All-New Hyundai Sonata Arrives at 2019 New York Auto Show

The all-new Hyundai Sonata has arrived at the 2019 New York International Auto Show, just over a month after it was launched in its home market of Korea in March 2019.

The new-generation Sonata is the first sedan designed with Hyundai's Sensuous Sportiness design language. It is a fully transformed vehicle showcasing a sporty four-door-coupe look. From the front, the 2020 Sonata is unlike any other Hyundai. The design is all-new, with cues that don't immediately appear Hyundai-like and thus encourage customers to take a second look. The 2020 Sonata embodies the evolution of a new Hyundai design theme--a portfolio of vehicles that, like chess pieces on a board, look and behave differently, each with a clear role and function, but together exemplify a cohesive team.

The latest Sonata is the first model to be based on Hyundai's new, innovative vehicle platform, which delivers increased strength and reduced weight to enable improvements in design, safety, efficiency and driving performance. The car uses an extensive application of advanced technologies to boost comfort, convenience. and active safety. It is also the first model to premiere a new collaboration with Bose to deliver an exceptional audio experience to customers.

Inspired by the dramatic Le Fil Rouge four-door-coupe concept shown at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, the new-generation Sonata has an emotional, sporty four-door coupe look with a spacious and technology-packed interior. The exterior exhibits performance-led proportions that reference the car’s step up in sportiness over that of its predecessor.

A newly-designed Digital Pulse Cascading Grille spans the front of the new Sonata, finishing at the innermost points of new combination headlamps that feature a distinctive and innovative new lighting architecture.

A chrome line flows from the wing mirror, right around the side passenger windows, and returns to the front of the car by running down the length of the hood and ending at a sharp right angle beneath each headlight. This chrome strip features graduated LED Daytime Running Lights embedded with Hidden Lighting Lamps.

A first for a Hyundai vehicle, Hidden Lighting Lamps are a design innovation that incorporates state-of-the-art lighting technology, forming the Sonata's light architecture. The Hidden Lighting Lamps appear to be chrome when switched off and become dramatically lit when turned on.

The side sections of the Sonata are accentuated by the light architecture, which connects two chrome lines that seamlessly link the windows and daytime running lights. Through these two character lines, the Sonata effuses a flowing and refined charm.

From the side, sleek forms combine with sensual lines to accentuate the car's sportiness and clear coupe-like silhouette. Eye-catching sporty details include a trunk spoiler and black side skirts along the lower flanks. The car;s overall height has been lowered an inch to enhance the sporty profile even further. The new model is available with a choice of 16-, 17-, or 18-inch alloy wheels, each with a design that suggests forward motion even when stationary.

At the rear, a wide horizontal line extends across the center of the trunk, stretching to the edges of the car. This line is actually a long LED strip that connects each brake light, creating a striking visual impression at night. The high-tech appearance of the rear is intentionally suggestive of the Sonata's advanced safety systems and technology-packed interior.

The Sonata's drag coefficient (Cd) is just 0.27, with a flat underfloor covering and a range of body enhancements--including small fins across each taillight--that help keep the car fuel efficient, as well as stable.

The cabin conforms to a 'Beautifully Smart' theme, aligned with the expectations of Sonata customers seeking advanced technologies applied naturally and intuitively. The signature aesthetic of the exterior lighting is echoed inside in the form of ambient mood lighting featured across the dashboard and doors.

Spanning the full width of the cabin, the slim dashboard features a first-in-class, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, which is customizable to suit different driving modes and preferences. At the center of the dashboard, a large, 10.25-inch HD screen enables occupants to interact easily with the audio-video and navigation (AVN) functions. This screen can also accommodate a split-screen function that allows audio and navigation to be displayed simultaneously.

The instrument panel is rich and modern, in the shape of spread wings, inspired by a stealth aircraft. This shape presents a levitating effect, and this philosophy carries into the long armrests. The satin chrome accents enhance this effect even further. Designers compressed the height of the dashboard and HVAC vents as much as possible to emphasize the lightweight feeling, while modern, light fabric colors and leathers provide a fresh and unconstrained ambience for the driver.

At the heart of the AVN system is an exceptional sound system, the first result of a new collaboration between Hyundai and Bose engineers. The Bose Premium sound system is equipped with 12 speakers that synchronize to deliver crisp and rich sounds for a high-quality audio experience. Audio and EQ adjustments are made automatically, depending on the vehicle’s speed, while Bose Centerpoint surround technology and Bose SurroundStage signal processing put every occupant at the center of the audio experience, regardless of where they are positioned in the cabin.

Customers can choose between two Smartstream gasoline powertrains: a 2.5 GDI and a 1.6 T-GDI engine, both mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The new Smartstream G2.5 GDI engine, with high-efficiency combustion, cooled EGR and an optimized ITMS cooling system, boasts a generous 191 horsepower at 6,100 rpm and 245 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm, plus an expected combined EPA estimated fuel economy of 33 mpg. Meanwhile, the new Smartstream G1.6 T-GDI has 180 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 264 Nm of torque at 1,500–4,500 rpm and is expected to achieve an EPA-estimated 13.179 km/L combined, thanks to its world-first Continuously Variable Valve Duration (CVVD) system.