Hyundai Sonata History
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The Hyundai Sonata is a four-door sedan built by South Korea's largest automaker. Over six generations, five of which have been sold in the U.S., the Sonata has grown larger. Initially a compact Korean-only car, the latest Sonata qualifies as a large car under U.S. EPA guidelines. Since 2005, Sonata sedans for the U.S. market have been built in a factory outside of Montgomery, Alabama. The 2011 Sonata competes against the likes of the Honda Accord; Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan; Subaru Legacy; Chevrolet Malibu; Nissan Altima; Suzuki Kizashi; and Toyota Camry.
The first Korean-market Sonata came with only four-cylinder engines. The sedan came to the U.S. market in 1989 as a four-cylinder sedan. A V-6 option became available for a short time on the second-generation car, before production ended at a Hyundai factory in Quebec, Canada. The third- and fourth-generation Sonata hailed from South Korean factories, and were offered with either four- or six-cylinder engines. The front end of these models, sold through 2004, had sometimes garish front-end styling that obscured the car's functional simplicity and value, and increasing reputation for reliability.
During these years, the Sonata architecture spawned two related vehicles, the Hyundai Santa Fe crossover utility vehicle and the Kia Optima sedan.
The Sonata broke into the mainstream as production moved to Alabama. With a newly styled body clean of any excessive detail, a much larger passenger cabin, and more powerful four-cylinder and V-6 on board, the Sonata began to attract more attention in its very competitive class of vehicles. By the end of its run in 2010, this generation of Sonata had knocked the Toyota Camry off Consumer Reports magazine's top-recommendations list, based on its quality, reliability and value.
In the same time frame, the Sonata architecture added another family member--the large Hyundai Azera, aimed more squarely at the Toyota Avalon and Buick LaCrosse.
The 2011 Hyundai Sonata is the latest version of this model line. With a bigger cabin, the Sonata now qualifies as a large car; in its class, only the Honda Accord meets the same standard. Dramatic new styling inside and out carries a "fluidic sculpture" theme, according to the automaker. Ride and handling have acquired more of an enthusiast feel, as the Sonata more directly challenges the Ford Fusion and Nissan Altima. The new Sonata has earned a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, though crash test scores from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are not yet available.
A Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is being developed with lithium-polymer batteries complementing a four-cylinder engine. It's due as a 2012 model, along with a turbocharged four-cylinder Sonata. A mechanically similar 2011 Kia Optima is in development, and is expected to be assembled not far from the Sonata, in a new plant in West Point, Georgia.
