Hard yards for Hyundai

Hyundai has released details of local testing ahead of this week's launch of the new Sonata mid-sizer.

The all-new sedan, which replaces i45 and reintroduces the Korean brand's longest serving Aussie nameplate, was the subject of an unprecedented local durability testing and tuning program company insiders say.

Taking a leaf from local manufacturers, Hyundai tested pilot-build Sonatas in a range of Australian conditions up to and including outback roads that the company claims were "little more than rutted tracks".

In total six test vehicles were evaluated, covering initially around 50,000km of accelerated durability testing in 2012. A further 100,000km of testing took place last year. As a result of the local testing changes were made to "underbody components, engine air intake and vehicle sensors", says Hyundai.

The test miles were also used to validate final suspension and steering settings for the cars.

Hyundai is therefore playing up the local suspension tuning of the new car, which for the first time will offer a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol performance oriented variant.

The company claims, in conjunction with damper manufacturer Sachs, its engineers tested 30 suspension component combinations to "optimise all-new Sonata's spring rates, sway bars and dampers". The evaluations were carried out "both in advanced computer simulations and real-world driving".

The new Sonata features a new body-in-white, which Hyundai claims is up to 41 per cent stronger than the outgoing car. The vehicle was last week awarded a five-star safety rating by ANCAP.

Pricing for the new Sonata start at $29,990 with the cheapest turbocharged model, the mid-grade Elite, priced at $36,990. Already the 180kW/350Nm blown car has attracted some criticism for its relatively thirsty 9.2L/100km combined fuel economy figure.

Look out for motoring.com.au's review of the new Sonata later this week.