Just How Good Is the 2020 Hyundai Sonata's Redesign?

Family shoppers are increasingly going to SUVs, but there are still a lot of people who want a mid-size family sedan — and there’s quite a few of them left: big heavy hitters like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Nissan Altima, as well as the just-redesigned 2020 Hyundai Sonata, now making its debut at the 2019 New York International Auto Show.

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This redesign is definitely a head-turning car, akin to the 2011-14 Sonata, itself a major head-turner for its time. It’s also more expressive than the most recent generation of the car, which played things safe when it came to design.

That’s not the case here. Check out those headlights; there are LED daytime running lights that snake all the way up directly into chrome strips that run up the hood all the way to the A-pillars. The tail reminds us of everything from the Mercedes-AMG GT to the Audi A7 — certainly cars worth emulating. It’s definitely not a bland car; even among a lot of creative redesigns out there, we think this Sonata is going to stand out.

This moves Hyundai forward into a new styling direction, especially for sedans. It’s a very expressive interior in this car: There’s a large center display that’s 8 inches or, optionally, 10.25 inches, and it kind of wraps into a dashboard with a lot of handsome, upscale materials and an interesting, layered design. Hyundai says it’s still trying to determine whether the final dashboard material will be leather or vinyl, but either way, it looks good.

There’s lots of storage space, as well, thanks to a new push-button gear selector. There’s a lot of space to throw your stuff, and it’s nice to see that amid all this design, the Sonata didn’t lose all of its practicality.

More From Cars.com:

• Sleek Sonata Injects Some Style Into the Mid-Size Sedan Class
• Hyundai Brings the Fight to Camry, Accord With Redesigned 2020 Sonata
• No Keys, Please: 2020 Hyundai Sonata Uses App for Entry
• Revised Engine, New Gearbox for 2020 Hyundai Sonata
• 2020 Hyundai Sonata Gets Styling Redo (and It’s So-nata Boring One)

Sedans, including the Sonata, are obviously facing headwinds versus SUVs as shoppers increasingly migrate toward the latter body style, but Hyundai might grab a few back for sedans with this redesign. It goes on sale in October, so we should know soon enough.

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