After making the headlines with the Verna, Hyundai is back in the news. The Korean carmaker has released official images of the Sonata facelift. But sadly, this won’t come to India and will be available only in international markets. The sedan has got significant exterior and interior design changes. We do see some resembling the flagship Grandeur luxury sedan and the recently launched India-spec Verna. Hyundai confirmed that the new Sonata will make its global debut at the Seoul Mobility Show on March 30.
Talking about the design, the Sonata looks very different from its predecessor. At the front, we see a full-width LED Daytime Running Lamp bar, with a split LED headlamp setup. To further add to the looks they are these angular extensions on the front grille. The overall silhouette of the sedan remains a four-door coupe body style with a strong shoulder line from the fender to the tail lamps.
For the rear, the sedan gets a spoiler-shaped boot lid that matches perfectly with the all-black panel that runs across the boot. This panel also gets the tail lamps and incorporates a full-width LED light bar forming an ‘H’ pattern. The N Line version of the Sonata additionally gets some extras. This includes black wing mirrors, 19-inch alloy wheels, a boot-lid spoiler, subtle N Line badging and a quad exhaust setup. Hyundai also talked of Sonata’s new design with a key focus on aerodynamics. This is in an effort to improve fuel efficiency and stability.
Matching the exterior, the Sonata’s interiors get massive changes. It benefits from a more driver-centric dashboard. We get to see a new 12.3-inch touchscreen and digital driver’s display. Additionally, it also gets touch-based haptic controls for the HVAC system and a drive controller stalk behind the new three-spoke steering wheel. This is exactly what we see with the Ioniq 5.
Hyundai has not yet revealed the powertrain details for the Sonata facelift. The pre-facelift model was available with multiple petrol engines, which also included a plug-in hybrid option. The outgoing N line Sonata got a 2.5-litre turbocharged unit that produced 290 hp and 422 Nm, mated to an 8-speed DCT gearbox. Thus we expect Hyundai to retain the powertrain options with the Sonata facelift along with its N Line version.
Also Read: 2023 Hyundai Verna Vs. Honda City Vs. Maruti Suzuki Ciaz & Price Comparison.