Hyundai adds spice to its family sedan
Moving fast at refreshing its cars and SUVS, Hyundai is quickly redesigning and replacing its vehicles.
And fresh off the release of the 2020 Sonata comes the 2021 Sonata N Line — a car that adopts a similar philosophy to BMW’S M cars.
And much like BMW’S M cars that were once heavily swayed and developed by Albert Biermann — the German engineer who for decades tuned BMW M cars into high-performance machines and was poached by Hyundai to do the same thing for the Korean automaker — the N Line takes a standard Sonata and turns it into a streetgrade performance car for $37,999.
The N Line is more than just a trim package, however, revealing genuine performance credentials and a ride that is truly exciting, blessed with a powerful engine, bigger brakes, a dual clutch transmission and stiffer bushings and dampers. It’s not quite a full-on track car — that would be a Sonata N — but it’s not terribly far off.
The plum in the pudding is the 2.5L engine that feels more like a turbo V6 than turbo four-cylinder.
Punch the gas and the 19inch Pirelli P Zero front tires rotate and scream like a pair of hungry hyenas, unbridled by traction control that shuts off in Sport Plus mode.
Stab the throttle in traffic and be prepared for what feels like a flux capacitor spinning up for a time warp. Hell, this engine is just plain fun and it delivers its goods with very little lumps.
The sound, however, is sadly lacking. Some if it is piped into the car via the speakers, but it sounds anemic under pressure, even with quad ports out back.
The four-cylinder, the same one found in the Genesis GV80 and G80, is already masked by the turbo, so it can’t resonate with the rich
night-time feels of Odario Williams. The result is a bit of a disconnect between the driver and the engine, like a fabulous dinner without dessert, which is unfortunate because the 311 pound-feet of torque arrives early and stays late, exhausting all 290 horsepower at a relatively modest 5,800 rpm. It’s a massively powerful engine that just doesn’t sound the part, even if it does fulfill the need for speed — especially when the rpms are just over 2,000 and you need to get past that long parade of RVS on the highway. The zero-to-100 km/h run is estimated at about six seconds, about two seconds quicker than a regular Sonata.
Making up for the aural deficit is a magnificent, Nspecific eight-speed dual clutch transmission developed in-house by N engineers using Germany’s Nürburgring as a development site. While driving fast, shifts are snappy, quick, and can make
the paddle-shifters feel almost redundant. It’s equally confident cruising at slow speeds, finding the correct gear for the ever-changing speed and grade of regular roads. Tap a paddle and it’s ready to run again, but it will shift automatically at redline and will shift back to D after some time or by pulling both paddles toward the driver. It also has “launch control” activated via a series of steps.
Drive modes certainly alter the car’s personality. Normal makes the Sonata N Line it feel almost sedate, while Sport is good for brisk driving, and Sport Plus for the backroads when there is no chance of radar, police, or pedestrians in the area. The instrument cluster also changes with the mode, so there’s no mistaking the mood.
Braking is fairly aggressive too, the rotors an inch bigger than the standard car. Initial bite is good and the pedal is easy to modulate; however too much force at higher speed will trigger the ABS into stopping early lock-up, with little room between hard stops and lock-up. The electric, rack-mounted steering feels tight with decent enough feedback.
Handing is another strength, the car feeling planted at higher speeds and able to squat nicely in the bends, although it’s easy to break a front tire loose exiting a corner with excessive throttle. While vastly stiffer than the base Sonata thanks to its special monotube shocks, the layout is almost as if the power ratio in the Sonata N Line requires rear wheel drive, or possibly even AWD. But in almost every situation where it might feel as if the car is going a bit too fast, the Sonata N Line stays composed. It doesn’t beat up the driver in rough roads either, finding a good balance between everyday street use and performance.
Outside, the Sonata’s signature light stripe along the hood line might age quickly, and the N Line does look like it’s trying just a bit too hard, but inside, the N Line treatment succeeds with comfortable, well bolstered Nappa leather and suede sport bucket seats, along with a pleasing layout dominated by a 12.3-inch full digital LCD cluster and 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with navigation.
A useful heads-up display is also included, as are heated front and rear seats, a heated leather steering wheel, aluminum pedals, ambient lighting, and wireless charging. It’s a fantastic cabin with the kind of features that would cost almost twice as much in a BMW or Audi, especially so since the N Line includes every available safety feature.
That kind of content, in a car as impressive as the Sonata N Line, may well be enough to push Hyundai past the one Japanese car company it has long been trying to pass.