Review: 2015 Hyundai Sonata Sport

Before Hyundai became an established and respected automaker, the Korean company had to try various ways of attracting attention to its ever-improving products. In the case of the 2006-2010 Sonata midsize sedan, Hyundai went for a price advantage: This highly competitive family car cost thousands of dollars less than comparably equipped competitors. In some years, discounts brought it to the same price as some cars that were a size smaller.

But that Sonata was plainly styled, even by the standards of midsize sedans. And while it did most things pretty well, there wasn't much to get excited about. So in its 2011 redesign, Hyundai picked another way to get noticed: edgy styling with a creased body and a sharply sloping coupe-like roofline, along with a pair of unusually powerful and fuel-efficient four-cylinder engines. In addition to generating big sales figures for Hyundai, the new Sonata also helped usher in today's era of midsize sedans with similar shapes and that also eschew V6 engines for turbocharged four-cylinders.

The latest generation of Sonata, though, has more of the flavor of the 2006 car than the 2011. Introduced for the 2015 model year, the redesigned Sonata is more conservatively styled than before – Hyundai says the car has “matured.” And rather than once more attempting to redefine the class, it's settled back into being similar to the establishment at a lower price.

That's not necessarily a criticism. This reviewer was a fan of the 2006-2010 Sonata; a 2009 model won that year's comparison of midsize sedans on the strength of its value, comfort, refinement, and interior volume. Similarly, if you're looking for a pleasant, comfortable, affordable family sedan, you should have the new 2015 Sonata on your shopping list. The redesign improved the car's ride, interior space, visibility, safety ratings, and feature availability. But acceleration and fuel economy no longer stand out, a sometimes sporty vibe is largely eliminated, and the car blends in more easily with the crowd – overall, quite simply, it's become more dull.

In short, Hyundai no longer seems to feel it needs to break the mold to get attention. Unless you crave a more interesting automobile, you'd do yourself a disservice not to give the 2015 Sonata some of that attention if you're shopping for a midsize sedan.

To look at

As described earlier, the 2011 Sonata broke new ground stylistically for a mainstream family sedan, and many key competitors quickly followed its example. For 2015, the new Sonata has Hyundai's more upright front end, with styling cues borrowed from the premium Genesis sedan. It also adds trendy LED running lights.

But the rest of the car's shape has stayed pretty much the same – with the roofline curving its way down to meet the trunk – and no longer stands out from the pack of today's midsize sedans. Hyundai has pushed the roof back farther, resulting in a shorter trunklid. It also rounded off the sharp edges of the old model's windows, taillights and body creases.

Interior styling has also become less distinctive. “Hyundai's core interior design principles are safety, intuitiveness and simplicity,” according to the company's press release on the 2015 Sonata. This was not necessarily evident in the last model, which sacrificed functionality for unique design elements like a man-shaped climate control button. But everything is utterly conventional in the new model, which does indeed live up to Hyundai's user-friendly promise.

The tested car, a midlevel Sport with a sticker price of $25,810, has a small but simple touchscreen flanked by large, clear buttons and knobs. Below are more buttons and knobs for the tested car's automatic climate control, nicely arrayed around the display screen. Higher-end Sonatas with a larger and more complex infotainment system add features without sacrificing user-friendliness – an accomplishment that's less common than it should be. Redesigned steering wheel controls also cluster the buttons within easier reach of the driver's thumbs.

One design issue is that the instrument panel angles backward away from the seats as it goes upward, which means some drivers might have to lean forward a bit to reach some controls, which is annoying. Another ergonomic niggle in the tested Sonata is that turning off the stereo also darkens the touchscreen, leaving an unsightly dark space front and center. Other cars with similar screens have a clock or other default display while the screen is off; the Sonata has a separate digital clock lower on the dashboard.

The Sonata Sport's interior is dressed up a little with false aluminum and carbon fiber accents, but they don't add much diversity in color to the tested car's gray cabin. The Sonata Limited has copious false wood in parts, an alternative that adds visual interest but may register as cheesy for some buyers. The cabin is mostly well-assembled, but the hard rubbery armrests on the doors and center console don't scream luxury.

To be in

The 2015 Sonata looks like it has sporty aggressively bolstered front seats, but the actual feel is more ordinary – room and comfort yield no complaints, but there's nothing special up front. A newly available height adjuster for the passenger seat is a welcome feature; one passenger complained the seat was far too low during a test of the previous model.

In the back, though, the Sonata returns to a pre-2011 virtue of excellent rear seat space. There's more legroom and headroom than before, even for a center-rear passenger. The spec sheet shows only a modest improvement, but the difference is striking when you're actually in the car. Credit the revised roof and stretched dimensions; the former also improved rear visibility in the 2015 model.

The Sonata's trunk shrank slightly in the redesign, but it's still one of the roomiest in its class with 16.3 cubic feet of space. A feature that Hyundai is adding across various models is an automatic trunk release that's activated when you stand next to the trunk with the proximity key for several seconds; it's handy if your hands are full, but annoying if you just happen to stand next to your car.

As noted earlier, the Sonata is more useful than plush or fancy. The cabin is spacious but the seats themselves don't stand out for their shape and padding, and the user-friendly economics aren't part of a luxurious dashboard. The interior doesn't feel junky, but it doesn't stand out either as high-end or as particularly sturdy and well-built; the ambiance is decidedly average. Also, scratchy stitching on the leather-wrapped steering wheel was an odd choice for a high-contact surface.

To drive

Hyundai has striven for years to make the Sonata at least somewhat fun to drive. The previous model made perhaps the most progress; the steering felt unnatural at times, but it was responsive, and handling and acceleration impressed.

The 2015 model adds a new “sport” mode (joining the existing “normal” and “eco”) that keeps the engine revving in lower gears rather than upshifting as early, and increases the steering weight. But these measures feel artificial; the Sonata is at its best in more sedate driving. Push the car hard and the steering refuses to tell you what the car is up to, regardless of the steering wheight. And there's no getting around the fact that the car's 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine boasted 200 horsepower back in 2011 – a best-in-class spec – compared to 185 hp today.

Sedate driving has improved in the redesign, at least, with a smoother ride and reduced noise levels. Neither is best in the class yet, though.

Gas mileage was a class standout for the Sonata back in 2011, but the tested 2015 hasn't made further progress since then; it's staying at a competitive but no longer amazing EPA rating of 28 miles per gallon in mixed driving (24 mpg city, 35 mpg highway). This reviewer averaged 30.4 mpg during a weeklong test. The Sonata SE, which is lighter than the tested Sport or the higher-end Limited, has higher EPA ratings: 25 mpg in the city, 37 on the highway highway, and 29 mpg overall.

Unlike a growing number of competitors, the tested Sonata uses a conventional six-speed automatic transmission and a standard naturally aspirated engine. To eke out fuel savings, many others use CVT or dual-clutch automatic transmissions, or more transmission speeds; others use small turbocharged engines. Some buyers may prefer Hyundai's decision here, however, as some of these solutions have led to clunkiness or other drawbacks in everyday use.

Plus, you can also buy a Sonata Eco model, new for the 2015 model year, that uses a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder and a dual-clutch automatic. Fuel economy improves to 28 city / 38 highway / 32 overall, but you pay an extra $900 for the extra mileage, and horsepower drops to 178.

A 2.0-liter turbo with 245 horsepower and a six-speed automatic is also available, which Hyundai treats as an alternative to a V6. Based on past experience with this engine, acceleration is strong and fuel economy stays reasonable (the EPA projects 26 mpg in mixed driving) if you aren't constantly flooring it.

To buy

The Sonata starts at $21,150 for the SE model, which is already decently equipped with 16-inch alloy wheels; power windows, locks, and mirrors; Bluetooth connectivity; and a six-speaker sound system. An $1,150 Popular Equipment Package adds a 10-way power driver's seat, the 5-inch touchscreen, a rearview camera, automatic headlights, the Hyundai Blue Link telematics system, and upgraded cabin trim.

Add another $810 for the destination charge and $120 for floormats, and that's a nicely equipped car with a sticker price of $23,250. Furthermore, pricing site Truecar.com expects you to be able to haggle some $4,000 off that MSRP, getting you south of $20,000. About $900 more gets you the Eco model with the smaller, more fuel-efficient engine.

For more features, you can step up to the tested Sonata Sport, which starts at $23,175 (plus destination). It adds the features from the SE with the Popular Equipment Package, plus heated seats and appearance items that include a unique grille and 17-inch wheels. The tested car further added a $1,700 Premium Package: leather trim on the seat bolsters, steering wheel and shifter; a proximity key; blind-spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert; and automatic climate control. $1,750 more would buy the advanced infotainment system with GPS navigation and an 8-inch screen; this nice system is unfortunately unavailable on the SE.

The Sonata Limited starts at $26,525, including the Sport's Premium Package features along with full leather seats, heated rear seats, its own grille and 17-inch alloy wheel designs, woodgrain interior trim, an upgraded audio system, a six-way power passenger seat, and windowshades in the rear windows.

The Limited is also the cheapest trim where you can get a sunroof, though it's panoramic – it's available as part of the $3,500 Tech Package that also includes the infotainment system, cooled seats, a heated steering wheel, a memory system for the driver's seat, and a further sound-system upgrade. If you like sunroofs but don't want all these features, you might not care for the Sonata.

The $1,550 Ultimate Package adds handy safety features like a lane-departure warning and forward-collision warning, along with radar-based cruise control, rear parking sensors, and an electronic parking brake.

2.0-liter turbocharged models start at $28,575, costing roughly $2,000 more than a comparably equipped 2.4-liter Sonata according to TrueDelta.com, though the features don't line up exactly.

Overall

If you're looking for excitement or a luxury feel to your midsize family sedan, the Sonata might not be the best choice. The Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, and Mazda6 are among the leaders for driving dynamics, and are also all-around competitive with the Sonata. And if you like premium-level refinement, the Accord, Chevrolet Malibu, and newly redesigned Chrysler 200 are cars to consider. Even the Kia Optima, mechanically related to the previous-generation Sonata, can look and feel a little more premium than the Sonata at times.

The Sonata, meanwhile, will duke it out with the Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima – probably its closest competitors – as unpretentious, pleasant, spacious transportation done pretty well at a decent price. With competitive pricing, a long warranty, plenty of available features, and pleasant accommodations, the redesigned 2015 Sonata stakes a clear claim for a large piece of the midsize market.

A full comparison of the aforementioned models, along with other key competitors like the redesigned Subaru Legacy and updated Volkswagen Passat, should be published later this year and shed even more light on which of these competitive models is the best fit for which buyer.

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