2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Battery Gets 10-Year/100K Mile Warranty

The new 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid already has a lot going for it--as evidenced by Marty Padgett's take on the car in our first drive report and John Voelcker's inclusion of the car in GreenCarReport's 2011 Best Car To Buy nominees. But the deal just got even sweeter: the battery pack in the Sonata Hybrid will come with a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty.

Announced today at Hyundai's Technical Center in Detroit, the warranty is worth noting, though it's not exactly groundbreaking. Toyota and other hybrid manufacturers, including Chevrolet's 2011 Volt, typically warranty their battery packs at 8 years/100,000 miles, except in California-emissions rules states, where the warranty is expanded to 10 years/150,000 miles.

But the 2011 Sonata Hybrid's battery pack is special in another regard: it's the first mass-market hybrid to use a lithium-ion (or lithium-polymer, depending how you define the tech vs. chemistry issue) battery as opposed to the nickel-metal hydride used in competing cars, such as the Toyota Prius

. Yes, Mercedes-Benz's S400 Hybrid beat the Sonata Hybrid to market, but its limited volume and high pricing keep it from claiming the mass-market title.

For more on the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, including an interview with the car's product manager, tax credits, and more, check out our Sonata Hybrid tag page.

Read More: http://www.greencarreports.com/blog/1051494_2011-hyundai-sonata-hybrid-battery-gets-10-year-100k-mile-warranty

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