Hyundai Sonata 2019 Review

This landmark Hyundai Sonata hits Australia within six months and sticks to a familiar mechanical formula, but 2020 and beyond is likely to bring both a petrol-electric hybrid version and a go-faster 200kW N-Line model from Hyundai’s booming N division.

Hyundai Australia is yet to confirm its Sonata plan, and is saying nothing about prices that need to stay close the current level from about $31,000. It is hinting on three trim levels.

Even so, the arrival of the eighth-generation Sonata will spell the end of the European-sourced i40 mid-sizer, including the Tourer wagon and diesel engine.

Hyundai Australia’s twin-pronged model strategy worked at first to provide more choice for mid-size car buyers, but booming SUV sales and the strength of the Tucson and Santa Fe mean there is no point in continuing with the costly i40.

Hyundai makes no excuses for its familiar but far-more-polished update work on the Sonata, pointing to global demand for mid-size cars that still top six million sales a year. It’s also the heart of the brand, globally, and still providing plenty of profit.

In Australia, Sonata sales have dropped to less than 1000 cars a year but local management still sees a place — and a role — for the Sonata.

“It’s a low-volume car in a declining segment, but it provides our customers with greater choice and allows us to play in a segment which demonstrates our design and tech credentials,” said Hyundai Australia marketing director, Bill Thomas.

“Sonata, globally, is Hyundai’s central product in design terms and is also the best-selling product globally. It is an important car for our brand and we think it will be a strong challenger in the class.”

Never before has Hyundai been ambitious enough to use a term like “sensuous sportiness” to describe one of its cars.

But that was before Luc Donckerwolke arrived to head up a Hyundai-Kia design operation that has swelled to more than 1100 staff at the South Korean company’s Namyang proving ground and design bases from Europe to the USA.

“As sedans are losing speed we have to give more emotion. We have to have more emotion or the decline will be even faster,” he told carsales.com.au during a visit to Namyang.

“Every designer can do a good SUV, there is no challenge. A sedan is much harder to design. To have a four-door sedan with a sporty design is the most difficult challenge.”

In the case of the Sonata, that means a roofline with a coupe-style sweep, a front-end that is distinctive without being over-done, and a tail that is suitably upscale.

Inside, the move upmarket is obvious from the materials and final finishing work. The design, too, is a step up from the current Hyundai line-up with an inevitable emphasis on giant display screens.

The big change, which everyone will see, is the increased use of chrome on the car. It’s across the grille and even flowing up on top of the front guards – as seen on the old Hyundai i45 -- and through to the back doors.

“Chrome becomes light. This is the game we are playing,” says Donckerwolke.

Some of the chrome is also tied to a Hyundai first, ‘Hidden Lighting Lamp’, which literally changes to signature lighting once turned on.

“It is the first example of a design shift globally. It says we will embrace bold, striking design across our entire product portfolio,” said Thomas.

Development of the new Hyundai Sonata was focussed on the latest platform package, which has cut weight but also improved strength in a pattern familiar with most makers.

The car is slightly longer and wider, at 4900mm and 1860mm respectively, with a longer wheelbase at 2840mm. Compared to the Camry and Honda Accord it is slightly bigger in the key measurements, which also pays off in the cabin and boot space.

The mechanical package is regulation stuff, with a variety of engines from a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder to a 1.6-litre turbo engine for the USA, and a six-speed automatic transmission and 16- or 17-inch alloys.

Australia will get a 2.5-litre non-turbo starter model with the promise of something much punchier in the N-Line car.

On the safety front, the car is available with everything from autonomous emergency braking and lane-keeping to radar cruise control and driver attention warning, plus rear cross-traffic alert, auto high-beam and blind-spot monitoring. There are nine airbags.

All 2019 Hyundai Sonata models come with full LED headlights, a head-up display, Bose sound — a first for Hyundai — and a remote smart parking system (where legal).

Connectivity includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth multi-pairing, a voice-recognition system and twin TFT screens — 10.25-inch in the centre and 12.3-inch for the driver.

The headline act is the Hyundai Digital Key, which uses a smartphone for the usual central-locking functions, but also remote starting and setting of driver preferences in the cabin. It’s also part of the future plan for remote and autonomous parking.

“The new-generation Sonata is a fully-transformed vehicle, with advanced personalisation technology, a new platform and an array of advanced driver-assist technology,” says the head of research and development at Hyundai, Albert Biermann.

The new Hyundai Sonata looks good, that’s for sure, but carsales’ verdict after our exclusive first drive is a tougher call, because the cars we drove in Korea were not the ones we will get in Australia.

Our 2.0-litre test car was well down on the power and torque we can expect from the 2.5 we’ll get here and, although there are no official figures yet, the N-Line car promises to be significantly quicker with an undisclosed new turbo powerplant.

Still, the car is quiet and comfy and it’s easy to believe Hyundai’s claims about improved cabin and boot space.

Our drive conditions were a long way from Australia’s too, with very smooth bitumen throughout and very little chance to check the vehicle’s overtaking performance – let alone its open-road or mountain-pass capabilities -- on overcrowded roads around Seoul.

With a basic 2.0-litre engine the Sonata is tepid at best, and that best only comes in a Sport driving mode. It needs some stirring, that’s for sure, and there was no chance to check its economy.

We can expect better and it’s the same with the suspension, which is fine in Korea but should be significantly improved with local tuning for Australia.

The best thing is that the baseline settings are far more compliant and controlled than Korean suspension in the past.

There was plenty of driving during our first test of the 2019 Hyundai Sonata, but no chance for meaningful assessment in heavy traffic on roads that were a long way from Australia.

The car can easily cope with more go than the Korean-standard engine, and the impressive basic suspension tune will be further improved Down Under.

At the end of the road, it’s clear that Hyundai is finally out to bury the dowdy roots of the Sonata and has created a smooth and elegant piece of family transport.

The new Hyundai Sonata will definitely take the fight to the Camry, even if both cars are squabbling over a larger slice of a shrinking pie.

How much does the 2019 Hyundai Sonata cost?
On sale: Q3 2019
Pricing: From $31,990 (estimated)
Engine: 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Outputs: TBC
Fuel/CO2: TBC
Safety: TBC