SURFACING ONLINE TODAY, these new images of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata - purportedly the first official photos but more likely to be ’screen grabs’ from a promotional video - offer the first decent glimpse of the car in production guise.
Leaving behind the more traditional styling of the current model, the next generation Sonata takes on sharper, more progressive and individual lines. The Korean carmaker, with growing sales in global markets everywhere, is now clearly pushing the brand toward its own unique identity.
Adopting a coupe-like roofline, the new Sonata’s sweeping profile, long, blade-like headlights and tail-lights reaching deep into the body work, combined with a large, prominent grille, will give the new Sonata attention-grabbing lines.
Powertrain options are still unknown, however Hyundai is known to be tooling up its US engine plant in Montgomery to switch production from the current four-cylinder motors to more powerful and more efficient direct-injected petrol engines.
The new direct-injected mills will likely feature in upcoming versions of the US-market Santa Fe and Sonata with output is expected to be around the 149kW mark - 18kW more than the present port-injected engine.
An up-spec V6 is also likely, and Hyundai has stated that the new Sonata line-up will feature the Korean company’s first mass-market hybrid vehicle; a statement backed up by recent spy photos revealing a hybrid Sonata testing in the US.
The 2011 Hyundai Sonata will skip next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the Korean carmaker - now the world’s fourth-largest - opting instead to unveil its newest sedan at January’s Detroit Motor Show.
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I’ll say it up front….I’m not a fan of Hyundai’s. Blame the mass of young p-platers driving Excels if you must.
However, this….this looks good. It’s sort of like an Accord V6 front and rear with a passat CC middle. I think it works. As with the i30, Hyundai have lifted their game. Now it’s just a case of getting rid of the stigma (and the Excels!).
Agree it looks great. But it’s one thing to get the design right. The quality feel in the cabin also needs to be right, something Hyundais have never been able to get close to.
Its a Mercedes S-class front with a Citroen C5 side profile and a Passat CC rear (or Audi A5). Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Definitely a quantum leap over the current Sonata.
Marto, I hear you with the past Hyundai’s and the rubber band feel….but take a close look and drive of a i30 and you’ll be suprised. We have one at work (standard with 18s as a ‘runabout’) and it’s a pearler. It’s almost as if the japanese are lowering their standards to compete with the cheaper cars, but the Korean’s are raising their’s. Will take a long while though to change that image.
I think honda want its City front grill back?
Cheers
F-0
F-0, the fact you even know what the Honda City grill looks like is questionable
hehe
Rajman, why would you have an i30 with 18s? The only thing you get is a weird looking car with a hard ride. A runabout should be comfortable, so keep the original sizes for better results, that is why the engineers make them like this.
Looks quite horrendous. The proportions are very peculiar…