New Hyundai Sonata grows into a large contender

So it’s taken a while, but Hyundai is in the big leagues now. There is rife evidence of this in its sales numbers, reliability ratings and general awareness, but the most telling indicator to us, perhaps, is that Hyundai no longer feels the need to overdesign or mimic other automobile designs as if to say, “Look, we can build good cars, too!”

Hyundai can do its own thing now — and the new 2015 Sonata, making its U.S. debut at the New York auto show, is all the proof we need.

The 2015 Sonata is the second production Hyundai, following the slick new 2015 Genesis luxury sedan, to don the company’s “Fluidic Sculpture 2.0” design look. The follow-up act seems to contain a lot less fluid, and a lot more angles from nose to tail. It’s a handsomer car now, if a bit more mundane, with its hexagonal grille, front fascia garnishes, and predatory headlamps the LED DRLs lining the inner and upper edges. A panorama roof remains optional, while the new back end is taller, if rather featureless, save for its high-set LED taillamps, and on some models, sassy quad tailpipes. However less head-turning it may be, the Sonata looks more comfortable in its own skin.

Typical of most redesigns, the new Sonata has grown: 1.4 inches in length and 1.2 inches in width, with a 0.4-in longer wheelbase, yet thanks to underbody aerodynamic enhancements, the new body achieves a heroic 0.27 coefficient of drag, one of the best figures of any midsize sedan. The new Sonata’s chassis continues with a MacPherson strut / multi-link rear suspension setup and features an electric power steering system with a quick 2.8 turns lock-to-lock. Hyundai promises that the stiffer body, optimized aerodynamics and added sound insulation, will make the new Sonata quieter on the road than it’s ever been on the highway.

Inside, the Sonata’s interior is at once classy, sporty, and retro, with a bit of early-'80s in the dash design, and on some models, metallic pedals and even a flat-bottom steering wheel. While some carmakers are going with center controllers to control their screen-based infotainment systems, Hyundai is sticking with a color touch screen system and buttons—lots of them. At least the company says that it worked with its many suppliers to ensure that the buttons and controls will have a haptic consistency. Between the capacious interior and huge 16.3-cubic-foot trunk, there’s so much space that the government classifies it as a large car rather than a mid-size.

Standard features include USB/iPod and auxiliary jacks, Sirius/XM radio and Bluetooth connectivity with voice activation. Options include an 8.0-in color touch screen, navigation, and a 400-watt Infinity sound system, leather, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, rear window blinds, and a “Smart Trunk” function that opens the trunk automatically after standing next to it for longer than three seconds with the key fob in your pocket. Three levels of telematic connectivity will be offered under Hyundai’s latest app-based Blue Link program, which now offers remote engine starting, Google destination search for navigation, car maintenance scheduler, owner’s manual, and roadside assistance. The Sonata will also be one of the first cars in the world to offer Apple CarPlay, which integrates iPhone functions and familiar app icons into the touch screen.

Hyundai also added several measures of safety in the form of new driver knee airbags and a host of electronic safety systems, including blind spot detection, forward collision warning, rear cross traffic alert, lane change assist, lane departure warning, radar cruise control (with full stop/start capability) and automatic high beams.

As before, the non-hybri,d 2015 Sonata will be powered only by four-cylinder engines mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Sonata SE, Limited and Sport models will be powered by a revised version of the prior model’s direct-injected 2.4-liter four-cylinder, which now produces 185 hp and 178 lb-ft of torque. That’s down slightly from last year’s 190 hp and 179 lb-ft ratings, which Hyundai says had to be done in order to make the peak power more available across the rev range. The optional 2.0-liter turbo also returns for 2015 in the Sonata Sport 2.0T, albeit a smaller turbine optimized for low-rpm drivability and a resultant drop in horsepower to 245 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque from the 2014 modele’s 274 hp and 269 lb-ft.

Hyundai did not mention fuel economy estimates, and nor did it mention anything about the hybrid powertrain that will be offered in the inevitable Sonata Hybrid model. The Alabama-built Sonata will go on sale later this year with Hyundai’s famous 10-year warranty and a price point that we expect to represent a strong value within its competitive set. It is a Hyundai after all.