, but those three boys I mentioned earlier like to eat. Groceries for our family are sometimes a two-cart affair coming out of the store. The old Montero Sport we had before had plenty of space for anything we wanted to put in it, but I’d be amazed if this car had any less- comparing the space below the back of the rear seats in the Mitsu vs. the trunk in the Sonata, just from looking at it, I’d say the Sonata probably actually has more space. I won’t be throwing any sheets of plywood in here (I have an old pickup for that…), but I don’t think I’ll ever wish for a bigger trunk for anything one could reasonably expect to transport by car. These are my initial impressions on a car I’ve had only a couple days, but I shopped casually for a long time (18 months?) while squeezing the last utility out of our old SUV, and I drove the Sonata back to back with an Accord and a Camry. The Hyundai was every inch the car as both of those, and better in most cases. Hyundai is for real. If you’re like me and remember with amused horror the Excel and other terrible mid-90s Hyundai’s, do yourself and your wallet a favor and drive a new one. I think you’ll come away pleasantly surprised. Leveraging last-day-of-year and having Edmunds.com TMV looked up on my phone, I was able to confidently negotiate a great price for a great car that should serve my family for years.

• 

  Awesome Car - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Elochukwu - November 15 - 9:05 pm

  Ive owned this car since May 2015 and overall I love it. My wife owns a 2012 Toyota Camry and I get equivalent mpg on both cars. The only thing I have reservations on the Sonata is that when I play music through Bluetooth it does not show the track title and artist on the screen, just the name of the phone while my wifes camry does. Otherwise I love this car. Addendum: Its been over a year since I got this car and Im still loving it. I changed the tires and this made the ride a lot quieter.

• 

  so far a fantastic car - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By cl1 - October 19 - 2:08 am

  It;s a very comfortable car, great seats, nice leather, and for a car thats as quick as this is, it gets very good mileage. I got black on black and so far could not be happier. If you live in Orange County CA, and you are considering this car, you might want to try Tustin Hyundai, my salesman Elliot Rouff could not have been more helpful and the sales mgr Frank Joubran gave me a lease that was considerably less than what other dealerships were offering without any haggling. All together they made it an easy transaction.

• 

  Sonata 2.0 T - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By artie512 - September 26 - 6:14 am

  I purchased the car in Oct 2012 it was destroyed in the Sandy storm I liked it so much I purchased the exact same model no problems performs as stated

• 

  Bought used, not disappointed - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Peter vadopalas - July 29 - 7:37 am

  Has some issues with the sales team at the local dealership (but thats not the cars fault). I struggled with the idea of buying a Hyundai but after lots of researching and test drives, it was hard to deny the value. You get a lot of car for the price. Im 62" so the Elantra was a bit tight for me, but the Sonata is a really comfortable ride. Its not built for drag racing, could be peppier off the line but beyond that it can move and the steering is really responsive. The finishes, exterior and interior, are really nice. Ive had it for 2 months now and am very happy with the car!

• 

  Hollow Claims! Best Warranty? - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By Stephen Mathew - April 20 - 6:50 pm

  If you are a new car buyer and plan to own car for 10 yrs maybe but beware if you but pre-owned the warranty isnt worth the paper its writtem on, trust me I have a 3 yr old pre owned Sonata! Warranty aside, I have never owned a car that has had as many problems as my Sonata! Hardly 3 years on the list of failures are a yard long! Worst car Ive owned! There is a reason they market their cars on their so called warranty, its because so much IS going to go wrong with the car! The list: air bag! (seriously this component is never used and yet it fails? How does a component that is never used become defective?), a/c: every part you could think of!, actuator, power seats. Ive had at least 6 problems that were covered under warranty, yet the hazzle, its not as if Hyundai will give you a loner!

• 

  great value and great mpg - 2013 Hyundai Sonata
  By young46 - March 28 - 5:44 am

  i am getting about 500 miles from a full tank of gas(18gal) and averaging 28-29mpg. i commute in NYC and always caught in heavy traffic. if i am on the highway without traffic i am getting 35 to 40 mpg. i dont understand some ppl here getting 23 at best. i already put 35,000 and so far so good.