One of Our Favorites Earns a “Hybrid Car” Vehicle Satisfaction Award

[xcel]

Safe, comfortable and fuel efficient with a little bit of soul added in makes for a very satisfied ownership experience.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - May 25, 2012

2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid - $25,850 to start and a 35/40 mpgUS city/highway rating is proving its worth by satisfying owners.

Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

For 2012, the Sonata Hybrid is equipped with Hyundai’s Blue Link telematics and infotainment system as standard equipment. Blue Link provides a host of features accessible through multiple applications whether that is in the car, on your smartphone, or over the web.

Also new for 2012 is an optional Leather Package which offers leather seating surfaces, leather steering wheel and shift knob, heated front and rear seats, and auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink and compass. Previously, these features were only available on the $5,000 Premium Equipment Package.

Along with the new features for 2012, Hyundai provides a Lifetime Hybrid Battery Replacement Guarantee for original owners expanding the benefits of its already best in industry Hyundai Assurance program.

The Hyundai Lifetime Hybrid Battery Replacement Guarantee ensures that if the 2012 Sonata Hybrid lithium polymer battery fails, Hyundai will replace the battery and cover recycling costs for the old battery pack free of charge to the original owner. The coverage is not transferrable, and does not apply to lease and commercial vehicles or vehicles serviced outside the U.S.

Vehicle Satisfaction Awards

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid topped the Hybrid Car/EV category in the 2012 AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA). AutoPacific’s VSA survey measures how satisfied an owner is with his/her new car or light truck. This study summarized the results of more than 75,000 surveys completed by owners of new cars and light trucks in the US in the first quarter of 2012.

The 2012 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards are based on scores developed using results from AutoPacific’s national New Vehicle Satisfaction Survey. Respondents to this survey are owners of new 2012 model year cars and trucks purchased from September through December 2011. Respondents rate 48 attributes for importance in the purchase decision and satisfaction after purchase.

We may have more on the 2012 Sonata Hybrid soon as there is a certain 2012 Model stuck in NY that has to make its way “safely back home” to California and we may be doing the transport. And doing so in a very unique manner that is far different than anything we have done in the past

[WriConsult]

Still watching the Hyundai hybrids very closely, since they're doing things differently. As I understand it they have an electric motor inline with the ICE (much like IMA) but with dual clutches and power delivered through a multigeared transmission. On the face of it this may seem "simpler" to most folks, though I doubt that it is mechanically simpler than HSD. I also have my concerns about the safety of LiPo cells in automotive use.

Should be very interesting to follow all this, and see if Hyundai sticks with the same architecture for future hybrids, or experiments with HSD like designs as more automakers are doing.

[rhwinger]

One sweet looking ride, IMHO.

The battery warranty looks like a plus, also.

Thanks,

Bob

[thunderstruck]

The car has an electric motor in lieu of a torque converter. Loving mine so far, especially with better mileage now that warm weather has arrived. It doesn't hit the numbers on the sticker, but I knew that going in.

[MaxxMPG]

Originally Posted by WriConsult

Should be very interesting to follow all this, and see if Hyundai sticks with the same architecture for future hybrids, or experiments with HSD like designs as more automakers are doing.

Below is a diagram from a patent application filed in May 2011 by Hyundai Motor Company and it shows that they are not sitting still in hybrid powertrain designs.



There are two motors, and it appears that MG2 is able to drive the output in reduction on its own (without the engine) if brake BK1 is applied and clutch CL1 is released.

If motor MG1 can freewheel, brake BK1 is released and clutches CL1 and CL3 are applied, the engine and MG2 can power the car in much the same way that Toyota's HSD works, with MG2 driving the sun gear and the engine driving the ring gear.

Seeing the common sun gears and the input carrier common with the reaction internal gear (via clutch CL1 in this design), it appears to be a very close relative of what's known as the "Simpson gearset" (named after Howard, not Homer) - a very common layout used by more than half of all automatics from the 50s through the 90s.

With three friction elements (two clutches and one brake), and variable speed/torque motors being used to drive the sun gears and the input internal gear strongly suggests that this is an eCVT design. It can in theory create "first gear" by locking BK1, "second gear" by applying clutch CL1, locking MG2, and firing the engine or driving MG1, and "direct drive" by running the engine and MG2 at engine speed. But the variable nature of the motors allows variable reduction (and overdrive), with no benefit to fixed ratios.

The current Sonata hybrid design appears to be "only the beginning", and time will tell if this dinner-napkin brain exercise ends up under the hood of a future Hyundai family car.

[WriConsult]

Interesting. So MG2 is connected to the sun gear on the second planetary gearset ... it's inline with the output on the Toyota design, isn't it? I can't say I fathom all the implications of this design, but should be interesting to see if they go forward with it.

[MaxxMPG]

Originally Posted by WriConsult

Interesting. So MG2 is connected to the sun gear on the second planetary gearset ... it's inline with the output on the Toyota design, isn't it? I can't say I fathom all the implications of this design, but should be interesting to see if they go forward with it.

The two sun gears are common so MG2 would drive both. Brake BK1 can lock the ring gear (aka internal gear or annulus) and remove the EV-mode limitation of HSD. Clutch CL1 would connect the engine crankshaft to the internal gear to allow gas+electric power at any speed. The design appears to have more in common with the Volt's setup, with MG2 driving the sun gear, the ring gear being either locked to the case or clutched to the engine, and the planet carrier driving the wheels. The main difference is that the Hyundai design above uses that second planetary gearset instead of a direct (but still clutched) connection to MG1.

The patent includes a half dozen variations on the theme, and that suggests that they are (or were) seeking the patent before hardcore testing to determine which design was the most efficient and/or reliable and/or compact. If the electric motors are small in size (as they can be in lower power B/C class applications), I have to wonder if it could be packaged in about the same footprint as today's 6AT? Cut the gas tank in half, use the space you freed up for a small LiPo pack and you could have a very interesting commuter car concept.