The New Sonata – Great looking, and Exciting car from Hyundai

The New Sonata – Great looking, and Exciting car from Hyundai

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If you happen to have lived as long as I have, and your memory hasn’t yet failed, you will recall the time back then in the nineteen fifties when Japanese cars first made their appearance here. People used to laugh at the Japanese cars, and called them ‘Milo tins’. Barely twenty years later, Nissans and Toyotas were starting to topple the British and European makes in terms of car sales, and today, Japanese cars rule the world. All it took was just time, and a persistent and consistent urge to improve quality, and build cars that the market needed and wanted. Of course, you will also remember the arrogance of the so-called industrial masters of that time who were obviously still in self denial at that time, who made statements like, “You can have any colour you want, as long as it is black”, showing their superiority complex and refusing to budge, which also contributed to an even faster downfall. Whilst the British and Europeans still make fine cars, their sales figures now trail behind the Japanese brands.

Let’s fast forward to the early nineteen eighties when the Koreans first started introducing their cars outside of Korea – they faced the same ridicule that the early Japanese makers had – only this time it was not so much the metal thickness, but the reliability and quality. The earliest Korean car that I personally can recall was the Hyundai Coupe, a car that was built on ‘shared’ technology with Mitsubishi. The car actually looked quite good, and performed quite well, but it faced strong resistance from buyers due to poor parts and service support, not a surprise as there were only a few units, mostly imported second-hand. Up to even very recently, Korean brands have been identified as being thirstier than other brands, and quality is perceived to be lower.

However, in the last decade or so, Hyundai, the leading Korean auto maker, has been re-vamping its product line to come out with new vehicles that are huge improvements over the previous models, and just yesterday, we experienced the all-new Hyundai Sonata – and I dare say that this car is the one that truly signifies the coming of age of Korean cars. This is not surprising at all, because in the borderless environment that we now live in, technology is but a ‘click’ away, and every new innovation or development in technology is available, if you pay the right price and know where to look. Besides, in the automotive industry now, you can buy any technology that you cannot make yourself. In short, any automaker can make any car it wants to, to any specifications it wants to – it is just a question of whether it believes that its buyers will want it or not. The Koreans can make a car as good as any of the top European makers can, if they choose to do so.

As I pulled into the Hyundai Centre in Glenmarie, I parked next to what I thought was a rather nice-looking white Mercedes CLS – As I got out of my car, I realized that it was not a Mercedes CLS – the coupe-like car was actually the new Hyundai Sonata, and from the rear three-quarter or side view, it looks very sporty indeed. I had actually seen the same car in Miri a couple of weeks back, at the Hyundai dealership there, and also from the side and slightly to the rear, and had made the same mistake then. Take a quick look from the front, and you might be forgiven if you thought that it was some sleek European car. Aesthetically, the Sonata looks great.

Get up close and personal, and you will find that the build quality is first class – doors that close without that ‘clunky’ thin metal sound, seats that are high quality, with electrical adjustments for height, rake and reach, an interior that would not look out of place in a European sedan, and features that could put some of these European sedans to shame. There is no part that looks ‘cheap’. A great feature of the Sonata is a panoramic sunroof – this moves it to the top of the class in terms of great features.

Inside, there is plenty of legroom for four large adults, and five if you don’t mind a little squeeze – in terms of interior space, the Sonata is class-leading, and offers more all round space than its Japanese competitors. I found nothing to complain about in this area. Instrumentation is adequate, and trim is tasteful. A thoughtful feature is keyless entry and keyless push-button start/stop.

I had the chance to try out a Sonata 2.4 litre over a 160 kilometre journey from Melaka back to the Hyundai showroom in Glenmarie, and it was a most enjoyable drive. The 2,359 cc DOHC Theta II (Euro IV emission compliant) engine is of all-aluminium construction and delivers 178PS @ 6,000 rpm and 229Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. The dual Continuously Variable Valve Timing (D-CVVT) puts it right at the top of the class with the top Japanese makes in terms of power delivery, and approximately 86 percent of maximum torque is already available from as low as 2,000 rpm for effortless response to throttle even at low engine speeds. A variable length intake manifold also contributes towards more flexibility in the delivery of engine power. For a longer service life and lower maintenance, the valve train is driven by a timing chain.

Drive is to the front wheels through a Hyundai-developed 6-speed automatic transmission; with an additional drive gear, this gives the Sonata more flexibility in the choice of gear ratios and better acceleration throughout its speed range. Gear changes are seamless – no jerks, no lag, just plenty of get-up-and-go. Sixth gear is designed to give optimum fuel efficiency when cruising at high speed. Some of the journalists said the transmission did downshifts very frequently – this is due to the fact that the TCU (Transmission Control Unit) will sense any demand for power indicated by you right foot on the accelerator pedal, and sends a signal to change down a gear or two to give the driver better acceleration.

On-the-road behaviour of the Hyundai Sonata is on par with its Japanese competitors – the ride is tuned to be on the comfortable side of firm – it will cruise comfortable at up to 180 km/h, after which it starts to feel like it could do with some stiffer damping – it is purely a case of setting it up to be comfortable at speeds that 90 percent of the expected buyers of the Sonata are likely to be driving.

The Sonata features 4-wheel independent suspension, MacPherson Struts at the front, and a multi-link rear, with coil springs all-round. This helps to give it the fluidity to allow me to throw it into a bend, knowing that the Sonata will make it through without any problem. Should you happen to over-cook it, then the ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) will step in and help to keep you on the road. In addition, there is the usual ABS, and Brake Assist systems. A great feature would be the Hill-start Assist Control (HAC), that keeps your brakes on to prevent your car from rolling backwards when starting off on a hill – this feature is usually found on more expensive cars. Front and rear sub-frames mounted to the body-frame help to provide rigidity, improve handling, and reduce road noise intrusion into the cabin.

Specification for specification, look for look, and size for size, the Sonata 2.4 is on par with, or is above the competitors in its class. In terms of price for size, and as a value-for-money proposition, the Sonata 2.4 is something worth having a second look at. And finally, if you need a clincher, it comes with a 5-year or 300,000 kilometre warranty. Price on-the-road inclusive of insurance is RM163,888 for the top of the range Sonata 2.4. There is also a 2.0 litre variant, going for RM135,888 for the lower specification model, and RM143,888 for the higher spec model.

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