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Video: 2024 Hyundai Sonata Up Close

03:53 min
By Cars.com Editors
February 8, 2024

About the video

Join Road Test Editor Brian Normile as he walks you through changes for the 2024 Hyundai Sonata from the floor of the 2024 Chicago Auto Show.

Transcript

Here's why the 2024 Hyundai Sonata is a great alternative to the Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys of the world. With updated exterior styling, improved powertrains, available all-wheel drive and improved interior tech.
Upfront, we get a drastic styling change. Instead of the old lighting elements that extended up the hood, we now have one that extends across the hood, and the headlights are down here, new front styling. Overall, it looks a lot like the Kona. I think it looks really, really good. In back, the big news is these new H-shaped taillights, which extend all the way across the back. We've seen this in other new Hyundais as well. Again, just like the front gives it a very distinct look, and I think it looks really, really good. Inside the Sonata, you now get a standard 12.3 inch digital instrument panel and a 12.3 inch touchscreen display. And great news, wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto are now standard throughout the lineup. The screen size is about the same as you get in nicer Honda Accord trims, a little bit bigger than what you can get in the Camry, but both of those models had wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto prior to the Sonata, which was their main advantage. Now the Sonata is on equal footing and it does have what I think is a better-looking and more intuitive touchscreen display to use. So that's great news. Not so great are the touch-sensitive climate controls down here. I would prefer physical buttons because I'm old. They just work better in my opinion. You don't have to worry about wearing gloves, et cetera, but small price to pay for the rest of these upgrades. Overall, interior quality is pretty good. This is around a $30,000 car, so it's not exceptional or outstanding. It feels well put together, but the materials themselves are not nice. One other thing to note, if you were sitting here and weren't familiar with Hyundais, you might not know you were sitting in a Hyundai because Hyundai has replaced the H logo that was previously on the steering wheel with this four dot bar that we've seen in the Ioniq EVs. So it's a nice little change, brings it more in line with all the other new cars in Hyundai's lineup, as does this column-mounted gear selector. Overall, comfortable front seat, not too different from the rest of the class. Not a whole lot to report back here. This is a fairly basic backseat setup, but I do have decent headroom. The sloping roof line eats into it a little bit, but I'm not crouching down. Decent leg room as well. My knees are a little bit higher than I would like. I'd probably be complaining after a lengthy road trip. But for getting around town, not terrible. That's pretty much standard for the Accord and Camry as well. I fit in both of those. I'm six foot one. Not my favorite place to be. I'd much rather be behind the wheel though. The new base engine for the 2024 Sonata is a 2.5 liter four-cylinder that makes 191 horsepower and 181 pounds feet of torque. There is still the end line that's available, which is a Turbocharged 2.5 liter that makes 290 horsepower and 311 pounds feet of torque. Front wheel drive is standard on the Sonata, SEL and N Line, but now for 2024, you can get all wheel drive on the SEL. The Hybrid is also part of the lineup, and new for 2024, are paddles that allow you to adjust the Regenerative Braking. With all those updates and a Hybrid available, the Sonata is a great alternative to the Accord and Camry. The 2024 Hyundai Sonata is on sale now with a price starting at $28,615, including destination. The base model is the SEL. Previously it was the SE, but that's actually a little bit cheaper than previous SEL models, so that's good news. And you can find all of our thoughts on the 2024 Hyundai Sonata and the rest of our 2024 Chicago Auto Show coverage on cars.com.

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