Thursday, March 19, 2015
2015 Hyundai Sonata Limited Review Less Style Less Power More Of Everything Else
I find the sound of a Jaguar F-Type V8 S appealing and the wind-in-my-hair romanticism of a Mazda MX-5 captivating and Im fascinated by the roofline of Mercedes-Benzs CLS Shooting Brake.
| THE GOOD • Improved ride quality • Feels more, not less powerful • Interior feels Genesis-like • Turbo 2.0L is a cheap upgrade • Always a great value | THE BAD • Styling has far less impact • Over-assisted brake pedal • Very comfort-oriented • 2.4L getz buzzy • Hard centre armrest |
There are other corners of our brain, however, that look a lot like spreadsheets. And on those spreadsheets, there are no columns for charm or seduction or fascination.
Increasingly, midsize cars perform very poorly in the corners of my brain first mentioned, and exceedingly well in the latter.
Hyundais 2015 Sonata is one such car.
Ive operated under the impression that there was a certain subjective appeal to the outgoing car, a vehicle which was, at the very least, good enough on spreadsheets to allow some consumers to buy the car almost on the merits of its unique exterior design alone.
2015 HYUNDAI SONATA LIMITED Base Price * (CDN): $25,817 As-Tested Price * (CDN): $34,817 Engine: 2.4L DOHC 16-valve I-4 Transmission: 6-speed automatic Horsepower: 185 @ 6000 rpm Torque: 178 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm Curb Weight: 3466 pounds Drive Type: front-wheel-drive Length: 191.1 inches Width: 73.4 inches Height: 58.1 inches Wheelbase: 110.4 inches Passenger Volume: 3004 litres Cargo Volume: 462 litres EPA City: 25 mpg EPA Highway: 37 mpg NRCAN OEE City: 9.8 L/100km NRCAN OEE Hwy: 6.7 L/100km Observed: 30.9 mpg Observed: 7.6 L/100km * includes destination/delivery. MPG fuel economy ratings from the Environmental Protection Agency. L/100km ratings from the Canadian Office of Energy Efficiencys new 5-cycle testing for MY2015 vehicles. |
It was a revolutionary departure for Hyundai, especially given the stodginess of its predecessor.
Many of the same themes have been carried forward for 2015, but the revolution has ended. Hyundai clearly feels as though theyve made it, as though theyve established a place for the Sonata in Americas competitive midsize sector and no longer need to market the most eye-catching car in the class.
Youve probably seen the car live by now and rendered your verdict; you can look at the images if not.
Personally, Im let down, as it feels to me as though the seventh-generation Sonata looks like it could have been the car that arrived before the sixth-generation Sonata, before Hyundai decided to make the Sonata less stodgy; less upright; less formal.
Instead, so-called progress has resulted in a car that simply doesnt appear like the next new thing.
Its wheelwells are too big for its wheels, which on this specific car are terribly Buick circa 1996. Theres a vast amount of acreage between the top of the rear wheel and the C-pillar. Visually, the car rides too high. LEDs have been too liberally scattered across the front end.
Inside, however, a return to a more conventional layout – more horizontal, less vertical – has caused the 2015 Sonata to seem quite a bit more Genesis-like. Regardless of equipment levels, and despite the fact that the current Elantra is no poor car, the outgoing Sonata always felt more or less like an Elantra Plus, particularly inside. Meanwhile, the current Accord comes across as much more than one single step upmarket from the Civic. With improved material quality and a more modern design, the Sonata is now class-competitive inside.
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| All Photo Credits: Timothy Cain ©www.GoodCarBadCar.net Click Any Of These Images For A Larger Slideshow View |
Unfortunately, the softness of the exterior design has been matched by a softening of the Sonatas suspension. On the plus side, this pays dividends in ride quality, which is excellent.
• Historical Monthly & Yearly Hyundai Sonata Sales Figures
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• 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring Driven Review
Not for a minute am I suggesting that this emphasis on total comfort isnt what buyers want, only that Hyundais successful drive to improve the Sonatas suspension calibration could have been executed with more of a blend.
Then again, we spent our week with a Sonata Limited, a very well-equipped car, but one that was fitted with conservative Kumho P215/55R/17s. Riding on the Sports 235/45R18s, with its slightly different steering setup (rack-mounted, rather than column-mounted electric power assist) and altered suspension, the Sport 2.0T could produce rather different on-road character traits.
All these numbers are lower than they were just one model year ago, and lower than the kind of mind-boggling V6 numbers youll find in, for instance, the Chrysler 200. In the 2.4L, however, torque thankfully comes on stream early, at just 4000 rpm, and the Sonata therefore doesnt feel slow. The 2.4L does become too buzzy at high rpm, and it runs out of gumption as revs rise. Thus, if you want care to acquire turbocharged 2.0L powerplant, Canadian pricing starts at a more affordable $32,817. $36,617 Ultimate 2.0Ts are Limited-like, but with the extra power. (Moving up from Sport and Sport Tech to Sport 2.0T costs just $2600 and $800, respectively.)
Love it or hate it, the outgoing Sonata was a car which, stylistically speaking, stood out from the midsize pack. Any hope that Hyundai would once again move the game forward on the design front has most certainly been lost.
Yet no one specific individual, save for the midsize sedan buyer himself, is the final arbiter on the success of Hyundais exterior revamp. Is this new 2015 Sonata half as intriguing a proposition as the old model was in its first model year? Probably not, at least not in the dark recesses of my subjective mind.
In this transition year for the Sonata, its Canadian sales tumbled 36% in the first half of 2014. More recently, Sonata sales jumped 42% in July, when it was Canadas top-selling midsize car, and volume more than doubled in August. At that rate, because Hyundai appears to be giving the people what the peoples spreadsheets want, the Sonata would be back on track to achieve in excess of 2011s record-setting Canadian sales pace.
