Hyundai’s Sonata is a mid-size car that was released in Australia back in 1989 and is currently in its eight generation. The Sonata has recently been facelifted and available only in N Line spec, costing $55,000 plus on-road costs.
In a sea of SUVs and hatchbacks, it’s refreshing to see that Hyundai still offers a mid-size sedan in its current line-up. So, what’s included in this facelifted model and how does the car perform? Read on to find out.
Interior
The interior of the Sonata N Line is comfortable and well appointed. There are comfortable suede and nappa leather sports seats with 12-way electric adjustment for the driver, heating and ventilation for the front seats and heating for the steering wheel and rear outbound seats. The three spoke steering wheel is ideally sized and adjusted manually, featuring the N logo and small paddles to operate the gearbox. Red stitching can be found on the steering wheel, seats and door cards. This facelifted Sonata N Line also scores the new twin curved 12.3-inch infotainment screens. Curiously, operating the gearbox isn’t done conventionally through a shifter in the centre console, but through a gear selector that’s mounted to the steering column. This frees up room in the centre console for a large wireless phone charger, two large drink holders, a phone holder, 12V socket, USB-C ports and large storage bin.
The Drive Mode, Auto Hold and 360-degree camera buttons are ideally placed, as well as the air conditioning, heating and radio controls. Buttons to operate the ESC, traction control, electric parking brake and boot are located to the right of the steering column. In the back, there’s adequate legroom, however limited headroom due to the panoramic roof. Two ISOFIX points per rear seat, an electrically adjustable rear window sunshade and manually adjustable sunshades for the two rear side windows makes a safe and comfortable environment for children. The boot size is a generous 510 Litres and contains a spacesaver wheel and jack kit.
Exterior
This example is finished in Nocturne Grey paintwork and is also available in Serenity White, Biophilic Ink, Abyss Black, Ultimate Red and Aero Silver matte. The facelift has resulted in significant changes to the front fascia, including a new bumper, redesigned headlights, and a slim horizontally designed LED bar that operates as the daytime running lights (DRL). The rear also sees an update, with reimagined taillights and a slightly altered LED light bar that stretches across the boot. The updates to the exterior have resulted in a modern and striking looking car from all angles. Other nice design touches to the exterior include N line badging on the front grille and front quarter panels, a black rear diffuser, small black rear wing with air channels and black side skirts. Although the Sonata is in the mid-size segment, one could be forgiven for thinking that this car belongs in the large car segment when looking at its exterior dimensions. A bit of research has revealed that the Sonata is very similar in width, length and wheelbase to the BA Falon sedan from 20 years ago, a car that belonged in the large car segment. It goes to show how big modern cars have become.
The Sonata N Line comes with 19-inch N Line alloy wheels with 245/40 profile Continental PremiumContact 6 tyres on all four corners. The brake package consists of 345mm diameter ventilated disc brakes with a single piston caliper at the front, with 325mm diameter solid discs with a single piston caliper at the rear.
Standard equipment
Hyundai’s Sonata N Line includes twin 12.3-inch infotainment displays, a head-up display, 12-speaker Bose-branded sound system with amplifier, dual-zone climate control and connectivity through Hyundai’s Bluelink app service. It includes location tracking and remote locking/unlocking, remote start and climate controls, and even the ability to view the surround-view monitors from your phone.
There’s also a 360-degree camera system and rear seat and rear windscreen sunshades. LED lighting is all round, as well as rain-sensing wipers, laminated front and side glass and a hands-free opening boot lid. Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, native navigation and digital radio is included. Although the Sonata hasn’t been tested by ANCAP, it includes blind-spot collision avoidance assistance, blind-spot view monitor (which displays on the digital instrument cluster), driver attention warning and autonomous emergency braking. This last point has been updated, and now includes pedestrian, motorcycle, junction, and cyclist detection. There’s also lane-keep assistance, lane-follow assistance, intelligent speed limit assistance, low-speed reverse autonomous braking, rear cross-traffic alert, safe exit assist, and high-beam assistance. There are six airbags inside the Sonata, which includes front, side and curtain airbags that reach into the second row.
Drive Modes
Drive modes are activated using either the Drive Mode selector button near the front armrest or through the infotainment display. The driver can select from Eco, Normal, Sport or MyDrive. Within MyDrive, there are further adjustments available to suit individual preferences. Eco, Normal, Sport, Sport+ and Smart can be selected for the powertrain, while Normal and Sport can be selected for steering. The 12.3-inch central infotainment display has a new operating system and has map, radio and phone settings, just to name a few. There are three pages to toggle through on the driver’s 12.3-inch infotainment display. Page 1 has trip information, tyre pressures, oil temperature (50-150°C), torque (0-400Nm), turbo (0-20psi), Page 2 has a compass while you can access settings through Page 3.
Driving impressions and performance
The Sonata is powered by the previous model’s 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, with outputs of 213kW and 422Nm, with drive sent to the front wheels. The engine is mated to an eight-speed dual clutch transmission and is started by pushing a button that sits underneath the infotainment screen. Unlike Hyundai’s N models, this car doesn’t have an active exhaust and as a result is a lot quieter, however the quad exhaust system enhances the appearance of the car. In gear acceleration is a highlight and with 422Nm of torque, the Sonata N Line makes overtaking effortless. It’s a car that’s best suited to covering long distances in comfort, rather than geared towards outright performance, like Hyundai’s i30 N. The car achieves combined fuel consumption figures of 8.1L/100km and has a 60 Litre fuel tank, running on regular unleaded.
An ideal driving position can be found, with the sports seats offering plenty of adjustment and support. The aluminium pedals are a nice touch, as is ability to switch between classic and simple gauge styles on the driver’s display. The 360-degree camera and blind spot view monitors gives the driver a great understanding of their surroundings. Engaging the gear selector on the steering column takes a bit of getting used to but gets easier with familiarity. Build quality is excellent with no squeaks or rattles observed in the interior during this test.
Even though the Sonata weighs 1675kg, it manages the 0-100 km/h sprint in a respectable 6.5 seconds. It can be difficult putting the power to the ground, as this car isn’t fitted with a limited slip differential. With ESC and traction control turned off, the Sonata has issues with torque steer and understeer under heavy throttle, even with the sticky Continental tyres. The driver aids however have been well calibrated and if left on, they’re not overly intrusive, with power delivery being metered out at the correct amount. The DCT transmission can at times be slow to respond on both upshifts and downshifts and a lack of a full manual mode is frustrating.
The facelift has included a body that’s been stiffened around the sills and B-pillars, and the front subframe around the suspension and engine has been stiffened as well. There’s bracing for the front strut towers, redesigned rear control arms and new subframe bushings. With these changes, the Sonata is a competent handling car with excellent ride quality, however when pushed through corners and under braking, the extra 200kg of mass over the i30 N is noticeable. The electric steering is good with adequate feedback. The car’s at its best on country roads with MyDrive selected with powertrain in Sport+ and steering in Normal, with Eco and Normal modes best for long distance cruising. There’s a noticeable difference in steering weight and throttle response between Eco and Sport modes, with Sport mode gaining steering weight and sharper throttle response. The brake package does a great job of pulling up all the mass, with no brake fade evident.
There are, however, some criticisms. The first small criticism I have is the lane departure warning. It’s understandable that modern cars must have this technology fitted; however, I’m not sure why they have to be so intrusive on the driving experience. Turning it off is a nuisance and a lack of a push button means that every time the car’s started it must be turned off through the infotainment display. Another is the traffic sign recognition warning, that is again overly intrusive and can only be turned off through the infotainment display.
Final thoughts
The Sonata N Line has service intervals set at every 10,000km or 12 months, and $350 being the asking price for the first five visits, for a total cost over five years of $1750. It’s also covered by a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty. Rivals include the Toyota Camry SL Hybrid ($50,320), Skoda Octavia RS ($51,890) and Mazda 6 20th Anniversary ($55,535).
The facelifted model has resulted in a much more modern looking car that looks great from any angle. The addition of the two 12.3-inch infotainment display to the interior makes the interior a wonderful place to spend time in. It’s practicality and interior features make for an ideal family car, with a safe and comfortable environment for all occupants. The turbocharged four cylinder is well suited to the car and makes for effortless overtaking.
Driver aids however are too intrusive and turning them off should be made simpler. The DCT gearbox is slow at times and the lack of a manual mode and limited slip differential results in a car that is better suited to cruising than outright performance.
Having said that, the Sonata N Line is fast, safe, extremely comfortable and well equipped. Hopefully, the mid-size sedan can continue for years to come.
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