Two days ago while my mechanic was putting a new battery in my 2007 Nissan Maxima, I told him that I liked the body style of the 2011 Hyndai Sonata and was especially intrigued by the turbo version coming out soon, which would boast about 275 hp. I posted the mechanic's warning about turbo engines leaking after a few years and how once the leaking began, the problems got worse and worse.
Readers immediately showed their disagreement with my mechanic, citing his "over generalized" comments based on old models of turbo engines. One reader, Dan, called the aversion to turbo engines to be based on "superstition." Jesse, the owner of a Subaru WRX bought used, said he's had it trouble-free for 7 years.
Neil also defended the turbo, writing:
My brother has owned a couple of the newer Audi/VW turbos (for my sister in law), and his daily driver is a VW Turbodiesel with 270K miles on it. For longevity, he recommends putting about 3-5 thousand on a new car, and then switching to Mobile1 (the break-in period is important). His little circle of auto-enthusiast friends includes some racing engineers, and Porsche mechanics, and very few of them would warn you away from a modern turbo, as long as you maintain them properly. One of the guys has an older Audi 5-Cylinder turbo with over 300K. Believe me, a lot of these mechanics are basing this on the god-awful Chrysler turbos from the 80's, and the early Saab and Volvo turbos.
With that said, I too would be nervous in your example, simply because I don't think Hyundai has much turbo history to look at.
On the positive side, Hyundai has been known in the last few years for exceptional quality, and customer satisfaction. I would imagine they wouldn't jeopardize their current standing with an un-tested technology. Tough call. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one from a company with some turbo history though.
Regarding American trucks using turbo engines, Dan writes:
Our company runs Dodge turbo diesel trucks made be Cummins and our mechanic says they are way more reliable than gasoline truck engines. (every 18 wheeler you see on the highway has a turbo). I think the problem is that your mechanic is more familiar with the typical highly stressed high performance turbo charged engines of the past. I would be much more concerned about the reliability record of your vehicles transmission.
Many consider Ford's 6cyl dual turbo ecoboost to be the best engine (foreign or domestic) introduced in the last few years. It would be a shame to miss avoid it due to superstition. Check this torture test Ford is conducting on the Ecoboost to show its durability. It's amazing:
http://i.autoblog.com/2010/09/26/mike-rowe-narrating-ford-f-150-ecoboost-web-documentary/
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