I got a message from the Editor; "I've booked you in to test the new Hyundai Sonata. It's really quite good." That seems to sum up the image problem the larger Korean cars have in the UK where we are so hung up on having the 'right' badge.
When the Hyundai Sonata arrived at our offices, it was interesting to see it parked next to the
Volvo S60 we also had on test at the time. The Hyundai was noticeably the bigger car, being a full 197mm longer than the Volvo, 19mm wider and 47mm taller. That came as quite a surprise; the Sonata is a really big car, and at only £16,495 on-the-road, you get an awful lot of car for the money.
The Hyundai Sonata range is simple; there is a 2.4-litre manual as we tested, or for £1,000 more there is a 2.4-litre automatic. No fancy trim levels to worry about, just a choice of transmission. The lack of a diesel engine will hamper sales in Europe though.
Approaching our car, in a metallic silver colour with a hint of blue, it looked very Audi-esque, which is no bad thing at all. Even the frontal styling, so long a bugbear for large Asian cars, is no longer offensive to European tastes. It looks stylish, and definitely not bargain basement cheap as the price might suggest. Perhaps the Ed was right here...
Regrettably, it all went to pieces when I opened the door; yes the seats are all leather if a little plain and cheap looking in style, but oh, that dashboard! It is a mish-mash of pale coloured plastics of varying textures that is more reminiscent of a 10-year-old mini-cab than a current car with luxury aspirations. And if the dashboard wasn't bad enough, OH that steering wheel! It didn't look particularly offensive, but it felt so. I'm sure it's a leather covered wheel, but it felt like cold rubber, horrible to the touch. If there was ever an excuse for wearing driving gloves in a road car, this was it. At least I understand now how Hyundai can sell the Sonata for the price they do.
To be fair to the Hyundai Sonata, the dashboard is the only place where the game is up if trying to impress the neighbours while remaining on a tight budget. The equipment count is up to scratch for the money with air conditioning, leather seats, remote central locking and alarm, 17-inch alloy wheels and an RDS CD-tuner all included as standard. Safety hasn't been skimped on either: six airbags (front, side and roof) complement the ABS with EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) and ESP (Electronic Stability Programme), which senses a skid before it goes too far and takes action to aid the driver. Inside, storage space abounds, and the boot is simply massive, larger still if the 60/40 split rear seats are folded forwards.
More development money has been spent on the engine, an all-new 2.4-litre 16v aluminium petrol unit that develops 160bhp at 5800rpm and 162lb.ft torque at 4250rpm. I thought 2.4 litres was rather large for a four-cylinder engine, and was a little surprised that the Sonata didn't use the 2.7-litre V6 as found in the
Hyundai Coupe model. However, at no time during driving the Sonata did the engine feel like it let the car down. It was smooth, revved freely enough, was plenty quick (0-62mph takes 8.8 seconds, with a top speed of 132mph) and managed an average of over 30mpg while in our hands.
As the miles mounted up, so my opinion of the Hyundai Sonata was improved. On smooth motorways it was reasonably quiet and fairly comfortable; not exceedingly good, but as impressive as many more expensive saloons. Only when the speed went up (and in fairness up to a level greater than the majority of Sonata drivers will be likely to travel) was the sereneness affected. Body control that had been fine up to 70mph started to feel lacking at 80mph, the Sonata started 'floating' over long motorway undulations, and crashed down over the joints in the road. The same was true for the handling; at sensible everyday cornering speeds, the Sonata behaved impeccably, going where it was pointed, but raise the game a little, up the speed, or throw in a more challenging road surface and once again that earlier calm began to lose its composure. Keep your speed sensible (the Hyundai Sonata is aimed at the 'more mature' driver after all) and the Sonata comes across as a perfectly fine car. Drop into 'young whippersnapper' mode, start hustling like you might a BMW and passengers will soon start complaining if the driver doesn't first feel the need to slow down himself.
I came to find the Hyundai Sonata a bit of an enigma. In places it easily passes for a more expensive car, yet in other aspects niggly things make you wish it was £500 more expensive and the money had gone to a bit of extra work. Silly little items like the high level brake light not being sealed against the rear screen, where the whole rear window lights up when braking at night; and the digital trip meter reading "Err" when the ignition is off. Counter this with the attention to detail that brings damping to all the opening compartments that is in line with more expensive cars.
All in all the Hyundai Sonata is a perfectly capable car; it's quiet, comfortable (the front seats very much so), spacious to extremes and even fairly cheap to run with just Group 10 insurance and likely fuel economy in the low 30s. It is targeted at the older, male private buyer and I think the target customer will be suitably impressed. If you want or need the extra size over a traditional hatchback such as the
Ford Focus or
Vauxhall Astra, it doesn't come cheaper than the Sonata, and while it isn't as good as car as these, if you'd never driven one you'd not be unhappy with your Sonata. Not an awful car at all then!
Hyundai Sonata UK range overview
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Hyundai Sonata 2.4 CDX manual: £16,495
- Hyundai Sonata 2.4 CDX automatic: £17,495
