The future is now

By Gary S. Vasilash

When I first saw the 2024 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid I was surprised. Quite surprised. While Hyundai—at least since the introduction of the model year 2011 Sonata with the “Fluidic Sculpture” design language—has consistently been turning out vehicles with striking designs, (1) most of those vehicles of late are crossovers and (2) I’ve always been a greater admirer of the Hyundai Elantra, the Sonata’s compact kin.

But the Sonata has undergone a serious refresh for MY 2024.

When the vehicle was unveiled late last summer, Simon Loasby, head of the Hyundai Style Group at Hyundai Motor Company, said, “We wanted to give Sonata a more contemporary design statement,” which is an absolute understatement.

If Loasby considers that “contemporary,” then I think he must live in the future, because the lines on the vehicle, front, sides, back, and roof, contribute to a car that is striking and stylish in appearance.

Advance. Repeat.

It is almost as though the designers said to themselves, “OK, let’s design the most-advanced looking Sonata that we can.” They did that. Then started from that point and designed one that goes beyond that.

A slogan that has been around for a bit has it that “lighting is the new chrome.” If the LED lighting execution on the Sonata is chrome, it brings to mind William Gibson’s title “Burning Chrome” because it has an advanced appearance. (It also makes one wonder whether a generation raised in Suburbans and Grand Caravans might not find the Sonata aesthetic far more appealing.)

Comfort, Too.

And this innovative appearance continues into the vehicle, where there are seats that are comfortable (and I’d describe them as “contemporary” because I’m still waiting for the Aeron chair analog, and even though that was introduced in 1994, when it comes, it will be, apparently, the future), and an instrument panel that combines the digital and the analog (a.k.a., knobs and buttons) in a way that speaks to appearance and ergonomics (with too many going for the former and ignoring the latter).

There is a 12.3-inch screen for the driver that contains the obligatory operational information that butts up to another 12.3-inch screen for the driver and front passenger (though it is slightly curved in a bias for the driver) for purposes of infotainment. Below that second screen, in the center of the overall instrument panel, there are knobs and buttons for control of things like the audio and HVAC (few things are more annoying when driving than trying to control the temperature through a screen selection).

Drive. And Drive Some More.

 But here’s the thing that I saw on the driver’s information screen that was even more striking to me that the exterior design:

585 miles

That was the estimated distance that the car could be driven prior to fill-up. And that estimation was predicated on how other people prior to me had driven the car, and I’m guessing that they weren’t exactly feathering the throttle.

It is worth noting that this is a car that is not anemic (192 hp is produced from the four-cylinder engine combined with an electric motor).

Here’s something interesting about that 585: it is what the available distance is based on getting 44.3 miles per gallon.

The Sonata Hybrid has a 13.2-gallon tank.

Now were it that people prior to me drove it in a more “normal” manner, odds are it would have been even higher: the EPA estimated numbers are 44 mpg city, 51 mpg highway, 47 mpg combined.

The range based on the combined average: 620 miles.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, the number of miles driven annually in the U.S., on average, is approximately 14,000 miles. So were you to be driving a Sonata Hybrid and getting the combined average, this would mean having to go to the gas station not more than twice a month. Which means about 10 minutes per month for a fill up.

For a car that is stylish, comfortable, and technologically up-to-date.

It really is an impressive car.