2013 versus 2003: Why today's vehicles are a much better value - The Globe and Mail
Cars today are better equipped, far more technologically advanced, more fuel efficient, safer and better built – by a huge margin. For example, in 2003 you could get a Hyundai Sonata GLX sedan for $26,495 versus a 2013 Sonata SE for $27,399. That 2003 Sonata had a fairly pedestrian 2. 7-litre V-6 (170 horsepower) paired with a four-speed automatic gearbox that slurped fuel... The 2013’s ultramodern direct injection four-banger (200 hp) is not only a smoother, vastly more responsive engine, it is rated at 8. 7 litres/100 km in the city, 5. 6 highway versus 12. 3 city/7. The 2013 Sport with continuously variable transmission went for $27,195, while the 2003 LX-G with five-speed automatic went for $26,000. To equip those cars comparably today – feature-for-feature – you would have needed to add $3,026 in options to... Funny, but not everyone gives the auto industry credit for nailing down better fuel economy while also juicing performance. “The product quality is way better, too – a consequence of technological advancements, intense competition, consumer demand for higher quality and stiff government regulations for fuel efficiency and pollution reduction,” Hatch says. Source: www.theglobeandmail.com
