of all the new hyundai models expected in the next little while no other model is more anticipated
than hyundai's bread and butter sonata although korea's answer to japanese family sedans that
dominate the market has lost its luster in the recent years due to the general decline in the
popularity of the family sedans as well as the design fiasco that resulted in the plummeting in
the sales sonata still remains to be one of the most important models for the korean automaker
and for that reason hyundai is bringing out an entirely new version of sonata
way ahead of the schedule to turn things around for the quintessential family sedan to gain back
its former glory in this episode we will find out what we can expect in terms of the new exciting
design as well as the new technology that will be employed in the new hyundai sedan so before
we go on we'd highly appreciate your support by subscribing and turning on the notification bell
if you haven't already and please don't forget to like comment and vote on the question that's
presented at the end of the video sonata has been hyundai's most popular model for the longest time
since its first introduction to the us in 1989. it became an instant hit as hyundai managed to sell
over 100 000 units in 2004 eventually breaking 200 000 units annually in 2011 when the first sonata
posed a true challenge to the japanese household named sedan such as the toyota camry and honda
accord the sixth generation sonata also known by its codename yf was introduced and bucked the
trend for the boxy and boring sedan by featuring a sleek coupe-like design themed called fluidic
sculpture that stormed the market paving the way for family sedans that actually stir up excitement
eventually forcing all others to follow the strong sales continued while the yf prevailed as the
trendsetter in a benchmark by even offering its first ever hybrid model in the company's history
however came the subsequent seventh generation model codenamed lf in 2015 and the sales cog
started to fall apart with a disastrous looking new design that was pretty much a step backward in
terms of the overall presentation the new design featured an uninspiring straight-line theme while
maintaining the overall proportion of the former four-door coupe dominated by curved sculpted
lines with the intention of simply refreshing the older design that was highly successful
however the end result was considered a big failure and the sales rush slowed down drastically
since the introduction of the new model in 2016 the sale slipped down to under 200 000 units
for the first time since 2010 a position that hyundai was not able to recover even until now
sales continue to plummet to less than 100 000 units in 2019 and it was a wake-up call
for hyundai as it announced its ambitious plan to retake the market with the introduction of the le
phil rouge concept which was to be the basis for the new 8th generation sonata the bold new concept
was directed by the none other than luke donkwalk of the bentley flying spur and the lamborghini
murcielago and gallardo fame and it was to be the revolution of the new sedan design that was
supposed to replicate the success of the sixth generation yf sonata by featuring never been seen
sports car design elements in a sedan that was truly revolutionary however something really got
lost in the translation and when the production version was unveiled it was proven to be an utter
disappointment and a repeat of another design catastrophe the eighth generation sonata was
heavily criticized and ridiculed for its catfish like front fascia as well as for the convoluted
lines that made the sedan look droopy and uninspiring in an attempt to create excitement for
the new car hyundai offered the high performance and line version for the first time on the family
sedan and was highly praised for its athleticism represented by its zero to 60 miles per hour time
of blistering 5.2 seconds but many felt that it was overkill for a family sedan and understandably
35 000 sedan really didn't help to turn things around for the failing model and compounded
by effects of the pandemic sales continue to suffer and now it's one of the slowest moving
models in the lineup outsold even by the equally aesthetically challenged santa fe suv which sold
over 112 000 units in 2021 versus sonata's 83 000 units desperate times call for desperate measures
and hyundai made a drastic move to cancel the mid-cycle refresh that was to take place
in 2022 instead the korean company that seems to be on a roll with everything except for its family
sedan program will have another go at bringing out an entirely new sonata in 2023 known as dn9
to denote the ninth generation model the all-new sonata will be a highly significant model for a
few different reasons first it will be the first all-new model that will be based on the exact same
platform and the drivetrain as the outgoing model that it replaces in hyundai's history
this means it will use the same third generation platform renowned for its lightness and strength
for safety and the performance potential as well as the same power plants that include the base 180
horsepower 195 pound-feet of torque 1.6 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that manages
zero to 60 miles per hour acceleration time of just 7.3 seconds and the optional hybrid engine
which produces a combined 192 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque from 2.0 liter four-cylinder
engine and an electric motor to render 54 miles per gallon and zero to 60 time of 8.3 seconds
it's not certain if the aforementioned end line with a 290 horsepower 311 pound-feet of torque
2.5 liter turbocharged engine from genesis will be retained but most people won't miss it since
the plug-in hybrid version is expected to make a comeback for the new 9th generation sonata
the plug-in engine will basically be the same as the hybrid engine but with a few
more horsepowers at 202 and offer 50 kilometers or 32 miles of pure ev range
furthermore utilizing the highly versatile third generation platform entirely new power
plants are expected to be offered this brings us to the second reason for its significance
hyundai's third generation platform which now underpins all of the newly developed cars along
with the egmp platform for the dedicated evs from hyundai kia and genesis could support a variety of
different types of the power plant that includes not only the ice hybrid and plug-in hybrid as we
have mentioned but is also capable of taking on a pure battery electric system as well as a hydrogen
fuel cell electric power plant sonata could be the first hyundai sedan to receive the electrification
to become bev sonata the sonata ev is expected to feature a similar drivetrain as the kia niro ev
which offers 201 horsepower and 253 miles or 407 kilometers of epa certified range
since it's still a 400 volt system it won't charge at the 800 volt egmps 18 minutes
but it will still manage it in respectable 40 minutes 10 to 80 percent as well there is a talk
of sonata receiving the new third generation fcev fuel stack which is developed for the
next generation nexo expected in a couple of years the hydrogen-powered sonata will be
more efficient than the current nexo and help to proliferate hydrogen usage in passenger vehicles
for more information on the sonata fcev please check out our feature video on the subject
so with the same platform and the same drivetrain you might be wondering if this so-called 9th
generation model is just a facelift no it will be an entirely new car with no part of the old
car retained that means all of its nearly 5 meter long body will be treated to the all-new sheet
metal restyled to bring back its glory as seen in the predictive rendering the new body will be
influenced by the other successful sedan design in hyundai's global arsenal which includes elantra's
new parametric dynamics design language that gets its inspiration from polyhedral geometric
shapes where three surface lines meet at one place resulting in the end product is an angular design
with a lot of sharp cuts and crease lines all over the body work another vehicle that will influence
the new sonata will be its bigger brother granger which is actually a derivative of sonata
also known as azera in north america before it was discontinued a couple of iterations ago
the slightly bigger and more luxurious grandeur has now replaced sonata as the most sold family
sedan in the native korean market as it's being replaced with the all-new model this year the new
granger's new spaceship like front fascia which now dominates everything from the starria minivan
to the seven concept in the hyundai lineup is also expected to be found in the new sonata coming next
year finally the overall shape is to resemble the chinese market sonata known as la festa
which is a bit smaller than the global sonata that sports a very dynamic and appealing design
the interior will be reworked as well of course to offer a more sporting ambience consistent with
the new exterior the highlight of the interior will be the new dual 12.3 inch display similar
to the ioniq 5 and ionix 6evs and expected to feature the latest advanced driver assistance
systems including the level 3 self-driving autonomy which would make sonata one of the most
advanced sedans for the mass market in the world lastly the feature that hyundai claims will be the
integral part of all future vehicles the lighting grille which is expected to debut on the upcoming
ionic 6 electric sedan will also be offered on the newest sonata lighting grill is a technology that
makes use of the front grill area as it becomes obsolete with the advent of the electric cars
where led board and lighting elements are placed to show a variety of information such as the
battery charging status safety info as well as other customizable messages and graphics
the estimated starting price is expected to go up slightly to twenty seven thousand dollars
with the hybrid starting from thirty thousand dollars if the ev is released the starting
price is expected to be forty thousand dollars to forty two thousand dollars which would be a
great value for a large family sedan especially when compared to the ioniq six dedicated electric
sedan with the expected starting price of around fifty thousand dollars whether the fully electric
version will be made will largely depend on the supply chain issues and the battery price
both of which are causing great constraints on the availability of the electrified vehicles currently
as for the end of the video question if the new sonata ev was to become available at a lower
price albeit with a lower range and slower charging speed would you choose it over the
ionic 6 which is already being criticized for its disappointing appearance please vote
and share your views by clicking on the link in the comment section below or in the description
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