Gilbert’s Garage

2020 Sonata – great look, incredible mpg GILBERT’S GARAGE

JOHN GILBERT

In a parking lot, the Sonata is low and slinky when surrounded by gigantic pickups and SUVs.

Photos by John Gilbert

After spending a week thoroughly enjoying a 2020 Hyundai Sonata Limited sedan in both city and highway driving, I asked my wife and co-driver Joan where she thought the Sonata ranked among all the cars we’ve driven in the past year.

She said she would rank it among the best, just because it looked so sleek and stylish, and because it was extremely comfortable on a trip from Duluth to Brainerd International Raceway to watch a Trans-Am road race and back to Duluth on a warm summer Sunday.

“How about the performance?” I asked. And she said, “Oh yeah, that too.”

Among the little tricks I’ve developed to analyze fairly all the cars I’ve road-tested for reviews, one is to zero the trip-odometer before taking a substantial highway trip, just to give the vehicle a chance to get optimal fuel economy.

Usually that brings the mpg up significantly. But in 50 years of testdriving every imaginable car, truck and SUV on the market, I have never before done what I did with the Sonata. I zeroed the odometer because I thought the computer had given me an erratically high fuel economy reading.

Combined with three days of scaling the cliffs of Duluth and then driving to Brainerd in central Minnesota, the instruments showed we had gotten 36 miles per gallon.

The Sonata Limited we were driving was powered by the modest little 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder, and while I love that engine, the Sonata is a large sedan – the size of such midsize stalwarts as the Accord, Camry, Altima, Passat and Mazda6 – and there was no way that little engine could move us so quickly and deliver that sort of nearhybrid fuel economy.

On the way home, Joan took the wheel and I settled into the comfortable passenger seat and watched as the computer’s fuel rating climbed, and climbed and climbed.

As we came down the big hill into West Duluth on the Interstate, it hit a high of 47.1 miles per gallon. When I reminded Joan that the restyled Sonata has an advanced look and excellent driving manners, that 47.1 mpg was incredible.

“Oh yeah,” she said. “That too.”

After carrying the South Kor-ea manufacturers hopes as a breakthrough contemporary sedan for the 2011 model year, Sonata’s success in engineering and technology boosted Hyundai to an elite level that it quickly spread to all its other models.

This newest generation may prove Hyundai’s corporate theory that once the world’s vehicle buyers satisfy their astounding urge to buy SUVs of every size and description, there will be a return to purchasing sedans, either as an alternative to the SUV already in the driveway or as an everyday conveyance that is both enjoyable and a style statement.

The 2020 Sonata gets straight-A

in that regard. In the world of huge, tall pickups and SUVs, the Sonata sits well lower and about a million times sleeker. In fact, when Mercedes first displayed its “four-door-coupe” styling by giving a full-size sedan the graceful arch of its best coupes, every company sought to duplicate the concept.

You’ll have to choose for yourself, but the first time I ever saw a new Sonata, I approached it from the rear corner, and. attracted by the sharp character lines and sweeping contours, I was sure when I got to the front of it, I would be able to figure out which model Mercedes I was gazing at. Surprise! It was the new Sonata.

Vastly upgraded materials, fit and finish line the interior, with a mastercontrol array of switches on the console, including a long horizontal navigation screen cut into a quiteelegant and simple padded upper dashboard. You can adjust the driving mode and, after our trip, we realized we were in “Sport” mode rather than economy, too, but the car was smooth and comfortable all the way.

Hyundai surprised competitors when it built its own 6-speed automatic that was far superior to the mainstream aftermarket units most competitors were installing in 2011, and now they’ve evolved up to an 8-speed that is smooth as silk shifting.

Hyundai also has given in to those who enjoy driving by installing steering wheel paddles to allow manual up and down shifting on that dualclutch automatic.

All of the recently developed features and safety elements also were included on the Limited, including a surprising switch from the previous Harmon Kardon audio system to Bose. The audio system in the car was always a

The Sonata contours resemble the best Mercedes “4-door Coupe” design, but hit 47 miles per gallon returning from the BIR Trans-Am.

strong point, and I would have to say the Sonata has gone from excellent to still-excellent, maybe with better separation.

Hyundai was at the leading edge when blind-spot and lane departure alerts came into vogue, and I considered Hyundai ahead of the pack because its lane-centering control could actually keep your car or SUV not only in its proper lane, but in the center of that lane. The Sonata has that, plus a back-up camera that can be splitscreened with a top-down view of the entire car, showing anything that might be in your path while backing out of the driveway.

The test car was just an eyelash below $30,000, which is a considerable bargain for all that’s offered. It starts at a base price around $25,000. That balance and coordination of all its assets is nothing short of outstanding, especially in a car that looks so sporty and slick.

The base engine in the Sonata is a newly enlarged 2.5-liter 4 with 191 horsepower and 181 foot-pounds of torque.

The upgrade is the smaller 1.6 Turbo, with 180 horsepower and 195 footpounds of torque.

In the process of focusing on moremainstream consumer cars and letting affiliate Kia go after the performanceminded, Hyundai is not ignoring the hot-rodders. It has come out with an entire line of higher-performance vehicles, designated by a simple “N.”

And the Sonata is taking the nonturbo 2.5 and adding turbocharging plus all sorts of aero touches to create a Sonata N-Line, which will have 290 horses and 310 foot-pounds.

Me? I would stick with the 1.6 Turbo and while the N-Line buyers can dragrace folks, I’ll take an extra second to reach 60, but I can keep checking to see if I can top 47 miles per gallon.

A view of instruments shows “46.7” mpg between gauges.