The Sonata is powered by Hyundai's first direct-injection petrol engine. This 2.4L 4-cylinder GDI unit produces 198 BHP (@ 6,300 rpm) and 250 Nm of torque (@ 4,250 rpm). Internationally, a turbo-charged 2.0L petrol variant with an Accord-V6 matching 274 BHP is available, though I doubt we'll be getting the engine anytime soon.
The Manual Transmission
As I got into the driver’s seat, I found that the seat was positioned way too forward. The captain's chair has 10 way electric adjustment, and I got my ideal driving position within a few seconds of using the 3 adjustment buttons. However, the clutch travel is long and you have to literally stretch your left leg to fully depress the pedal. Thus, I had to push the seat forward again. This clutch has one of the longest travels amongst the D2 segment cars. That can cause some embarrassing moments while starting off. At first, I promptly stalled the engine; I was relieved when my co-driver too experienced the same stalling issue. It does take time to get used to that long clutch. However, the arrangement didn’t pose any problem while changing gears on the move.
The Sonata MT has a 6-speed manual transmission; the first 3 ratios are tuned for city driving while the final 3 are taller. If you were expecting to feel the raw power of a 198 BHP car, you are in the wrong place. At redline, 70 kph can be reached in 1st gear, 100 kph in 2nd gear and 150 kph in 3rd gear. Since we only drove on the crowded East Coast Road (2-lane) from Chennai to Pondicherry and back, we had very little opportunity to redline. We safely drove around the 80 - 100 kph mark. The 5th & 6th ratios are very tall, meant to maximise fuel-efficiency over long-distance touring. The 4th gear obviously had more torque delivery of the three, but the difference between the three ratios felt quite academic due to the tall nature of each gear. The engine sounds a little harsh past 3000 - 4000 rpm. Refinement is acceptable, but it's not a super smooth motor at high rpm. In both, the 4th & 5th gears, I could slow down to 30 kph and then recover to higher speed without having to shift down or lug the engine. I guess there is no replacement for displacement. In other words, the Sonata is a very convenient car to drive, though not exciting. If you want that feeling of adrenalin rush, you'll have to frequently downshift (to 3rd & below). On that note, I might add that the MT's gear shift quality is smooth to use.
The ECR also provided ample opportunity to test the comprehensive braking hardware that includes 4-wheel disc brakes, ABS & EBD. At one point, as I was overtaking a slow-moving car, a biker made a sudden U-turn, ending up right in front of me. I was able to instantly brake and avoid the biker with no drama at all. It wasn’t even a close call like it would have been in some other cars. In fact, the biker was completely unaware of the incident he just caused. Full marks to the Sonata's braking system.
High-speed handling has always been the Achilles heel of Hyundai. I was hoping that the latest generation Sonata will buck that trend. Alas, that was not to be. The suspension is softly set up and doesn’t imbibe much confidence when pushing the car on twisting roads. While taking a few long, gentle curves at 80 - 90 kph, I had to be very cautious with my steering control & input. That said, this is a hydraulic power steering that gives good feedback.
High-speed handling was obviously compromised in favour of superior ride comfort. The Sonata offers probably the
best-in-class ride quality, whether on the rear seat or the front. Ride quality remains stellar at low & high speeds, whether the roads are good or bad. This feels like a deliberate compromise to suit the target segment of customer. The Sonata is all about comfort and convenience, totally ignoring the needs of the enthusiastic driver. No car in this segment is truly fun to drive though. The Accord & Camry are boring while the Superb’s wheelbase is too long to be fun. The Passat is probably the closest to what one can call an enthusiast's car.
The Automatic Transmission
Driving an automatic car doesn't come naturally to a lot of people in India. Habits from driving manual transmissions often get passed over. That typically means a heavy-footed driving style. With the exception of a high-end or DSG equipped car, almost all automatics are better suited to light-footed drivers. Therefore, those who try to test the sheer performance of an automatic car with heavy-footed driving end up being disappointed.
The Sonata AT is for those with a sedate style of driving. Shift quality is smooth & seamless. Customers from this segment prefer ATs for the convenience, and should be happy with the Sonata's 6-speed Automatic. With a regular driving style, it's never really "hunting" for gears. In fact, you won't even notice the gear shifts.
Those looking for fun, on the other hand, will end up empty handed. If the Sonata MT was unexciting, the AT version is downright boring. Usually, I am quite upbeat about AT variants. Having continuously owned AT cars across many segments for nearly two decades, I am quite realistic about how ATs should perform. I don’t judge an AT car's performance via comparisons to their MT counterparts, or by the pedal-to-the-metal feel...that would be ludicrous. No, I merely wanted to compare it to the last 6-speed AT car I test drove, albeit from a lower segment, the Skoda Rapid AT. The Sonata AT simply doesn’t measure up. It is a lot lazier than even the Rapid AT, which is more exciting to drive despite having 1/2 the power. While the Sonata has paddle shift controls, the Rapid has an "S-mode" for when you want to have fun. The Sonata simply calls the tiptronic as the Sports mode.
In the normal drive mode (D) of Sonata, one is forced to drive conservatively with no sudden movements, except for braking. Overtaking has to be carefully planned too. Any attempt to suddenly accelerate results in a grotesque scream from the engine. It intimidated me enough to stop trying. I then decided to try my luck with the tiptronic & paddle shift controls. The Tiptronic mode is not something you will frequently use. Although one may assume that an aggressive driver would use tiptronic all the time, research suggests otherwise. In a manual-shift, we change gears all the time because we have to. Do we enjoy changing it all the time? Not really. One enjoys shifting gears only while driving spiritedly on open stretches or the twisties. For the rest of the driving time, gear shifting is quite a mechanical process. So there it is. Tiptronic is something you use when you want absolute control over which gear is used. That might comprise of less than 5% of your driving, may be a little more amongst sporty drivers. The Sonata Tiptronic driving experience was hardly different from the MT version and probably has the same gear ratios too. It was as unexciting as driving the MT version. After shifting the gears manually a few times, I switched back to "D" and stopped bothering.
The AT version also features cruise control. Once you set a certain speed, the car will maintain it, until the cruise control is switched off or the brakes are applied. Cruise control is useful only on fast highways with minimal traffic.
The NVH is very well controlled. Engine noise is subdued below 3,500 rpms, but can be heard thereafter. Wind and road noise are negligible. The ground clearance is rather low at 155 mm; we didn’t hit the underbody on any speed-breakers though. With this long wheelbase, I have my reservations and leave it to the ownership reviews to pass judgement.
By the end of the test drive, the verdict was clearly painted on the sky for me. This is the perfect chauffeur driven car. It gives great ride comfort and convenience for rear seat passengers. Drivers will find both variants quite boring to drive, and almost impossible to abuse. In other words, the best seats in the house are at the rear.