Here inside the U.S., the mid-size sedan market is believed to become all but impregnable to newcomers. Ruled for decades by models that have turn out to be icons of the industry, the segment has enjoyed a prolonged and peaceful reign by the likes of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. However the funny thing about success is that if you're not very, really careful, it breeds complacency. Though the titans from the four-door kingdom have been sleeping on beds of cash made around the innovations of two decades ago, Hyundai has been busily polishing its reputation and pouring over $550 million into fresh research and development for new and advanced drivetrains for its 2011 Sonata.
From your exterior, there is minor to differentiate the Sonata two.0T from its non-turbocharged siblings other than a handful of subtle badges. The sedan retains the similar gorgeous "fluidic sculpture" design as the 2.4-liter four-cylinder variant, so buyers can expect the similar swept nose, complete with artfully-pointed headlights and sculpted hood up front. Likewise, the profile is still dominated by a single, arching crease that reaches from just below the entrance fender effectively to meet the wrapped taillights at the rear. In all, the look is cohesive and is about as far from the copycat designs with the company's past as you may get. We dig it.
Inside, buyers won't find the inside any diverse from what's offered inside the base Sonata. The identical high-quality soft-touch dash remains in place, as does the smattering of piano black accents along the door panels and center stack. Speaking in the door panels, soft material insets just over the armrest do a lot to boost their sense.
The Sonata's center stack is dominated by easy-to-navigate dual climate controls and an attractive navigation/entertainment touchscreen. Even though we typically rail against the easily-scratched faux-metal trim that frames the rest of the waterfall, it serves the Sonata cabin properly. Maybe the best praise we can lay around the inside of your Sonata is that it has its personal personality – you're easily not likely to mistake the cabin for that of a Toyota or a Honda, despite the fact the material quality is finally on par with individuals makes.
That is not to say that everything's suitable as rain inside. The Sonata a couple of.0T packs a heap of intelligent engineering solutions under the hood, and individuals tricks needed to have price some severe money. Even so, Hyundai has kept the vehicle's base MSRP down to a miserly $24,145 devoid of destination (compared to $19,195 for the basest of naturally aspirated Sonatas): That means that some details had to be completed to maintain the price point at an acceptable level, and even though most of those concessions remain very well out of sight of each driver and passengers, the Sonata's gear selector feels over a small flimsy. The shifter lock button comes across as light and hung-up over once during our time behind the wheel. Likewise, the overall action of the transmission stalk felt sloppy and lacked the precision inherent in the rest of your vehicle.
Nonetheless, we believe we are able to forgive Hyundai for a cheap-feeling shifter given all that is going on under the hood. The corporation has managed to successfully blend its direct-injection technique with forced induction to create a turbocharged a couple of.0-liter four-cylinder beneficial for a dizzying 274 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. Even greater, all of that twist comes in at a low 1,750 rpm, so you can practically forget about turbo lag. Obviously, slapping a turbo onto a small-displacement, direct-injection motor and calling it a day is nothing new – look no further than the Ford line of EcoBoost mills or some excellent-but-unbranded engines from General Motors as proof – but Hyundai has chucked in a couple of of its very own tricks to each increase response and ensure the engine is as bulletproof as any from the company's other powerplants.
The tiny a couple of.0-liter motor packs some pretty advanced tech, including a cast stainless-steel exhaust manifold. In addition to boasting slightly much better thermal properties than a standard cast-iron piece, Hyundai says that the manifold was specifically built to handle pressures nicely in excess of what the Hyundai-designed, Mitsubishi-built twin-scroll turbo can manage. Why? Longevity. The engineers say this engine has been put through a grueling 300 hours of testing at wide-open throttle. Once that was wrapped up, the powerplant was then subjected to a further 20 hours of testing at motor speeds above the redline.
Of course, that stout manifold is only a small part from the recipe. In order to assist maintain the engine's temperature below control, Hyundai has implemented some thing it calls "aluminum thermal sprayed counter spiny liner," which is essentially a new way of layering aluminum onto the exterior from the cylinder sleeve to improve surface region. That greater surface location permits for improved cooling efficiency. According to Hyundai, this could be the initial application in the counter-spiny liner in the automotive market.
Speaking of keeping items cool, Hyundai is also employing a distinctive air channeling method around the vehicle's intercooler. The guide routes air towards the intake and outlet areas of the intercooler, and Hyundai claims it keeps intake air up to 50 degrees cooler than with no guide. All these refinements support contribute to that almost instantaneous throttle response and lofty horsepower figures.
But here's the real shocker. Hyundai has tuned the four-cylinder to have a compression ratio of just 9.5:1. That suggests that even with all of that grunt on tap, this engine drinks standard unleaded gasoline. Even far better, it drinks really minor of it. Fuel financial system sits at 23 mpg city and 33 mpg highway, although the organization has included an Active Eco button that helps flatten out throttle fluctuations to maintain gasoline consumption as low as achievable.
Bolted behind the motor is the similar proprietary six-speed automatic transmission found within the standard two.4-liter Sonata. Hyundai has thrown in a set of steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters for manually rifling as a result of the gears, and while the pieces serve up a satisfying click and experience solid enough, the gear changes are a bit as well reluctant to become worth employing all the time. Our recommendation is to purely leave the vehicle in Drive and let the pc do the thinking. The shift logic around the Sonata 2.0T is crisp, putting the car in the best cog for the proper pace no matter what your driving style.
We spent our time behind the wheel of a Limited model, which will come packed to the gills with all kinds of interior niceties, although Hyundai also provides up an SE model with sport-tuned dampers and springs. Even so, the Limited easily feels beneficial to drive. It has the sort of confident, planted feel that has all but evaporated in the mid-sized import sedan segment, and we need to admit that we're glad to possess it back. The ride is comfortable without the need of being marshmallowy soft, and also the four-door moves properly through bends despite its substantial size. Curb weight has been kept to around three,400 pounds depending on equipment, and the Sonata a couple of.0T will come with brakes which are greater than capable of handling the tonnage.
And there is more than enough energy to get this show moving, as well. The four-door dispatches traffic with glee, all devoid of so much as a peep from under the hood. The revs swell, and there is a slight sense of urgency from underneath the hood, however the cabin isn't inundated with buzzing from your thrash of 4 tiny pistons out entrance nor any whine from your turbo. You basically dart rapidly away from surrounding visitors. Hyundai says that the jump to 60 mph from a dead stop takes just 6.8 seconds, and we're inclined to believe them. Even far better, there's next to no torque steer, even when your correct foot gets overzealous.
It's challenging not to be genuinely surprised by the 2011 Hyundai Sonata two.0T. With far more power and better fuel economic system than the V6 variants in the Camry, Accord and Altima, all at all around $3,000 less than the majority of its main competitors, we just can't uncover a coherent all-around argument against the turbo'd Korean. Regardless of how several from the cars hop off from the lot when they go on sale this week, it looks like the days in the V6 mid-sized sedan are numbered.
