The 2020 Hyundai Sonata in Photos

The Editors

March 26, 2019 at 8:00 PM

<p>Gazing upon <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.caranddriver.com/hyundai/sonata" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:the new 2020 Hyundai Sonata;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">the new 2020 Hyundai Sonata</a> in person brings the design to life and makes the car's eighth-generation overhaul even more impressive than what we could gather from <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a26692381/2020-hyundai-sonata-photos-info/" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:its initial photos;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">its initial photos</a>. Every detail is dripping with artistic influence: the extremely low hood, the shapely roofline that's an inch lower than before, and the significant depth found in the body sides. The rear deck is shorter, the overall diameter of the tires slightly larger. From the side, two prominent creases playfully converge and then diverge again as they run from front to back.</p>

<p>But we also appreciate the restraint on Hyundai's part for not just packing in more and more lines and surfaces, which is often how car companies endeavor to amp up design. The Sonata is the first car rendered in Hyundai's latest design language-dubbed Sensuous Sportiness-previewed by <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a19135395/hyundai-le-fil-rouge-hdc-1-concept-sensuous-sportiness/" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:the Le Fil Rouge concept car;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">the Le Fil Rouge concept car</a> shown at the 2018 Geneva auto show. And it's the first model fully conceived since the arrival of its superstar designers-chief design officer Luc Donckerwolke (formerly of Lamborghini, Audi, and Bentley) and head of Hyundai design SangYup Lee (General Motors, Bentley, and Volkswagen).</p>

<p>Notice some Aston Martin influence in the Sonata from the front? That's partially due to a similar hood execution, where the sheetmetal extends all the way out to the leading edge of the vehicle. From the driver's seat, it cascades out of view like an infinity pool rendered in steel.</p>

<p>This is an unusual approach on a mainstream vehicle. If every low-speed parking-lot accident requires a hood replacement, customers will be unhappy and insurance rates will skyrocket. Luckily, as SangYup Lee explained as he walked us around the car recently in the company's design center in Namyang, South Korea, Hyundai's engineering team has done some clever reinforcement in the lower bumper to protect the curvaceous hood.</p>

<p>When the light is off, it simply looks like typical trim. But the chrome coating has been burned off by a laser in an expanding grid of 0.05-mm squares to let light through in increasing intensity the closer the trim gets to the headlights. The one downside with this execution is that it leaves a cutline between the lit and unlit sections.</p>

<p>All manner of driver-assist features are enabled by the available three radar sensors, five cameras, and 13 ultrasonic sensors: standard adaptive cruise, forward-collision braking, lane-following assist (it will keep tracking the car ahead even if it loses sight of the lane lines), plus available rear-collision braking, and a blind-spot view feature that shows a video feed in the digital gauge cluster looking back from the respective outside rear-view mirror when the turn signal is activated.</p>

<p>Beneath the shapely exterior is a new, third-generation architecture. It's more of a redesign than a complete rethink. But the further optimization and additional high-strength steel has brought its claimed curb weight down slightly, while the suspension remains a strut-type front and a multilink rear.</p>

<p>However, there's still a lot of work to be done before the new Sonata reaches U.S. dealerships in the fall of 2019. We got a very brief chance to drive early prototypes, and it showed that there are still three more prototype iterations before development is complete.</p>

<p>If there's one thing the new Sonata is missing it is power, as the two inline-four engines available at launch overlap with each other on the low end of the competitive segment: a 178-hp turbocharged 1.6-liter that carries over from the previous car and a new 191-hp 2.5-liter that replaces the previous 185-hp 2.4-liter.</p>

<p>While the previous Eco had a dual-clutch automatic, all Sonatas will now have a conventional eight-speed automatic. In our limited driving, the transmission's responses were a bit lazy, both when shifting with the steering wheel-mounted paddles or in automatic mode. Acceleration to 60 mph will likely be in the mid-seven-second range, which is on par with base-engine competitors.</p>

<p>Inside, there's an optional 12.3-inch digital cluster and 10.3-inch center screen-similar to what's in upper-level <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.caranddriver.com/audi/a7" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Audi A7s;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Audi A7s</a> and miles beyond anything currently in the segment-plus a head-up display.</p>

<p>There's available Nappa leather, and the measured responses to twirling the HVAC knobs and twisting the turn signal stalk shows an attention to detail that goes much further than skin deep.</p>

<p>The wireless charging pad circulates air over a phone to keep it cool and enables charging at up to twice the previous rate. And although the roofline was designed with elegance in mind, the rear-seat headroom is still reasonable, with contours in the headliner to make the most of the available space.</p>

Gazing upon the new 2020 Hyundai Sonata in person brings the design to life and makes the car's eighth-generation overhaul even more impressive than what we could gather from its initial photos. Every detail is dripping with artistic influence: the extremely low hood, the shapely roofline that's an inch lower than before, and the significant depth found in the body sides. The rear deck is shorter, the overall diameter of the tires slightly larger. From the side, two prominent creases playfully converge and then diverge again as they run from front to back.

Hyundai

With a beautiful design and unheard-of levels of content, Hyundai is swinging for the fences with the eighth-generation Sonata.

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The 2020 Hyundai Sonata in Photos

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