Fuel-Sipping Fashionista
Doing some good for the world is rarely easy, nor does it always look nice. But every so often, something comes along that can tick all of those boxes. A Tesla Model S or Porsche Taycan may be the flagships of the ‘green car’ movement but for a large percentage of us, it’s so far out of our price range that to consider one is barely more than a dream. Affordable hybrids and electric options aren’t always quite so sexy. There’s nothing wrong with a Toyota Prius or Chevrolet Bolt, but let’s be honest, they weren’t styled with attractiveness as a top priority. But Korea might have something to say about that with the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid.
Hyundai didn’t always have the best reputation in North America. But since introducing the original Genesis Coupe, it’s marked a clear change in direction for the brand. With offerings like the new Palisade or Veloster N, there’s no question of Hyundai’s caliber of quality and value for money. And much like this new direction of style and quality, the almost visually unremarkable Sonata has also undergone some serious change. This is easily one of the most attractive affordable sedans on the market in our eyes. That chrome strip integrated into the lights, pinstriping down the side profile of the car, could one day be as iconic to the brand as BMW’s kidney grilles. We hope so anyway. It’s a rather striking thing and when it’s done this beautifully, you can’t help but take notice.
Powering this Hybrid Sonata is a 2.0L Atkinson-cycle 4-cylinder. Without getting too technical, the Atkinson cycle increases efficiency at the cost of power. So that’s where the 39kW electric motor comes in. The two complement each other well in the Hyundai. Don’t expect to be winning any drag races with this powertrain, but it’s more than adequate, even if doesn’t sound that great. But in a hybrid, does that really matter? This thing averaged between 5.0 and 5.4 L/100km in our week of testing, with zero effort made to drive more efficiently. And – it was cheap to fill up too. That alone is worth a slightly droning engine.
The Sonata Hybrid is only available at the top of the range – meaning it’s fully loaded from the get-go. But Hyundai will throw in some rather pricey features for free – including a solar panel that covers the entire roof. You won’t be blown away by how much charge the panel gives (between 3-4km) – but considering this isn’t a plug-in-hybrid, that’s just one less thing you need to worry about. When you’re finished your journey in an internal combustion vehicle, you shut the engine off, lock it, and walk away. Same thing here. The panel helps get you some passive recharging without having to worry about range the next day. However, this does come at the cost of a sunroof, which is not available on the Hybrid trim. Whether that’s an issue or not depends entirely on the driver.
Much like its exterior, the inside of the Sonata is quite lovely. The steering wheel is one of the nicest we’ve seen on a modern vehicle, even outclassing some of those from luxury brands. We’d almost recommend going for black or red paint, so you have the option of the tan interior. Black leather is fine, but on a car this bold, a little contrast is even better in our eyes. We really felt that tan interior should’ve been an option with the Oxford Blue paint too. Hyundai put a lot of thought into their cabin. All four seats are heated, with the front two offering ventilation as well. The infotainment screen and digital gauge cluster are simple and easy to read – and giving a live blind spot feed in the cluster upon indicating is just remarkably clever. The infotainment system has a bit of a learning curve but became intuitive after a day or two of use.
Coming in at just over $40,000, the Sonata is not exactly cheap, but not stupidly expensive either. Compared to the gasoline equivalent, the Hybrid Sonata is just about $1,500 more than the Sonata Ultimate. While we’re sure the Sonata Ultimate can out-do the Hybrid in terms of performance, you don’t usually buy a car like this for its speed. The way it drives doesn’t excite, but that’s why it looks the way it does. It’s no wonder Fashion Santa traded his reindeer for a Sonata.
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