The Sonata is virtually unchanged from the day it was introduced, except for the addition of a V6 variant and a reshuffling of trim levels. The front is quite outstanding, with swoopy, tadpole-shaped headlamps, but the best angle is the rear three-quarters, from where the Sonata shows off its Jaguaresque, meteor-shower tail lamps and curvy haunches to good effect.

 

The base versions of the Sonata have a nice-looking ‘waterfall’ grille with upright chrome bars, but the V6 gets a rather fish-faced, horizontal-slat grille and a quite unnecessary hood ornament. It’s good. The Sonata uses double-wishbones in front and a multi-link set-up at the rear, which is quite sophisticated, but the Sonata, sadly, doesn’t use this to great effect.

 

Build quality is better than the Honda Accord. Inside, the story is a bit better, with a plush, comfortable cabin and plenty of equipment. The V6 is particularly nice, with its leather-clad interiors and wood inlays, but the plastics don’t feel hard-wearing or of the best quality, and the chromed-off gearlever looks a bit nasty. Hyundai’s normally have the best interior in their class, but the standard is so high in this segment that the Sonata cannot help but fall behind.

 

Head, leg- and shoulder room is tightest. Access to the rear isn’t great either, hampered by high doorsills. The seats are firm and not too supportive, with an upright rear backrest angle. The dash is pleasant but unspectacular; the dials are nice and clear though. Ergonomics are pretty good, pegged down by a slippery wood-rimmed steering wheel and the awkwardly placed electric seat controls. The auto-fold option for the wing mirrors is also missing.

 

The Sonata offers a 2.0-litre four-cylinder and a 2.7-litre V6, both petrol’s; strangely, there’s no CRDi version, which would have upped the car’s practicality value. The 134bhp 2.0-litre ‘Sirius’ engine is a perfectly acceptable power train, which revs sweetly and quietly. Though performance is adequate for a car of this size it feels weak compared to its rivals. The star, however, is the V6, which, available only in automatic form, is both hugely powerful and extremely refined. With 166 horses to whip, the V6 is one of the best performer’s in its class, especially in the city. Throttle responses are excellent, and the automatic has a quick, meaty-feeling ‘tip-shift’ manual mode, which makes it easy to drive urgently.

 

In terms of fuel economy, the 2.0 returns 6.4 and 10.9kpl and the V6 returns 6.2 and 8.7kpl, which is near the bottom of the class. However, the chassis is no match for this excellent engine — despite the sophisticated components, the Sonata’s on-road behavior is its weakest link. The unsorted suspension means ride quality, at all speeds, is merely acceptable, and can get quite unsettling at higher speeds. Grip is adequate, but the car tends to feel floaty and cumbersome at high speeds, with non-linear steering and a reluctance to enter corners quickly. The Sonata used to be a big crowd favorite: it has a good interior, suitably extroverted looks, and a pair of quite decent engines, which make the Sonata a fair urban car.

 

Filed under: Hyundai Cars in India