2024 HYUNDAI SONATA SEDAN
2024 HYUNDAI SONATA SEDAN
Posted on March 15, 2023
Korean automaker Hyundai has announced that it will launch an all-new Sonata midsize sedan for 2024. This is exciting news because the Sonata has long been one of Hyundai’s most popular cars, even in a range now dominated by SUV/crossovers.
The Sonata has been manufactured since 1985 and the new model is the 9th generation of the product. Even early models were a very long way from the kind of vehicle that got Hyundai started in North America. Old-timers will remember the Pony subcompact, which gave little indication of the heights Hyundai would achieve in later years, but even so, it sold well end established the company’s reputation and that of Korean vehicles in general.
Today, nobody questions the merits of Korean-built vehicles and they are generally accepted as close competitors for any comparable models in the world. Hyundai vehicles stand out for their excellent build quality and are produced in some of the most advanced plants in the world.
The 2024 Sonata boasts a vey sleek and sporty look and compares with some of those “four-door coupes” built by premium automakers in Europe. It has a long hood to emphasize this design philosophy and beneath the bodywork is a conventional front-engine layout. Hyundai describes the design ethic for its new Sonata as “sensuous sportiness.” The front lighting involves a full-width LED layout that is very distinctive. A similar lighting array adorns the rear of the car.
While full details have yet to be announced, powertrain options are expected to follow those of the current model. These involve a 2.5-litre inline four-cylinder, a turbocharged 2.5-litre inline four-cylinder (N-Line) and a hybrid variant.
As might be expected, the Sonata design team worked hard to give the cabin the same kind of standout modernity as the exterior. For the first time in a Hyundai, the dash features a curved driver-oriented display that uses two big 12.3-inch screens. It has a tidy, organized look and should be very straightforward for the driver to adapt to. The 8-speed transmission uses a column-mounted shifter to create more space in other areas of the cockpit. Also featured are new upholstery colour combinations aimed at creating a luxury ambiance.
In an age where SUVs and crossovers dominate, Hyundai has worked impressively to produce a sedan with every possible high-tech feature and with striking good looks to match. For buyers who still prefer their set of wheels to be sleek, ground hugging and design conscious, the new Sonata is a major event.
Prices and more details of the spec sheet will be available in the early spring when the product goes on sale in Canada. Standard and N-Line variants will be available.
SPECS AT A GLANCE...
BODY STYLE: Four-door sports sedan
ENGINE: 2.5-litre four-cylinder, 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo, hybrid variant
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic
PERFORMANCE: Zero to 100 km/h in approx. 7-secs (estimated)
FUEL ECONOMY: 7.7-litres/100km combined (estimated)
PRICE: Yet to be announced