Best Car Models & All About Cars: Hyundai 2012 Sonata

Hyundai 2012 Sonata

It was once a wallflower, but then the Hyundai Sonata bloomed. New in 2011 with daring styling and bristling with confidence, the Sonata has mounted a three-pronged attack on the mainstream four-door sedan market--and it's operating. The Sonata's currently one among the top sellers within the segment, contemporary off an award-winning year and a nod as TheCarConnection's Best Automotive To Buy 2011.

The Sonata's intriguing mix of crests and curves sets it far other than the blandness that colors the Toyota Camry and, maybe less therefore, the Accord, Passat, and Malibu. It may not stand the take a look at of your time along with some designs, except for currently, the Sonata's a calling card for the entire Hyundai whole. It's a clean break from the me-too past of Hyundai styling and it works well in several places--in the back of the roofline and across the tail, it's clearly an homage to the Audi A6. Some other passages are a little knotty: the purpose at the facet mirrors where five different panels join up could be a noticeable wart, and not everyone here at HGM may be a fan of the chrome spears that glint off the hoodline and front fenders. Inside, the styling's simply as adventurous, with dramatic sculpturing across the dash and even on the steering wheel. A huge LCD screen sits atop the dash and fits in well with the futuristic look. We like the metallic trim to the woodgrain on beige-interior cars, that appearance out of place in the swoopy Sonata.

All Sonatas are four-cylinders, and the mass-market versions are 2.4-liter fours with up to 200 horsepower, direct injection, and a selection of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. We haven't ever seen a manual-transmission base model; luckily, the automatic is perfectly applicable for the category, and may be a responsive, seamless gearchanger. It's rare to feel this version strain for power, since the front-drive Sonata weighs only a little additional than 3,300 pounds, or a quarter-ton less than a Chevy Malibu. Highway mileage of 35 mpg offers the quality Sonata a standout selling purpose within the mid-size category.

Two alternatives exist to the base four. There is a turbocharged 2.0T model, with displacement dropped to 2.0 liters and horsepower boosted to 274 hp in all. The power surge is clear, and there is not a lot of turbo lag--and as a bonus, the automated transmission adds shift paddles, and in this instance, the manual shifter works with above-average smoothness. On paper it's quite a small amount stronger than, say, a Buick Regal turbo, and Hyundai's estimates of zero-sixty mph times of concerning seven seconds are sturdy for a model not really sold as a sporty different, but a lot of as a V-vi alternative. With the added power, highway gas mileage is still rated at 33 mpg.

There is also a Hybrid edition, which pairs the 2.4-liter four with electric motors and a lithium-polymer battery pack, and a high threshold that permits the Sonata Hybrid to run on battery power alone at highway speeds. The Hybrid's uncommon in that it uses a typical automatic transmission instead of a CVT or an eCVT to alter gears; in our expertise, the shift quality between gas-electrical and electrical-solely mode is lumpy, and wants a lot of refinement to rival vehicles just like the Camry Hybrid and Fusion Hybrid. Hyundai says this version can hit sixty mph in 9.2 seconds, well among the acceptable vary for a family sedan, whereas delivering gas mileage of thirty 5/40 mpg.

The Sonata's ride and handling are fine for the mainstream, however the steering responses may use additional feedback and less wandering on the highway. We have a tendency to like the ride damping, which is ready a very little on the firm aspect even before the SE's monotube shocks and nineteen-in. wheels are added into the combo.

The firm ride is amplified a touch by the Sonata's firm seats. A roomy automobile, nearly "large" by EPA standards, the Sonata provides soaring headroom and leg area in front, and an oddly long front-seat track thus driver and passenger can have as a lot of house as they have. The back seat sits at a sensible angle of recline, and only the tallest passengers will touch heads against the material headliner and also the hard-plastic front seatbacks.

A Prime Safety Pick in step with the IIHS, the 2012 Hyundai Sonata has the same old standard safety equipment with a rearview camera available on top trim levels. Other standard equipment includes Bluetooth; a USB port; power windows, locks and mirrors; a tilt/telescoping steering wheel; and cruise control. SE and Limited editions add parking sensors and pushbutton start; the Sonata Limited conjointly gets normal heated front and rear seats; a sunroof; a backup camera; automatic climate control; and an automatic dimming rearview mirror. New this year is Hyundai's Blue Link telematics system; like GM's OnStar setup, it uses live operators to produce info and directions, while additionally connecting the automotive via streaming knowledge to the Web, that permits it to find destinations newer than the ones provided on its hard-drive-based mostly GPS maps. Blue Link is offered in an exceedingly few totally different packages, with tiered pricing; access to a Web web site is bundled in, and permits drivers to set limits on the automobile's stereo volume, speed, and geographic distance from a bound point.

Hyundai 2012 Sonata