NEWS
Hyundai Sonata teased
New generation of large, front-wheel drive passenger car due here in second half of 2014Hyundai is returning to an old and trusted nameplate for its next front-wheel drive sedan.
The new Sonata will be officially unveiled next month, and it will be marketed by that name here in Australia when it goes on sale in the second half of this year. It's yet another change in nomenclature after the local arm affixed the i45 badge to the ill-fated car that previously sold alongside the i40.
Hyundai has said in the past that the i45 could have been sold here wearing the Sonata tag, if it had arrived later. But the change back to the Sonata name also hints that the i45 moniker is associated with a car that failed to engage the Australian buying public in the way Hyundai planned.
According to Hyundai Australia, the new Sonata will feature enhanced ergonomics and significantly better crash safety. Hyundai's engineers working on the new Sonata have focused their efforts on seats and a new HMI (Human Machine Interface) for simpler controls, fewer distractions and easier viewing of instruments.
The new car embraces Hyundai's Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 styling theme introduced late last year with the rear-wheel drive Genesis. But the styling conceals the upgraded crash safety of the new car, with 51 per cent of the body constructed from Advanced-High Strength Steel (AHSS) – versus the 21 per cent used in the earlier (i45) model.
Engineers working on the car have also specified 10 times more structural adhesive. That, and hot-stamped components – particularly for the B pillars – have improved torsional rigidity by 40 per cent, the company claims. Occupant protection is also helped by seven airbags fitted as standard.
“Since the first Sonata was introduced in 1985, Hyundai Motor’s symbolic mid-size sedan has contributed hugely to the company’s rapid growth and brand enhancement,” said Jeong Gil Park, head of the Hyundai Motor Group’s Engineering Design Division.
“The all-new Sonata has evolved again, based on Hyundai Motor’s world-class technologies, and it will play an important role in further facilitating our shift from quantitative growth to qualitative growth.”
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Written byCarsales Staff
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If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
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