Like sedans? Like sedans kinda bold styling? Then keep reading
Do we like the looks? It is bold and all, with those bold aluminum strips outlining the hood like that and those bold cuts towards the flanks.
Getting in, something to note: Those front doors open soooooo far.
Are these some of the best digital gauges available today? Crisp, traditional dials that just tell the driver what’s going on.
And when you hit the turn signals, either the tach or speedo instantly transforms into a rear-view camera. It’s slick.
Where some cars mount an iPad vertically in the middle of the center stack, the Sonata goes the other way, giving you a wide panoramic screen. Honestly, this option seems more natural to me.
Yay for a traditional volume knob but a touch of sadness for no knob for tuning. Hyundai had been good about keeping things traditional here, but guess time does march on. The HVAC controls seem sensible, though, with actual buttons for making the interior warmer or cooler. No fiddling with the touchscreen is necessary. Thank you for normal, not hidden USB plugs.
But I am not a fan of the shifter buttons. Is it worse that the knobs? I might call is a draw.
Good steering wheel but odd aluminum accents. At least they do match the interior and exterior design elements–the aluminum interior door handles just flow from the door panels. For some reason, I found the slim HVAC vents particularly attractive.
The seat bottoms felt too flat to me. I see how the seats and doors all team up for easy ingress and whatnot, but I’d like a little more to that lower cushion. YMMV.
The rear seat offered good room, but the see how your rear seat occupants like the side view as the pillars might be in the way.
The Sonata drives as expected: It’s right in the middle of today’s mid-sized market. It’s quiet and comfortable. Hyundai’s steering, and chassis tuning in general, has gotten much better lately.
The 1.6-liter turbo powering our test car makes 180 horsepower along with 195 lb.-ft. of torque. An available 2.5-liter yields similar figures–191 horsepower and 181 lb.-ft.–but is only available on the lower SE and SEL trims. (The 2.5 turbo found in the N-Line, though, delivers 290 horsepower and 311 lb.-ft.)
So, where does this one land? If looking for a mid-sized family sedan–and, let’s be honest, one that looks a bit different–this is a contender. It’s not likely your next autocrosser, but it’s a fine people-mover for those who still favor four doors and a trunk. And then you gotta figure in that warranty.
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