SENSIBLE SEDAN
Sporty-looking but pragmatic, the 2015 Hyundai Sonata is the ideal Canadian family sedan.
Overview The ideal Canadian family sedan; sporty on the outside, completely pragmatic underneath. Pros Interior spaciousness, quiet ride, practical demeanour. Cons Limp suspension, less than groundbreaking technology. Value for money Excellent, but the competition is catching up. What would I change? I think I’d like to give the 1.6L Eco model, available in the United States but not imported into Canada, a go. How would I spec it? I like the 2.0T Sport. I’m not sure I’d go for the Ultimate version, however. Hyundai sold more Sonatas than Toyota did Camrys last month. In fact, the familysized Sonata was the bestselling car in Canada last month outside of the compacts. Indeed, of the top sellers, Sonata made the biggest gains, its sales up a whopping 79.2% year-to-date compared with 2014. The only other top 20 sedan in the running? The Camry, natch, Toyota’s toaster on wheels, itself up some 71.5% in sales.
Hyundai Canada is obviously thrilled (all the more so since Hyundai USA has been not nearly as effective at peddling the Sonata as a viable Camry alternative; Camry ranks No. 1 overall south of the border while Sonata is down in 12th place). Fifteen years ago, parity with the very best car built by the very best car company in the world would have been unthinkable.
How did they do it? Well, the go-to reason most would posit would be price. Yet, a cursory perusal reveals that at both ends of the model line spectrum — from the $23,999 base GL to the $34,799 Sport 2.0T Ultimate — the Sonata’s MSRP is within $100 of the Camry’s.
So, if it isn’t price, what magic did Hyundai weave? Simple. First they upped their quality, then they penned a “styling” exterior, gussied up the interior and, for the coup de grâce, latched onto that most basic of tactics for automotive sales success — if you can’t beat ’em, join ‘em. Yes, Hyundai has started to feast on Toyota’s breadwinning family sedan by simply making its Sonata more Camrylike.
For one thing, the all-newfor-2015 Sonata employs a very Camry-like remake, i.e. rendering its exterior sportier (with more prominent side strakes and a more coupe-like appearance) while simultaneously making the car itself softer.
So, for instance, although the Sonata’s top-of-the-line engine continues to be a 2.0-litre turbo, the little four has actually been detuned for this year’s remake. Yes, what was last year a range-topping 274 horsepower boasts just 245 ponies this year. Torque is also down, though to a lesser extent, to an even 260 from 269 pound-feet. With the horsepower wars continuing unabated, even in plain old family sedans, what gives?
Well, for one thing, though slightly less maximum torque emanates from the little turbo four this year, it is produced at a lower rpm (1,350 versus 1,600), Hyundai obviously looking for a little more jump off the line at the expense of top-end horsepower.
Hyundai was also concerned about fuel economy and turning down the turbocharger’s boost was the most expedient route to parsimony. Officially our numbers are 10.4/7.4/9.1 litres per 100 kilometres city/highway/overall. I averaged 10.2 L/100 km in mixed driving without the slightest attempt at tempering my enthusiasm for turbo boost.
That said, had Hyundai Canada been truly committed to minimizing the Sonata’s footprint, it might have imported the 1.6-litre turbocharged Eco model that the Americans enjoy which boasts six mpg (U.S.) better fuel economy than the 2.0T (and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission!).
Not that 2.0T is chopped liver. There is indeed a little more oomph to its throttle tipin, the 2.0T literally jumping off the line, all that lower rpm boost aided by some shorter gearing.
Another page out of the Camry handbook is that the Sonata has grown yet again. Its coupe-like silhouette may disguise its added girth, but the 2015 Sonata is longer, wider and higher and now boasts one of the largest cabins — 3,004 litres of passenger volume — in the mid-sized segment. Legroom in the front is a whopping 1,155 millimetres and headroom chimes in at 1,025 mm; roominess is not an issue. Cargo utility may be. At 462 litres, it’s middling and there’s quite a substantial lip to the trunk’s floor.
That said, the interior — at least this range-topping Sport Ultimate interior — is quite sumptuous. Taking another cue from Camry, there are no dramatic standout features or styling flourishes, but neither are there any giant miscues.
Where the new Hyundai may fall down, though, is in the chassis department. Oh, the design is sophisticated enough with MacPherson struts up front and a multilink independent system out back, but the Sonata could definitely use more of the damping control that German automakers are so good at and Japanese sedans are just now starting to suss out. Oh, it rides fine over minor obtrusions, but larger bumps overwhelm the suspension’s damping. It definitely needs more rebound damping and probably could use a tad more high-speed compression resistance to keep its chassis under control.
That would be the new Sonata’s only significant failing. Otherwise, the 2015 personifies Camry-like excellence. After all, 1,663 Canadians — February’s phenomenal sales — couldn’t all be wrong.