Sonata Breaks New Ground

Newcastle Herald

Saturday June 25, 2005

Brent Davison

I'M not quite sure exactly when we collectively started to sit up and take notice of Korea's biggest car maker, Hyundai.

Perhaps it was late 2001 when the four-wheel drive Terracan made its debut. If it was not then, it could have been about six months later when the Celica-eating Tiburon coupe jumped into the market place.

Certainly, by the time Hyundai's Getz minicar made it to market we were certain the company was on the right track and 10 months ago, when the Tucson mid-size SUV arrived it was proof positive that Hyundai's collective product had risen to new heights.

Enter NF Sonata from stage left, Hyundai's latest and greatest, a car which should not only capture the attention of anyone shopping for a midsize sedan but also cause a great deal of concern in the ivory towers of Honda, Mazda and Subaru.

Hell, Hyundai is so confident this car will be a hit it is not even shy about claiming it could even steal buyers from Toyota (Camry), Mitsubishi (Magna and its replacement), Ford (Falcon) and Holden (Commodore and Vectra).

Understand this: Hyundai is not coming into the market half-cocked with some facelifted also-ran. Just the opposite. There is a new platform, a totally new design, two new engines, decent chassis engineering and a host of safety features.

Of course Hyundai's biggest drawcard is the price structure and Sonata does not move away from this, its four-model spread covering a price range between $25,490 and $34,490.

So where do we start? Try the model line-up.

The entry-level car is a well-equipped unit with a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder engine and either a five-speed manual or optional four-speed automatic transmission. From there it is a quick jump to the six-cylinder variant of that car (3.3-litre V6) with five-speed automatic as standard.

Those cars preface the more upmarket Elite models offering both the 2.4 and 3.3-litre engines with automatic transmissions and loads of equipment.

The mechanical packages are interesting, offering buyers the 2.4-litre, four-cylinder "Thema" and the 3.3-litre, six-cylinder "Lambda" engines, both of them meeting the tough Euro4 emission standards some three years before they become law in this country.

The Thema engine is an all-alloy, fuel-injected, inline four-cylinder with double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and variable valve timing. Power output is a comfortable 118.5 kilowatts at 5800rpm and 219 newton metres of torque at 4250rpm.

Moving up the power scale, the Lambda V6 is a quad-camshaft, all-alloy, 24-valve (with variable valve timing) powerplant making a handy 173 kilowatts at 6000rpm and 304 newton metres at 3500rpm.

Transmission choices are interesting. There is no five-speed manual for the V6 engines and no five-speed automatic for the four-cylinder cars and more's the pity.

Chassis engineering? Well, it might be "formula front-wheel drive" but Sonata actually feels "right" in the driving experience. The European-spec suspension (independent front wishbones and independent rear multi-links) works properly, the steering is extremely well balanced and has plenty of feel and the overall driving experience is involving.

Safety features and standard equipment levels are high on both models with front, side and side curtain airbags, front seat active head restraints, anti-lock braking with electronic brakeforce distribution for the four-wheel discs and the latest Bosch electronic stability program with traction control.

Add to that list standard air-conditioning, height-adjustable front seats with adjustable lumbar support, tilt and reach adjustable steering column, cruise control and a six-speaker audio with CD/mp3 player.

Elite models add a reverse parking sensor, leather seat trim, eight-way, electrically-adjustable front seats, automatic climate-control air-conditioning and a seven-speaker audio with in-dash CD six-stacker.

The bottom line is that this particular Hyundai comes up as an excellent vehicle, one that offers plenty in every area and one that should be added to the shopping lists of buyers, especially those buyers keen to get more for less.

PRICE LIST

2.4 manual: $25,490

2.4 automatic: $26,990

3.3 automatic: $29,990

Elite 2.4: $31,490

Elite 3.3: $34,490