2020 Hyundai Sonata: a strong contender for “Car of the Year”?

Every so often a vehicle comes along that absolutely knocks my socks off; the last time was the Hyundai Palisade that I reviewed last fall. This time it was the 2020 Hyundai Sonata, which proves that Hyundai (and sibling Kia) are on a role. A decade ago, I thought both Hyundai and Kia were no match for the established Big Three, as well as a host of others.

Well, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima changed all that. Sure, the Sonata got a little stale with its 2014 mid-cycle redesign, but the designer got their A-game back for 2020. If you’re wondering what my thoughts are for the 2020 Kia Optima, it’s still a contender, but just wait for the 2021 model, which will follow suit with its own redesign.

Both the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord have gotten some sweet redesigns, and the Nissan Altima (with its own updates) is hanging in at third for the bestselling mid-size passenger sedan. Then there’s the Volkswagen Passat, Subaru Legacy and Mazda 6. However, the Big Three has decided not to be players, ceasing production of the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Malibu. FCA hasn’t been in the game since cancelling the Chrysler 200.

But, despite that the real sales contenders are sport Ute’s, there is a need for sedans. The Germans and Asians have proven this with their nice complement of anything from sub-compact to full-size. And now we have the 2020 Hyundai Sonata: the benchmark for all the others to strive for.

The 2020 Hyundai Sonata has looks to kill, being sleeker and sportier, with its coupe-like silhouette and striking LED lights which flow from the grille along the hood line. Of course, the Sonata would not be complete without its signature Hyundai grille motif. And the rear façade is complemented by a continuous lip spoiler and end-to-end wrap around taillamps. In other words, this a vehicle you could proudly park next to an upper crust luxury vehicle. Other than being FWD, it could easily supplant the Lexus ES in a Genesis portfolio.

The Sonata is loaded with significant safety items as standard. The upper trim level, like our Limited, lets you press the key-fob button to summon your car out of a tight space before entering (much like Tesla’s Auto-Summon feature), meaning the Level 2 autonomous self-driving feature works well. The Sonata also offers blind spot detection, as well as cameras which show a circular video of approaching cars in the instrument panel (speedo for left, and the tach for right – the same feature found in the Hyundai Palisade).

And the tech just keeps on coming: Forgotten car keys are a thing of the past with the Sonata because you can use your phone as a key (as long as it’s Android, not Apple) or use a hotel-key kind of NFC card you hold against the lock.

The optional head-up display offered is first-class and includes a graphic blind-spot warning feature, which is an exclusive Hyundai feature.

The Sonata can carry up to five people but is way more comfortable with a complement of four. Rear legroom is about what you’d expect in a mid-size vehicle, yet there’s more than adequate headroom.

The Sonata is exceptionally smooth and handles like a dream. Even though the only powertrain offered is a 2.5-liter inline-4, noise and performance are quiet and decent enough, especially at cruising speed. There are two new four-cylinder engines with essentially the same power and same eight-speed automatic. The base engine is a 2.5-liter Atkinson Cycle four with gasoline direct injection, a monstrous 13.0:1 compression ratio, 191-hp, and 181-pound-feet of torque rated @ 4,000 rpm. Continuously variable valve timing (CVVT) optimizes the time engine valves open relative to speed and load.

Higher trim levels (such as on my Sonata Limited) receive the 1.6-liter GDI turbo, 10.5:1 compression, with 180-hp and-195 pound-feet of torque, but virtually all the torque is on tap from 1,800 rpm on, so the car feels peppy from almost the moment you drop the throttle. CVVT is not uncommon on good engines now, and for the 1.6 turbo, there’s a Hyundai-engineered first: continuously variable valve duration (CVVD), which optimizes how long the valves remain open before closing. Hyundai says it improves mpg, eco-friendly engine control, and performance.

Combined fuel economy is 32 mpg for the entry SE, 31 mpg, for 1.6 -liter GDI turbo on the SEL and Limited. City/Hwy ratings for the SE and Limited are 27/36 mpg. My week with the Sonata Limited pegged the overall mpg right on the mark.

The Sonata is front-drive-only, although AWD is a possibility when the hybrid version arrives and may power the rear wheels as well. I absolutely fell in love with this feature on the Nissan Altima; and if things happen the way they’re suppose to, it will be offered on the Toyota Camry, at least in TRD dress.

The eight-speed Hyundai Shiftronic transmission has shift-by-wire control (that is, no mechanical shift gear), which is necessary to do the garage-auto-exit feature. It’s on all 2020 Sonatas except the high-performance N Line, which is due in about a year.

The vehicle has four modes: Smart (adapts to the driver), Normal, Sport, and Custom (user set) that control steering effort and engine/transmission mapping. The shocks are non auto-adjusting, so this doesn’t affect ride quality.

Besides all the high-tech features, one item that got my attention while driving it through pouring rain, as well as cloudy and sunny days, was that below the instrument panel was a readout that stated such. To me this was a head scratcher, because I kept wondering how it constantly knew the weather conditions.

Hyundai is a leader among automakers that give a bucket of standard safety tech - even on models costing less than $25,000. Standard features for all 2020 Sonata models are: Stop and go adaptive cruise control (“advanced smart cruise control” in Hyundai terminology); Forward collision warning, auto emergency braking, pedestrian detection (“forward collision-avoidance assist with pedestrian detection”); Auto high beams (“automatic high beam assist”; Lane keep assist (steers the car back from the lane edges); Lane centering assist (“lane follow assist”); Driver drowsiness detection (“driver attention warning”); Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS); Rearview camera with dynamic guidelines when backing up (the camera, but not the guidelines, are required in the US)

However, Hyundai doesn’t offer blind spot detection (“blind-spot collision avoidance assist”) and rear cross-traffic alert (“rear cross-traffic avoidance assist”) on the base SE model, which is regrettable. In today’s modern world there’s no excuse why these key features can’t be governmentally regulated on all models.

Hyundai estimates Sonata SE model will get 10-15% take-rate. The National Insurance Group safety ratings may someday limit the top rating to cars that do well on crash tests and have a solid set of safety assists on all trims, else they will call out the offending trim lines. Even with BSD/RCTA standard, the SE would not cross a significant price plateau – in this case, $25,000 including freight.

The slickest safety option is Blind-Spot View Monitor (BVM), a pair of side cameras that watch overtaking cars in the lanes to your side and rear. Flick the turn stalk and you get a rear-facing view of that lane (speedo for the left, tach for the right). It is immensely useful, and we hope it will be adopted by the industry, much as everyone else (including Hyundai) added the surround-view camera system pioneered by Nissan.

Hyundai’s BVM is essentially Honda Lane Watch except a) it’s on both sides, b) it supplements but doesn’t replace blind spot detection warnings, and c) the Hyundai display is in the instrument panel (where you just glance down), not the center stack screen (where you must glance over and then down). It’s a rare occasion when somebody outdoes Honda engineers, and Hyundai should take a bow for BVM, and then license it to the rest of the industry (and offer it on more Sonata trim lines). BVM is also on Hyundai’s midsize Palisade SUV.

Highway Drive Assist for Autonomy

As mentioned before, other safety options are blind-spot collision avoidance assist, rear cross-traffic alert, rear parking collision avoidance, and Highway Drive Assist. HDA is Level 2 autonomous driving, which fuses the talents of lane centering assist and adaptive cruise control. On our test drive on divided and undivided highways, it worked like a champ. However, you must keep your eyes on the road, and supposedly your hands on the wheel, at least every 10 seconds. But I clocked hands-off (with eyes glued to the road) self-driving segments of a minute or more. And speaking of hands on the steering wheel, our Sonata Limited had a leather wheel to die for, meaning the grip was unlike anything I’ve experienced on a generic vehicle, not to mention that it was two-spoked, rather than the typical three-spoke.

Since Level 2 demands your ongoing attention, unlike future iterations of self-driving, drivers can’t ignore watching the road for long periods. But HDA will save lives of think-we’ll-live-forever teens who don’t look up while texting and inadvertently cross the center lane to no good ending.

If HDA is the safety trick you’ll want, RSPA, or Remote Smart Parking Assist (think of the Super Bowl ad “Smart Park” with Rachel Bratch), is the convenience trick. It fetches the Sonata out of tight spaces, starting the car remotely, and pressing the forward or backward button and the car moves. You can either start the car moving or stop it. It uses 13 sonar sensors to avoid scraping the sides of garages or vehicles, so it pretty much steers straight out. If the wheels where cocked while shutting down, RSPA straightens them out before moving. By design, the car travels just 30 feet/10 meters max, so it lacks the super-wow factor of Tesla Auto-Summon, which can cover longer distances. The biggest advantage accrues to owners who have small urban garages, or suburbanites with overflow possessions lining the garage walls.

But technology marches on. Here’s how the automatic ”parallel” reverse parking system works: When hitting a button on the console, the system starts looking for a parking spot. Once the system detects a viable slot, it informs with a message in the instrument cluster, and from then on it automates the steering. You still need to operate the accelerator, the brake and the transmission. However, it’s a leap of faith and ultimately a piece of cake. The automatic reverse parking system steers and tells you what to do.

The Sonata comes with the usual wireless-entry key fob. But you can also use a plastic card, which looks like a hotel key card with embedded near field communication (NFC), to walk up, unlock, start up, and drive away. Lose it? The front desk can’t make you one, but the dealer can for about $20.

Expect to hear this acronym a lot in the next couple of years: PAK, or phone as a key. Your Android smartphone can be a key as well, using both NFC and Bluetooth low energy (BLE). BLE works from 30 feet away for lock/unlock and panic. NFC can unlock the door when held against the handle and authenticate the driver when the phone is placed in the center console Qi wireless cradle.

All this works because every Sonata has embedded telematics called Blue Link (which has nothing to do with Bluetooth or diesel fuel) with three years of service included. Hyundai added enhancements for more remote vehicle status info, remote start enhancements, and remote driver profile management. The cloud stores each family driver’s navigation, multimedia, and cluster menu settings. The cloud also lets the car owner assign access to a guest, mechanic, or possibly a ride-share renter, all without needing to transfer a physical key. As long as the other people have Android and not Apple phones. iPhones don’t work because while they have NFC, Apple reserves it for Apple payments. So, the rest of the world has to convince Apple to loosen up a little, stop talking about security problems as if they’re totally insurmountable, and join the progress of technology.

The Sonata comes in four trim lines, or grades. A Hyundai’s spokesperson stated that the bottom and top trim lines have few options separating the trim levels. Why? For a no-nonsense entry-level model, buyers want an affordable price point, hence car payment. At the top, buyer’s want the whole kit and kabuto. So, it’s the middle trim levels, the SEL and SEL Plus, where most of the action will happen.

The entry Sonata SE, $26,430 including $930 freight from the Montgomery, AL, factory, is very nicely equipped with one exception: no blind-spot detection. But it does include the safety tools listed above, and an 8-inch center stack LCD that runs Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Exterior lights are LED. For 2020 steel wheels with god-awful covers are not to be found. Standard alloy wheels are 16-inches. The SE comes with a single12-volt socket and USB jack.

The SEL. $26,430, most importantly brings in the blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert, along with bigger alloy wheels (17-inch), a hands-free trunk release, 4.2-inch LCD trip computer, leatherette upholstery, an 8-way driver power seat, heated front seats, and a second-row USB jack. The car gets HD radio, satellite radio, and Blue Link (telematics). The $1,200 convenience package brings a 12.3-instrument LCD instrument panel, Hyundai Digital Key, wireless phone charging, and another rear USB jack. The premium package, $1,850 (plus you must take the mandatory convenience package), adds Hyundai switched the Sonata’s premium audio from Harman to Bose. It has 12 speakers. 12-speaker Bose audio (which sounded terrific), leather seats, and a heated steering wheel. A panoramic sunroof adds $1,000.

The SEL Plus, $28,830, moves to the turbo engine with paddle shifters, 18-inch alloys, full-LED taillights and LED turn signals, Dinamica suede/leatherette seats, the 12.3-inch instrument panel, wireless charging, and Hyundai Digital Key. The one option, the tech package, $2,750, rolls in the panoramic sunroof, LED interior lights, a 10.25-inch center stack navigation system, the Bose audio, and Highway Driving Assist.

My Sonata Limited stickered for $34,365, with the only option being carpeted floor mats ($145). So, doing the math, that puts it at a $33,350 MSRP; add to that a $930 designation charge and you get a car too good to be true. If you prefer full leather appointments the Limited is the only way to go, since the lessor trims come standard with leatherette. And speaking of leather seating, both the seat heaters and coolers work impactable, as well the dual zone climate control.

Hyundai has a couple more tricks up their sleeve later in the model year - the Sonata Hybrid (as well as a PHEV Hybrid), and the sporty (Camry TRD-like) N Line. The hybrids will offer incredible fuel economy, as well as solar panels in the roof, allowing an extra 2-mpg range. However, there’s no sunroof option with the hybrid models.

The N-Line is a new performance variant with a 2.5-liter turbo engine that’s expected to generate 300-hp, use a double shift clutch gearbox (DSG), and spread a performance aura over the entire Sonata line.

I should have more details as the launch dates get closer.