Sonata updates fast-tracked

Hyundai’s all-new Sonata medium car has barely hit dealer showrooms and the company is already promising updates.

Not to the suspension settings, as was the case when the previous-generation car (i45) arrived and seriously miscued in terms of tuning, but rather an equipment upgrade that is indicative of the pace of change at the Korean company.

Launched this week on some of Tasmania’s most challenging roads, the all-new Sonata range kicks off at $29,990 and for the first time offers a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine option that brings some real-world performance to the mass-market mid-size segment.

But Hyundai is unhappy with leaving success of the car to chance and will fast-track additions via a model-year update before the end of 2015.

The update is expected to deliver the option of additional safety features including autonomous emergency braking but also performance/sporting tweaks including the addition of steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters for turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol Elite and Premium versions.

Smart (adaptive) cruise control and lane departure and lane keeping features are also likely options.

“We want to be transparent about the changes that are coming, “Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) boss Oliver Mann told motoring.com.au.

“The features were not available in our launch window. We want to offer them -- but we also wanted to launch the car as soon as practicable. They will come as part of model year update but they won't come for free,” Mann explained.

Final details regarding timing and pricing of the additions-- as well as the model grades that will be affected -- are a work-in-progress, Mann said.

He said the safety features may be offered as standard equipment in a repriced Premium range-topper and as option packs on other grades.

HMCA staffers hinted that the additions will likely correspond with or closely follow the arrival of a facelifted version of the Euro-centric i40, a model which will remain on sale alongside the Sonata Down Under.

“The Series II i40 will in effect be our [mid-size] diesel and wagon offering alongside Sonata,” HMCA product planning chief Andrew Tuitahi told motoring.com.au.

“We’re still finalising the new i40 model offering and grades going forward but we have confirmed we will retain both sedan and wagon variants in our range,” he said.

The likely scenario will see HMCA limit i40 sedan availability to turbo-diesel only, but offer both petrol and diesel options in the wagon, complementing the petrol/sedan-only Sonata.

Grade choices will be limited to reduce range complexity, but the wagon in particular offers incremental volume HMCA insists.

“[Overall] wagons’ share [of the medium car segment] has grown from nine to 16 per cent. We want to retain a presence” Tuitahi explained.