Autos Fans

Reviewed by Max Bahr from Manhattan NYC

Pros: comfortable seats, lots of pockets for things
Cons: noisy rough ride, slow acceleration, unacceptable gas mileage, problems and more problemsNow on my 2nd Hyundai Entourage because the first one got totaled in an accident. A drunk teenager in a Toyota Tacoma ramed the passenger side front at an intersection. Needless to say I was seriously hurt with a broken arm, fractured pelvis, whiplash and burns for the airbags not to mention cuts from the flying glass. Because the car was less then 6 months old the insurance gave me a new car without question.

Honestly and firstly I am writing this because I do not feel safe in this thing after that accident. Secondly before the accident I had already had the transmission replaced under warrenty with only 7k miles on the first one. The windshield somehow “cracked” like the grand canyon unexpectedly and without cause other than manufactures defect. There were several other problems as well. The starter motor burned out, the fuel pump ceased and the rear suspension was replaced because of a cracked control arm.

Now in the new car the wiper motor burned out after a small ice storm here in NY and the brake unit was replaced due to faulty wiring where I could have lost my brakes and that would have been dangerous. The front head lamps also burned out along with the dash lights. It was a fuse.

The parking brake froze into lock position and needed to be towed. I am glad the warrenty covers all these things but I dont like that I have to use it so often. I would never get a Hyundai again even if they gave me one. I have a bitter taste in my mouth and it has the worst resale value of any minivan except the KIA sedona its sister van. The dealers also try to jerk you around out of money.

Reviewed by Marsha Baumberg from Reading PA

Pros: Very spacious interior, flexible seating, plenty of cup holders and pockets, roof rack is strong
Cons: Power sliding doors dangerous-don’t close on inclines, gas PIG, warranty problems,low quality brakesAfter comparing the KIA Sedona, Dodge Caravan, Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, Mazda 5 and Nissan Quest, we decided on the Entourage, mostly because of price and the big rebates included. My husband said they were practically giving them away.

The Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and Nissan Quest were the most expensive and overpriced in our book. The Nissan Quest is downright ugly and the quality is poor. Overall we liked the Dodge Caravan the best by far for its features, layout, room, comfort, style, driving feel and quality for the price, but the dealer did not have any that we wanted/needed ASAP and we would have had to wait almost 2 months for the one we wanted! Thats a shame! So we settled for a base model Hyundai.

Appearance wise, its a minivan and looks are relative but we give it 3 stars- it decent and not over-done like some of the others. The roof rack is strong and well integrated into the roof.

Comfort wise we gave it 4 stars. We find it very comfortable especially on long trips. There’s plenty of cup holders and pockets for things. The seats are made for big people (we’re not big but just saying its a good thing) and there is a lot of room all around. The seats can be folded BUT NOT FLAT like the Dodge which we loved. The rear seats in this Hyundai are heavy! Too heavy for a woman like myself to take out alone. In the Dodge, I just had to pull a lever. The same with the sliding doors which don’t close on an incline and go backwards without warning which is very dangerous when you’re trying to get out

Performance we gave it a 3 star. I don’t drive a minivan like a sports car and this has enough power to get around, but after driving the Dodge Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country, this feels a little slow and too heavy. The brakes on the Hyundai are not the best either which we give a 2 star- very low quality; needed to be replaced already. Fuel efficiency is not a strong point- we average 14.7 miles/gallon.

Value wise we gave it a 2 star. Initially its a few hundred to $3k cheaper than the Nissan/Honda/Toyota and its cheap price will lure in many customers. Its warranty also seems to be very good. So why only 2 stars? First depreciation for all Hyundais is poor. So when you want to sell it later, watch out! In the end it costs you a lot more to own. Second, the warranty is not that good. Roadside assistence is terrible and we had to wait 6 hours for a tow truck when the transmission refused to shift out of park! They do not want to repair anything for free and so they charge you extra for regular maintenance like oil changes. We paid so far in 19 months, $2173.14 for regular scheduled maintenance and new brake rotors and pads! My husband almost flipped! For the 5 years we owned a Ford Windstar we didn’t pay 1/3 as much!

Overall we are not 100% satisfied. We think its an ok minivan but it could be a lot better if they improved the reliability and quality of the materials. They also need to tell you the truth about the warranty and the dealers need to be more friendly and they should not charge you so much for little things. Hyundais do not seem to be made to hold up for a long time as the seats are worn down and the windows don’t go up or down as fast as they once did. In the end we just needed transportation for our family. The next time we’ll wait the two months and get what we want. Good Luck

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