hyundai is an automaker that's been on the rise for many years now one of the
reasons is the mid-size sonata sedan the previous generation of that sedan is
what really put it in the game against the cameras and the chords of the world
and now 4 2015 there is a redesign that takes it up another notch maybe two
let's take a look perhaps the biggest change the exterior of the sonata is the
grill the previous generation had very aggressive wave to it that looked good
impressive initially and Hyundai and lots of other people believe it did not
age well I happen to agree so now you see what is becoming the the kind of
family grill shape also seen on the redesigned $YEAR hyundai genesis sedan
this one happens to have a black chrome finish because this is the limited trim
level it's one of the higher trim levels you'll also notice this black panel here
that is for the radar because this car is equipped with optional adaptive
cruise control and forward collision warning that's one of the many active
safety features that is available as an option on this car
one thing you'll notice if the if the grill has changed the most on this card
thing that it stays the same is this chrome strip that leads all the way back
from the headlight something look pretty distinctive the previous generation
still does it was a really nifty little feature here on the limited where when
you get close to the door with the key fob in your pocket
it lights up kind of as a welcome around back you'll notice LED tail lights which
are very effective I like how they look but a little disappointed that they come
only on the higher trim levels company like Hyundai is known for giving more
for less
now you'll notice i stand back here with key in my pocket the trunk opens
automatically that's called Smart trunk
the idea is other manufacturers have the feature where you sweep your leg if it's
the hokey-pokey dance hyundai said well why not just have it so if you're
standing back here for a few seconds with the key it'll open and it does give
you that deep warning so you know that this is a no loitering zone if you don't
mean to open the trunk
incidentally with over 16 cubic feet of volume in the trunk
this is one of the bigger trunks in the class
hyundai is known for giving more for less and the place that does it the most
in the $MONTH 2015 sonata is here in the backseat
I have the driver's seat in my driving position all the way back and my height
6 feet tall i have plenty of room its cavernous now what makes it even better
in this loaded vehicle is for one thing big panoramic moonroof makes it feel
even more open
we've got heated seats two positions control here and being a limited also
has these sunshades for keeping the kids cool the driving experience in the
previous generation sonata certainly was good enough for most consumers but the
more demanding drivers found that the ride quality wasn't quite as refined as
it should be
steering same sort of a story here on the $DAY $MONTH 2015 they have improved
that quite a bit
I find the ride quality has improved the steering though better than the previous
version it's still not the strongest suit
the engine is actually been changed a little bit 285 horsepower in this
version which is actually down a little bit so they could bring the torque peak
to a lower rpm what that means is you've got a more robust response when you
accelerate from a stop and that's definitely good to have now we don't
know for sure how the two . OT version in this car performance because it has
aside from the 245 horsepower turbocharged engine it has a firmer
suspension and a different power assist system on the steering so the field
could be completely different
we look forward to checking that out pretty soon as cars become more
aerodynamic and most of them are a visibility can become more of an issue
because the pillars are farther out in front of you so i have to say in the
previous generation sonata and this one of the pillars are a little thick they
can get in in your line of sight and the view out the back to be compromised a
bit too
partly because the trunk line is so high fortunately a backup camera is standard
on all but the base trim level generally speaking the interior is very nicely
done
quality has improved
I'm not crazy about the imitation wood trim doesn't look real to me but a lot
of the other surfaces are good
you've got an actual fabric woven headliner and same material on the
advisors which you actually do touch other touch points are soft and
comfortable this being a limited has leather upholstery the sport too . OT
also has leather upholstery one of the interesting things that that Hyundai is
done is they've made the passenger seat height adjustable even in the lower trim
levels because they find that passengers want to be able to adjust the height as
well now as usual hyundai really pours on the features at least in this limited
trim level you got heated side mirrors you've got line spot warning you got
lane departure warning adaptive cruise control a heated steering wheel heated
and cooled seats 12 volt outlets here and actually two of them a USB Jack an
auxiliary jack their standard bluetooth streaming audio as well you've got the
panoramic moonroof you've got blue link which is like GM's onstar lets you
communicate with the outside world remote start the car etc
homelink adaptive or universal remote control for garage doors etc there are
different drive modes that affect the accelerator and steering response and
mileage for that matter
electronic parking brake here and then lots of multimedia options you can start
with a 5-inch touchscreen or go to an 8-inch touchscreen like this one that's
loaded with features like the ability to add apps this has pandora internet radio
soundhound as well sirius XM data which is a subscription service blu link as i
mentioned pretty well executed overall nice big screen one of the better
systems out there now here's the hitch most of the features i just listed are
not standard so no doubt whatsoever that a bigger car more comfortable car
quieter car drives well it's more competitive than ever and it is still a
value but as the cars get better from hyundai the value might not be quite as
high as it used to be you
to have to keep an eye on the price and compared against the competitors in the
market
and