MINIMAL EMOTION

Revised 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0T is an all-around fine family sedan packed with value, but it’s unlikely to set your heart racing

New cars are special. Baked into that new-car smell is a feeling of excitement. Why else would we pay thousands of dollars more for something that loses 10 percent of its value the first time we use it?

Compared with the redesigned Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, the refreshed Hyundai Sonata fails to excite, even in its top-of-the-line Limited trim.

That doesn’t mean the midsize sedan is bad. In fact, it is all-around good in terms of performance, spaciousness, safety, fuel economy and all those other functional items important to car shoppers. But car sales are made — and marketing departments built — on something that often counters logic: emotion.

The feeling of the revised Sonata is of exceptional value without sacrificing quality. This stokes wallets more than hearts, which makes for a compelling emotion all its own: the deal. The top-of-the-line Limited trim is priced $3,000 to $4,000 less than the similarly equipped 2018 Honda Accord Touring and 2018 Toyota Camry XSE.

The last generation Sonata from 2011 to 2014 might have more to do with the flat feeling of this Sonata. It made the competitors take notice and reconsider the need for both dull design and a V-6 engine.

While the 2018 Sonata is technically a midcycle refresh. The only change under the revised chiseled hood is pairing the 245-horsepower, turbocharged four-cylinder engine to a more-efficient eight-speed transmission.

The changes are mostly cosmetic, though significant, in an attempt to keep pace with Accord and Camry. The grille is a broader mesh honeycomb pattern on the sporting 2.0T Limited trim. The headlights start narrow and wrap around the side, and everything appears to flow back, complemented by wraparound taillights tapering to the revised rear.

It looks sharper than the 2015, matching the refined suspension with more stiffness and more direct steering.

It’s snappy off the line with no lag and 260 pound-feet of torque available at just 1,350 rpm. It feels more nimble in turns than the Camry, but not as powerful.

On the inside the controls are easy to use and intuitive, the advanced safety assist systems aren’t obtrusive, and the overall layout is sleeker and sharper.

It’s everything a refreshed sedan should be. Its most exciting feature is the price, which is the most compelling factor for many new car shoppers.